Basic information

OFFICIAL NAME: Republic of Chile.
CAPITAL: Santiago.
SQUARE KILOMETERS: 756,096 kms².
POPULATION: 19.828.563 (projection 2022, INE)
OFFICIAL LANGUAGE: Spanish.
INDEPENDENCE DATE: September 18, 1810.

About Chile

Chile, the longest and thinnest country in the world, stretches between the Andes Mountains and the Pacific Ocean. It has customs as diverse as its landscapes, ranging from the driest desert in the world to millenary glaciers that are still waiting to be discovered. These cultural and climatic contrasts have marked the identity of the country and its people. Warm, forceful, close, and friendly, Chileans share a love for their land, which invites to build bonds beyond distances, to live unique experiences, to discover Chile.

Political System

Chile has a republican, democratic and representative political system, with a presidential government. The State is divided into three independent powers: Executive (headed by the President of the Republic), Legislative (Senate and Chamber of Representatives) and Judicial (Courts of Justice).

Economy

Chile is an emerging economy very well evaluated in the Latin American region and recognized worldwide.

It is a country open to trade and foreign investment, with a solid macroeconomic framework, with independent institutions such as the Central Bank. Under the new administration of President Gabriel Boric Font, it seeks to strengthen the relationship with the Latin American region and specifically with the Pacific Alliance bloc, in all aspects including trade.

Chile has a wide network of trade agreements that to date reaches 31 treaties with 65 economies, representing 65% of the world’s population and 88% of the global GDP. In the multilateral framework, together with Mexico, Colombia and Costa Rica, Chile is one of the four Latin American members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) since 2010.

The Chilean economy, after being hit by the events of the social outbreak (18/O) and the Covid-19 pandemic, began to show signs of recovery in mid-2020 as a result of a broad stimulus policy. Given the current complicated external scenario and after the growth of 2021, the Central Bank projects that GDP will expand from 1.0% to 2.0% in 2022 and will reach an estimated variation between -0.25% and 0.75% in 2023. At the same time, the short-term outlook for inflation is close to 10% by mid-year, to reach 8.2% annually and projecting 3% by 2024.

SOURCE: SUBREI, CENTRAL BANK OF CHILE, NATIONAL STATISTICS INSTITUTE OF CHILE, THE ECONOMIST INTELLIGENCE UNIT AND INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND.

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