Chile

Republic of Chile
Republic of Chile República de Chile (es)
	Motto: Por la razón o la fuerza; "By reason or by force" (Spanish)
	Anthem: Himno Nacional de Chile (Spanish);
Capital; (and largest city)	Santiago1; 33°26′S 70°40′W / 33.433°S 70.667°W
Official language(s)	Spanish
Demonym	Chilean
Government	Unitary presidential republic
Independence	from Spain
Area
Population
GDP (PPP)	2011 estimate
GDP (nominal)	2011 estimate
Gini (2006)	52.0 (high)
HDI (2011)	▲ 0.805 (very high) (44th)
Currency	Peso (CLP)
Time zone	CLT or EAST 3 (UTC−4 to −6)
Drives on the	right
Internet TLD	.cl
Calling code	+56
1	The legislature is based in Valparaíso
2	Includes Easter Island and Isla Sala y Gómez; does not include 1,250,000 square kilometres (480,000 sq mi) of territory claimed in Antarctica
3	The mainland uses UTC−4 (in summer: UTC−3 ; Easter Island uses UTC−6 (in summer: UTC−5).

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Chile is a long, thin country which is on the western side of South America. The people there speak Spanish.

Chile, which claims a part of the Antarctic continent, is the longest country on earth. The Atacama Desert, in the north of the country, is the driest place on earth. The average rainfall there is less than 0.05 mm per year. The center of Chile, with the two cities Santiago and Valparaíso, has a Mediterranean climate with an average temperatures of 28 °C in January and 11 °C in July. In the middle of Chile, the country is very fertile.

There are about 16.9 million people living in Chile in 2009. About 10 million people live in the center of Chile around Valparaíso and Santiago, on about 20% of the total territory. Chile is a well educated country. Only 2.7% are not able to read or write. Some believe that Chile has one of the best school systems in South America.

About 95% of Chileans are Caucasian, mostly Spanish and Italian. Around 3% of the population is Native American, and about 2% European immigrants. The majority of people are Roman Catholic (62.8% [1]). About 10% are Protestant, and there are some Jews as well. The country's official language is Spanish. Chili did not derive from this country, although it shares a common name.