10 Interesting Country Facts (Chile)

Chile is a long, narrow country stretching along South America’s western edge, with 4,300km of Pacific Ocean coastline. Santiago, its capital, sits in a valley surrounded by the Andes and Chilean Coast Range mountains.

Fast Facts about Chile

1.  The official name of Chile is the Republic of Chile.

2. Chile is the longest north-south trending country in the world at over 4,600 km in length, however on average it is just 150 km wide from west to east.

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3. The official language of Chile is Spanish.

4. Chile may derive its name from the indigenous Mapuche word chilli, which may mean “where the land ends.” Another meaning attributed to Chile’s name is the onomatopoeic “cheele-cheele”—the Mapuche imitation of a bird call.

5. In modern times, Chile has been struck by 28 earthquakes with a force greater than 6.9 on the Richter scale. In 1960, a powerful earthquake measuring 9.5 hit southern Chile with the epicenter at Valdivia, killing more than 1,500 people and leaving approximately 2,000 homeless. This is the biggest earthquake recorded on earth since 1900.

6. Football, or soccer, is Chile’s most popular sport.

7. Found in the north of Chile, the Atacama Desert is the driest place on Earth, with an average rainfall of less than 0.05 mm a year.

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8. Chile is one of the most stable and prosperous nations in South America.

9. The currency in Chile is the Chilean peso.

10. Chile’s national flag is similar to the state flag of Texas. It was designed by Minister Jose Ignacio Centeno after a suggestion by U.S. Envoy Joel Roberts Poinsett and came into use in 1817.