Names:
conventional long form: Republic of Chile
conventional short form: Chile
local long form: Republica de Chile
local short form: Chile
Digraph: CI
Type: republic
Capital: Santiago
Administrative divisions: 13 regions (regiones, singular - region);
Aisen del General Carlos Ibanez del Campo, Antofagasta, Araucania,
Atacama, Bio-Bio, Coquimbo, Libertador General Bernardo O'Higgins, Los
Lagos, Magallanes y de la Antartica Chilena, Maule, Region
Metropolitana, Tarapaca, Valparaiso
note: the US does not recognize claims to Antarctica
Independence: 18 September 1810 (from Spain)
National holiday: Independence Day, 18 September (1810)
Constitution: 11 September 1980, effective 11 March 1981; amended 30
July 1989
Legal system: based on Code of 1857 derived from Spanish law and subsequent codes influenced by French and Austrian law; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal and compulsory