Chile
Santiago · South America
Chile is a country in South America. Its capital city is Santiago, the official currency is the Chilean Peso, and the main language is Spanish.
With a population of roughly 19.6 million people spread over 756,102 km², Chile is the 64th most populous country in the world and the 37th largest by area. That works out at about 26 people per square kilometre.
Chile shares land borders with Peru, Bolivia and Argentina — 3 neighbours in all. Its largest urban centres are Santiago, Valparaíso and Concepción. The highest point in the country is Ojos del Salado, at 6,893 metres.
For scale, it covers almost exactly the same area as Zambia, while its population is closest to that of Kazakhstan.
- Capital
- Santiago
- Region
- South America
- Population
- 19,600,000
- Area
- 756,102 km²
- Currency
- Chilean Peso
- Main language
- Spanish
- Highest point
- Ojos del Salado
6,893 m - Land borders
- 3
Chile: things worth knowing
- Chile runs over 4,300 kilometres north to south but averages under 180 kilometres wide.
- The Atacama Desert is the driest non-polar place on Earth, with some weather stations never recording rain.
- Ojos del Salado is the highest active volcano in the world.
Chile in context
South America has 12 sovereign countries in total. Chile ranks 6th among them by population.
See the full list of South America countries, or browse all 195 countries.