conventional long form: Republic of Chile
conventional short form: Chile
local long form: Republica de Chile
local short form: Chile
etymology: derivation of the name is unclear, but it may come from the Mapuche word "chilli" meaning "limit of the earth" or from the Quechua "chiri" meaning "cold"
presidential republic
name: Santiago; note - Valparaiso is the seat of the national legislature
geographic coordinates: 33 27 S, 70 40 W
time difference: UTC-3 (2 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
daylight saving time: +1hr, begins second Sunday in August; ends second Sunday in May; note - Punta Arenas observes DST throughout the year
note: Chile has three time zones: the continental portion at UTC-3; the southern Magallanes region, which does not use daylight savings time and remains at UTC-3 for the summer months; and Easter Island at UTC-5
etymology: Santiago is named after the biblical figure Saint James (ca. A.D. 3-44), patron saint of Spain, but especially revered in Galicia; "Santiago" derives from the local Galician evolution of the Vulgar Latin "Sanctu Iacobu"; Valparaiso derives from the Spanish "Valle Paraiso" meaning "Paradise Valley"
16 regions (regiones, singular - region); Aysen, Antofagasta, Araucania, Arica y Parinacota, Atacama, Biobio, Coquimbo, Libertador General Bernardo O'Higgins, Los Lagos, Los Rios, Magallanes y de la Antartica Chilena (Magallanes and Chilean Antarctica), Maule, Nuble, Region Metropolitana (Santiago), Tarapaca, Valparaiso
note: the US does not recognize any claims to Antarctica
18 September 1810 (from Spain)
Independence Day, 18 September (1810)
history: many previous; latest adopted 11 September 1980, effective 11 March 1981; a referendum held in late October 2020 approved forming a convention to draft a new constitution
amendments: proposed by members of either house of the National Congress or by the president of the republic; passage requires at least three-fifths majority vote of the membership in both houses and approval by the president; passage of amendments to constitutional articles, such as the republican form of government, basic rights and freedoms, the Constitutional Tribunal, electoral justice, the Council of National Security, or the constitutional amendment process, requires at least two-third majority vote by both houses of Congress and approval by the president; the president can opt to hold a referendum when Congress and the president disagree on an amendment; amended many times, last in 2020
civil law system influenced by several West European civil legal systems; judicial review of legislative acts by the Constitutional Tribunal
has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICCt jurisdiction
citizenship by birth: yes
citizenship by descent only: yes
dual citizenship recognized: yes
residency requirement for naturalization: 5 years
18 years of age; universal
chief of state: President Sebastian PINERA Echenique (since 11 March 2018); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Sebastian PINERA Echenique (since 11 March 2018)
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president
elections/appointments: president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a single 4-year term; election last held on 19 November 2017 with a runoff held 17 December 2017 (next to be held on 21 November 2021 with runoff if need on 19 December)
election results:
2017: Sebastian PINERA Echenique elected president in second round; percent of vote in first round - Sebastian PINERA Echenique (independent) 36.6%; Alejandro GUILLIER (independent) 22.7%; Beatriz SANCHEZ (independent) 20.3%; Jose Antonio KAST (independent) 7.9%; Carolina GOIC (PDC) 5.9%; Marco ENRIQUEZ-OMINAMI (PRO) 5.7%; other 0.9%; percent of vote in second round - Sebastian PINERA Echenique 54.6%, Alejandro GUILLIER 45.4%
2013: Michelle BACHELET Jeria elected president in runoff; percent of vote - Michelle BACHELET Jeria (PS/New Majority) 62.2%; Evelyn Rose MATTHEI Fornet (UDI/Let's Go Chile Coalition) 37.8%
description: bicameral National Congress or Congreso Nacional consists of:
Senate or Senado (43 seats; increases to 50 for 2021 election); members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by open party-list proportional representation vote to serve 8-year terms with one-half of the membership renewed every 4 years)
Chamber of Deputies or Camara de Diputados (155 seats; members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by open party-list proportional representation vote to serve 4-year terms)
elections:
Senate - last held on 19 November 2017 (next to be held on 21 November 2021)
Chamber of Deputies - last held on 19 November 2017 (next to be held on 21 November 2021)
election results:
Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - New Majority Coalition (formerly known as Concertacion) 19 (PDC 6, PS 6, PPD 6, MAS 1), Let's Go Chile Coalition (formerly known as the Coalition for Change and the Alianza coalition) 15 (RN 6, UDI 8, Amplitude Party 1), independent 4; composition - men 33, women 10, percent of women 23.3%
Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - New Majority 68 (PDC 21, PS 16, PPD 14, PC 6, PRSD 6, Citizen Left 1, independent 4), Coalition for Change 47 (UDI 29, RN 14, independent 3, EP 1), Liberal Party 1, independent 4; composition -men 120, women 35, percent of women 22.6%; note - total National Congress percent of women 22.7%
highest courts: Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (consists of a court president and 20 members or ministros); Constitutional Court (consists of 10 members); Elections Qualifying Court (consists of 5 members)
judge selection and term of office: Supreme Court president and judges (ministers) appointed by the president of the republic and ratified by the Senate from lists of candidates provided by the court itself; judges appointed for life with mandatory retirement at age 70; Constitutional Court members appointed - 3 by the Supreme Court, 3 by the president of the republic, 2 by the Chamber of Deputies, and 2 by the Senate; members serve 9-year terms with partial membership replacement every 3 years (the court reviews constitutionality of legislation); Elections Qualifying Court members appointed by lottery - 1 by the former president or vice president of the Senate and 1 by the former president or vice president of the Chamber of Deputies, 2 by the Supreme Court, and 1 by the Appellate Court of Valparaiso; members appointed for 4-year terms
subordinate courts: Courts of Appeal; oral criminal tribunals; military tribunals; local police courts; specialized tribunals and courts in matters such as family, labor, customs, taxes, and electoral affairs
Amplitude (Amplitud) [Lily PEREZ]
Broad Front Coalition (Frente Amplio) or FA (includes RD, PL, PH, PEV, Igualdad, and Poder) [Beatriz SANCHEZ]
Broad Social Movement of Leftist Citizens (includes former MAS and Izquierda Ciudadana) [Fernando ZAMORANO]
Christian Democratic Party or PDC [Fuad CHAHIN]
Citizen Power (Poder) [Karina OLIVA]
Communist Party of Chile or PC [Guillermo TEILLIER del Valle]
Democratic Revolution or RD [Rodrigo ECHECOPAR]
Equality Party (Igualdad) [Guillermo GONZALEZ]
Green Ecological Party or PEV [Felix GONZALEZ]
Humanist Party or PH [Octavio GONZALEZ]
Independent Democratic Union or UDI [Jacqueline VAN RYSSELBERGHE Herrera])
Independent Regionalist Democratic Party or PRI [Hugo ORTIZ de Filippi]
Let’s Go Chile Coalition (Chile Vamos) [Sebastian PINERA] (includes EVOPOLI, PRI, RN, UDI)
Liberal Party (Partido Liberal de Chile) or PL [Luis Felipe RAMOS]
National Renewal or RN [Mario DESBORDES]
New Majority Coalition (Nueva Mayoria) [Michelle BACHELET] (includes PDC, PC, PPD, PRSD, PS); note - dissolved in March 2018
Party for Democracy or PPD [Heraldo MUNOZ]
Political Evolution or EVOPOLI [Hernan LARRAIN MATTE]
Progressive Party or PRO [Camilo LAGOS]
Radical Social Democratic Party or PRSD [Carlos MALDONADO Curti],
Socialist Party or PS [Alvaro ELIZALDE Soto] (formerly known as Concertacion)
APEC, BIS, CAN (associate), CD, CELAC, FAO, G-15, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), LAES, LAIA, Mercosur (associate), MIGA, MINUSTAH, NAM, OAS, OECD (enhanced engagement), OPANAL, OPCW, Pacific Alliance, PCA, SICA (observer), UN, UNASUR, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNMOGIP, UNTSO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
chief of mission: Ambassador Oscar Alfonso Sebastian SILVA Navarro (since 17 September 2018)
chancery: 1732 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036
telephone: [1] (202) 785-1746
FAX: [1] (202) 887-5579
consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco
chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Richard H. GLENN (since August 2020)
telephone: [56] (2) 2330-3000
embassy: Avenida Andres Bello 2800, Las Condes, Santiago
mailing address: APO AA 34033
FAX: [56] (2) 2330-3710, 2330-3160
two equal horizontal bands of white (top) and red; a blue square the same height as the white band at the hoist-side end of the white band; the square bears a white five-pointed star in the center representing a guide to progress and honor; blue symbolizes the sky, white is for the snow-covered Andes, and red represents the blood spilled to achieve independence
note: design influenced by the US flag
huemul (mountain deer), Andean condor; national colors: red, white, blue
name: "Himno Nacional de Chile" (National Anthem of Chile)
lyrics/music: Eusebio LILLO Robles and Bernardo DE VERA y Pintado/Ramon CARNICER y Battle
note: music adopted 1828, original lyrics adopted 1818, adapted lyrics adopted 1847; under Augusto PINOCHET's military rule, a verse glorifying the army was added; however, as a protest, some citizens refused to sing this verse; it was removed when democracy was restored in 1990
NOTE: The information regarding Chile on this page is re-published from the 2021 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Chile 2021 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Chile 2021 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.
This page was last modified 16 Dec 23, Copyright © 2023 ITA all rights reserved.