Overview: Chile has a prosperous, essentially free market economy, with the degree of government intervention varying according to the philosophy of the different regimes. Under the center-left government of President AYLWIN, which took power in March 1990, spending on social welfare has risen steadily. At the same time business investment, exports and consumer spending have also grown substantially. The new president, FREI, who takes office in March 1994, is expected to emphasize social spending even more. Growth in 1991-93 has averaged 8% annually, with an estimated one million Chileans having moved out of poverty in the last four years. Copper remains vital to the health of the economy; Chile is the world's largest producer and exporter of copper.

National product: GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $96 billion (1993 est.)

National product real growth rate: 5.8% (1993 est.)

National product per capita: $7,000 (1993 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 12.3% (1993 est.)

Unemployment rate: 5.1% (1993 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $10.9 billion
expenditures: $10.9 billion, including capital expenditures of $1.2 billion (1993)

Exports: $10 billion (f.o.b., 1992)
commodities: copper 41%, other metals and minerals 8.7%, wood products 7.1%, fish and fishmeal 9.8%, fruits 8.4% (1991)
partners: EC 29%, Japan 17%, US 16%, Argentina 5%, Brazil 5% (1992)

Imports: $9.2 billion (f.o.b., 1992)
commodities: capital goods 25.2%, spare parts 24.8%, raw materials 15.4%, petroleum 10%, foodstuffs 5.7%
partners: EC 24%, US 21%, Brazil 10%, Japan 10% (1992)

External debt: $19.7 billion (1993 est.)

Industrial production: growth rate 9.3% (1992 est.); accounts for 34% of GDP

Electricity:
capacity: 5,769,000 kW
production: 22.01 billion kWh
consumption per capita: 1,630 kWh (1992)

Industries: copper, other minerals, foodstuffs, fish processing, iron and steel, wood and wood products, transport equipment, cement, textiles

Agriculture: accounts for about 7% of GDP (including fishing and forestry); major exporter of fruit, fish, and timber products; major crops - wheat, corn, grapes, beans, sugar beets, potatoes, deciduous fruit; livestock products - beef, poultry, wool; self-sufficient in most foods; 1991 fish catch of 6.6 million metric tons; net agricultural importer

Illicit drugs: a minor transshipment country for cocaine destined for the US and Europe

Economic aid:
recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $521 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $1.6 billion; Communist countries (1970-89), $386 million

Currency: 1 Chilean peso (Ch$) = 100 centavos
Exchange rates: Chilean pesos (Ch$) per US$1 - 430.57 (January 1994), 404.35 (1993), 362.59 (1992), 349.37 (1991), 305.06 (1990), 267.16 (1989)

Fiscal year: calendar year

NOTE: The information regarding Chile on this page is re-published from the 1995 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Chile Economy 1995 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Chile Economy 1995 should be addressed to the CIA.