Climate: temperate; desert in north; cool and damp in south
Terrain: low coastal mountains; fertile central valley; rugged
Andes in east
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Cerro Aconcagua 6,962 m
Natural resources: copper, timber, iron ore, nitrates, precious
metals, molybdenum
Land use:
arable land: 7%
permanent crops: 0%
meadows and pastures: 16%
forest and woodland: 21%
other: 56%
Irrigated land: 12,650 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment:
current issues: air pollution from industrial and vehicle emissions;
water pollution from raw sewage; deforestation contributing to loss
of biodiversity; soil erosion; desertification
natural hazards: severe earthquakes; active volcanism; tsunamis
international agreements: party to - Antarctic-Environmental
Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered
Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine
Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution,
Wetlands; signed, but not ratified - Desertification, Law of the Sea
Geographic note: strategic location relative to sea lanes between
Atlantic and Pacific Oceans (Strait of Magellan, Beagle Channel,
Drake Passage); Atacama Desert is one of world's driest regions
People ———
Population: 14,333,258 (July 1996 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 29% (male 2,071,816; female 2,041,417)
15-64 years: 65% (male 4,599,173; female 4,651,030)
65 years and over: 6% (male 403,019; female 566,803) (July 1996 est.)