Introduction
Can your imagination run wild well then why don’t you imagine a long and
thin slice of California with a patch of the Sahara desert glued onto the north.
Then we can think about Carving some of New Zealand's fjords and British Columbia's
lush green forests and lakes into the south. Press all of this against a spine
of tall rough and tough, rugged mountains. After we let our imagination run
wild then this would be Chile, which has some of the worlds most varied and
dramatic landscapes which tourist love to enjoy and cherish as memories.
Business and Economy
Chile has a market-oriented economy characterized by a high level of foreign
trade. During the early 1990s, Chile's reputation as a role model for economic
reform was strengthened when the democratic government of Patricio AYLWIN -
which took over from the military in 1990 - deepened the economic reform initiated
by the military government. Growth in real GDP averaged 8% during 1991-97, but
fell to half that level in 1998 because of tight monetary policies implemented
to keep the current account deficit in check and because of lower export earnings
- the latter a product of the global financial crisis.
Major Cities
The major cities in this country are Santiago,Antofagasta,Puente Alto,San Viña
del Mar,Bernardo,Talcahuano,Temuco,Valparaíso.
Fact Sheet
GDP-purchasing power parity - $154.6 billion (2003 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 3.2% (2003 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $9,900 (2003 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 6.4%
industry: 38.8%
services: 54.8% (2003 est.)
Population below poverty line: 20.6% (2000 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 3.7%
highest 10%: 41% (2000)
Distribution of family income - Gini index: 56.7 (2000)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 1.1% (2003 est.)
Labor force: 5.68 million (2000 est.)
Labor force - by occupation: agriculture 13.6%, industry 23.4%, services
63% (2003 est.)
Unemployment rate: 8.5% (2003 est.)
Budget:
revenues: $14.7 billion
expenditures: $15.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2003 est.)
Industries: copper, other minerals, foodstuffs, fish processing, iron
and steel, wood and wood products, transport equipment, cement, textiles
Agriculture - products: grapes, apples, pears, onions, wheat, corn, oats,
peaches, garlic, asparagus, beans, beef, poultry, wool; fish; timber
Exports: $20.44 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.)
Exports - commodities: copper, fish, fruits, paper and pulp, chemicals,
wine
Exports - partners: US 19.1%, Japan 10.5%, China 6.7%, Mexico 5%, Italy
4.7%, UK 4.4% (2002)
Imports: $17.4 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.)
Imports - commodities: consumer goods, chemicals, motor vehicles, fuels,
electrical machinery, heavy industrial machinery, food
Imports - partners: Argentina 18%, US 14.9%, Brazil 9.5%, China 6.5%,
Germany 4.3% (2002)
Debt - external: $42.5 billion (2003)
Economic aid - recipient: ODA, $40 million (2001 est.)
Currency: Chilean peso (CLP)
Currency code: CLP
Exchange rates: Chilean pesos per US dollar - 691.43 (2003), 688.94 (2002),
634.94 (2001), 535.47 (2000), 508.78 (1999)
Fiscal year: calendar year
