Divisions and Towns.—Chile contains 23 provinces and one territory, which are subdivided into 75 departments, 855 subdelegations and 3068 districts. The territory north of the Bio-Bio was originally divided into 13 provinces, besides which the Spaniards held Chiloé, Juan Fernandez and Valdivia, the latter being merely a military outpost. During the years which have elapsed since the War of Independence the territory south of the Bio-Bio has been effectively occupied and divided into six provinces, Chiloé and the neighbouring islands and mainland to the east became a province, and four provinces in the northern deserts were acquired from Bolivia and Peru. In addition to this, Chile claimed Patagonia and the adjacent islands, and has finally secured not only the forested strip of territory west of the Andes, but also a large piece of the Patagonian mainland, south of lat. 52° S., the larger part of Tierra del Fuego, and all the western islands. This extensive region, comprising an area of 71,127 sq. m., has been provisionally organized as the territory of Magallanes. For a list of provinces, their areas, reduced from official returns, their populations, and the names and populations of their capitals, see the bottom of this page.

Provinces. Area.Population.
Census 1895.		 Capitals.Population.
Census 1895. Est. 1902.
Tacna 9,251 24,160Tacna 9,418 11,504
Tarapacá 18,131 89,751Iquique 33,031 42,788
Antofagasta 46,611 44,035Antofagasta 13,530 16,084
Atacama 30,729 59,713Copiapo 9,301 8,991
Coquimbo 13,461 160,898La Serena 15,712 19,536
Aconcagua 5,487 113,165San Felipe 11,313 11,660
Valparaiso 1,953 220,756Valparaiso 122,447 142,282
Santiago 5,665 415,636Santiago 256,403 332,059
O’Higgins 2,342 85,277Rancagua 6,665 7,133
Colchagua 3,856 157,566San Fernando 7,447 8,164
Curicó 2,978 103,242Curicó 12,669 14,340
Talca 3,840 128,961Talca 33,232 42,766
Lináres 3,942 101,858Lináres 7,331 7,256
Maule 2,475 119,791Cauquenes 8,574 9,895
Nuble 3,407 152,935Chillan 28,738 36,382
Concepción 3,252 188,190Concepción 39,837 49,351
Arauco 2,458 59,237 Lebú 2,784 3,178
Bio-Bio 5,246 88,749Los Angeles 7,868 7,777
Malleco 2,973 98,032Angol 7,056 7,638
Cautin 5,832 78,221Temuco 7,078 9,699
Valdivia 8,649 60,687Valdivia 8,060 9,704
Llanquihue 45,515 78,315Puerto Montt 3,480 4,140
Chiloé 8,593 77,750Ancud 3,182 3,787
Magallanes (Ter.)
 71,127 5,170Punta Arenas 3,227 8,327
 Total, official 307,774 2,712,145
Total according to
 Gotha computation 293,062
With 10% added for
 omissions 2,983,359
Official estimate
 for 1902 3,173,783

In addition to the provincial capitals there are few towns of importance. Among these may be mentioned:—

Population. Population.
1895. Est. 1902.1895. Est. 1902.
Arica 2,853 2,824Parral 8,586 10,219
Pisagua 3,635 4,720Constitución 6,400 6,453
Taltal 5,834 6,574San Carlos 7,051 6,579
Tocopilla 3,383 4,752Coronel 4,575 5,959
Vallenar 5,052 5,199Lota 9,797 ... 
Coquimbo 7,322 8,165Talcahuano 10,431 13,499
Ovalle 5,565 5,772El Tomé 3,977 6,189
Los Andes (Santa Rosa) 5,504 6,854Arauco 3,008 3,334
Quillota 9,621 9,876Cañete 2,000 2,552
Vina del Mar 10,651 ... Mulchen 4,268 4,332
Melipilla 4,286 5,023Traiguen 5,732 7,099
Rengo 6,463 7,232Victoria 6,989 10,002
Vichuquen 826 3,714La Unión 2,830 3,908
Molina 3,609 3,222Osorno 4,667 5,888
Castro (Chiloé) 1,035 2,166

The population is not concentrated in large cities, but is well distributed through the cultivated parts of the country. The large number of small towns, important as ports, market towns, or manufacturing centres, is a natural result. Many of the foregoing towns are only villages in size, but their importance is not to be measured in this way. Arica is one of the oldest ports on the coast, and has long been a favoured port for Bolivian trade because the passes through the Cordilleras at that point are not so difficult. Moreover, the railway from Arica to La Paz will still further add to its importance, though it may not greatly increase its population. Another illustration is that of Vichuquen, province of Curicó, situated on a tide-water lake on the coast, which is the centre of a large salt-making industry. Still another instance is that of Castro, the oldest settlement and former capital of Chiloé, which after a century of decay is increasing again through the efforts to develop the industries of that island.

Communications.—Railway construction in Chile dates from 1850, when work was begun on a short line between Copiapó and the port of Caldera, in the Atacama desert region. Since then lines have been built by private companies from the coast at several points to inland mining centres. One of these, running from Antofagasta to the Caracoles district, was afterwards extended to Oruro, Bolivia, and has become a commercial route of international importance, with a total length of 574 m., 224 of which are in Chile. It should be remembered that many of these railway enterprises of the desert region originated at a time when the territory belonged to Bolivia and Peru. The first railway to be constructed in central Chile was the government line from Valparaiso to Santiago, 115 m. in length, which was opened to traffic in 1863. About the same time the government began the construction of a longitudinal trunk line running southward from Santiago midway between the Andes and the Coast range, and connecting with all the provincial capitals and prominent ports. This is the only railway “system” it is possible for Chile to have. The civil war of 1891 called attention to the need of a similar inland route through the northern provinces. A branch of the Valparaiso and Santiago line runs to Los Andes, and its extension across the Andes connects with the Argentine lines from Buenos Aires to Mendoza and the Chilean frontier—all sections together forming a transcontinental route about 850 m. in length. The Transandine section of this route crosses the Cordillera through the Uspallata pass. A further Transandine scheme provides for a line through the Pino Hachado pass (38° 30′ to 39° S.), and the Argentine Great Southern Company obtained a concession in 1909 to extend its Neuquen line to the frontier of Chile. The railways of the republic had a total mileage at the end of 1906 of 2950 m., of which 1495 m. were owned by the state, and 1455 m. belonged to private companies. The private lines are located in the northern provinces and are for the most part built and maintained for the transportation of mining products and supplies.

In addition to her railway lines Chile has about 21,000 m. of public roads of all descriptions, 135 m. of tramways, and 705 m. of navigable river channels, besides a very considerable mileage of lake and coast navigation. Telegraphic communication between all the important towns of the republic, initiated in 1855 with a line between Santiago and Valparaiso, is maintained by the state, which in 1903 owned 9306 m. of line in a total of 11,080 m. Cable communication with Europe by way of Buenos Aires was opened in 1875, and is now maintained by means of two underground cables across the Andes, 32 m. in length. A West Coast cable also connects with Europe and North American states by way of Panama. There were 15,853 m. of telephone wires in the republic in 1906, all the principal cities having an admirable service. Modern postal facilities date from 1853. The Chilean post-office is administered by a director-general at Santiago, and has a high degree of efficiency and liberality, compared with those of other South American states. The postal rates are low, and newspapers and other periodical publications circulate free, as a means of popular instruction. The postal revenues for 1904 amounted to 2,775,730 pesos and the expenditures to 2,407,753 pesos. Chile is a member of the International Postal Union, and has arrangements with the principal commercial nations for the exchange of postal money values.

The sea has been the only means of communication with distant parts of the country, and must continue to be the chief transportation route. There are said to be 56 ports on the Chilean coast, of which only 12 are prominent in foreign trade. Many of the so-called ports are only landing-places on an open coast, others are on shallow bays and obstructed river-mouths, and some are little-known harbours among the channels and islands of the south. The prosperity of Chile is intimately connected with her ocean-going trade, and no elaborate system of national railway lines and domestic manufactures can ever change this relationship. These conditions should have developed a large merchant marine, but the Chileans are not traders and are sailors only in a military sense. In 1905 their ocean-going merchant marine consisted of only 148 vessels, of which 54 were steamers of 42,873 tons net, and 94 were sailing vessels of 39,346 tons. Nineteen of the 54 steamers belonged to a subsidized national line whose West Coast service once extended to San Francisco, California, and a large part of the others belongs to a Lota coal-mining and copper-smelting company which employs them in carrying coal to the northern ports and bringing back metallic ores for smelting. The navigable rivers and inland lakes employ a number of small steamers. The foreign commerce of the republic is carried chiefly by foreign vessels, and the coasting trade is also open to them. Three or four foreign companies maintain a regular steamship service to Valparaiso and other Chilean ports. The shipping entries at all Chilean ports during the year 1904, both national and foreign, numbered 11,756, aggregating 17,723,138 tons, and the clearances 11,689, aggregating 17,370,763 tons. Very nearly one-half this tonnage was British, a little over 18% German, and about 29% Chilean.

Commerce.—In the aggregate, the commerce of Chile is large and important; in proportion to population it is exceeded among South American states only by Argentina, Uruguay and the Guianas. Unlike those states, it depends in great part on mining and its allied occupations. The values of imports and exports (including bullion, specie and re-exports) in pesos of 18d. during the five years 1901- 1905 were as follows:—

Year.Imports.
pesos.		Exports.
pesos.
1901139,300,766171,844,976
1902132,428,204185,879,965
1903149,081,524210,442,144
1904164,874,928232,493,598
1905188,596,418265,209,192