Culture Shock! Chile - A Survival Guide to Customs and Etiquette

232 CultureShock! Chile

Climate

Temperate; desert in north; Mediterranean in central region;

cool and damp in south

Location

Southern South America, between the South Pacific Ocean

and Argentina and bordering Peru and Bolivia to the north

Land Area

Total: 756,950 sq km (291,893 sq miles)

Land: 748,800 sq km (288.804 sq miles)

Water: 8,150 sq km (3,146.7 sq miles)

Natural Resources

Copper, timber, iron ore, nitrates, salt, zinc, precious metals,

lithium, molybdenum, hydropower

Electricity

220 volts/50 Hz (plugs have two tubular pins)

Population

16,763,470 (2008 est.)

Ethnic Groups

White and white-Amerindian 95 per cent,

Amerindian 3 per cent, other 2 per cent

Religion

Roman Catholic 70 per cent, Protestant 15 per cent, other

faiths, 6 per cent and agnostic 8 per cent (other faiths

includes, Jehovas Witnesses, Mormons, Jews, Muslims,

Orthodox and others)

Official Language

Spanish

Government

Unitarian Republic