Our Market

Below provides a profile of the Chile market overall and interesting facts and information about issues important to both Santiago and Chile and foreigner executives working in Santiago Office.

You'll also find helpful links to other areas of interest.

Chile has a dynamic market-oriented economy characterized by a high level of foreign trade. Chile is one of South America's most stable and prosperous nations. Within the greater Latin American context it leads in terms of competitiveness, quality of life, political stability, globalization, economic freedom, low perception of corruption and comparatively low poverty rates. Chile ranks high regionally in freedom of the press, human development and democratic development. It holds the status as the region's richest country in terms of gross domestic product per capita (at market prices and purchasing power parity).

Geography
Chile is a long and narrow coastal Southern Cone country on the west side of the Andes Mountains. Chile stretches over 4,630 kilometers (2,880 mi) north to south, but only 430 kilometers (265 mi) at its widest point east to west. This encompasses a remarkable variety of landscapes.

The northern Atacama Desert contains great mineral wealth, primarily copper and nitrates. The relatively small Central Valley, which includes Santiago, dominates the country in terms of population and agricultural resources. This area also is the historical center from which Chile expanded in the late nineteenth century, when it integrated the northern and southern regions. Southern Chile is rich in forests, grazing lands, and features a string of volcanoes and lakes. The southern coast is a labyrinth of fjords, inlets, canals, twisting peninsulas, and islands. The Andes Mountains are located on the eastern border. Chile is the longest (N-S) country in the world (over 4,200 km (2,610 mi)), and also claims 1,250,000 km² (482,628 sq mi) of Antarctica as part of its territory. However, this latter claim is suspended under the terms of the Antarctic Treaty, of which Chile is signatory.

Total Area
756,950 km²

Population
16,598,074

Official language
Spanish

Government
Democratic Republic

Capital
Santiago

Currency
Peso (CLP)