by Stefani Andrews

Created on: September 11, 2009

The country of Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a long ribbon-like country that occupies a total area of 292,183 square miles. In total size it is just about twice the size of the Japan but is much less densely populated with a population of just under 17 million compared to Japan's nearly 128 million. Almost half of the population live in or near the capital city of Santiago. It is both the longest and narrowest country on the planet. Northern Chile is home to the world's driest desert the Atacama. Economically the country's number one export is copper, and Chile boasts the world's largest open pit mine in Chuquicamata. Chile also claims 1,250,000 square kilometers of the coast of Antarctica, or about 9% of the continent, and even show the weather forecast for the area on their local news channels.

Unlike most other South American countries, Chile is unique in that its populace is about 95% white or Mestizo. Mestizo refers to someone who has a mixed descent from both the native Chilean people and Eurpoean white descent. However about half of the population claims to be pure native, but only about of those actually speak a native language or follow the native culture.

Chile officially declared independence from Spanish rule on February 12th, 1818. However this was not recognized until April 25th, 1844. Between that time and 1970 the country underwent many governmental systems and a lot of political unrest. Coups and war were common and it seemed that the entire system of government changed with each new leader. In 1970 Sentator Salvador Allende was elected and formed a Marxist system. This only lasted three years and in 1973 the government was overthrown and led under a dictatorial military regime until 1990 when a new freely elected president was installed into office. Since 1990 the political situation has stabilized greatly and the new economic policies have helped to secure further stability for the country of Chile. The current president Micahelle Bachelet Jeria, elected in January 2006, is the first woman president in the country's history.

Like most of the world, Chile's most popular sport is football (or soccer to the Americans and Australians). Their team has appeared in the FIFA World Cup a total of seven times and hosted the World Cup in 1962. They also brought home one silver and two bronze medals at the Pan American Games and another bronze medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics. While football is the most popular sport, tennis is the country's most successful and profitable sport. In fact a majority of the medals that Chile has won in the Olympics over the years have been in tennis.

Tourism has been on the rise in Chile in recent years. Undoubtedly one of the biggest attractions is the mysterious Easter Island. The history behind the island and its people have been stumping scientists, researchers and tourists for several generations. All that is known is that the island's inhabitants left behind stone statues known as moai. They all feature faces and are scattered around the whole of the island. They range in size from 3 to 21 meters tall, with an average weight between 10 and 20 tons. It is unknown what the statues were put in place for, who they represent, or why they were left behind.

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