CHILE Country Profile Chile Country Profile Politics Economy Trade & Industries General Profile Total area 756,102 sq km Population 17,067,369 (July 2012 est.) Government type republic Chief of state President Sebastian PINERA Echenique President Sebastian PINERA Echenique (since 11 March Head of government 2010) Capital Santiago temperate; desert in north; Mediterranean in central Climate region; cool and damp in south Language Spanish (official), Mapudungun, German, English SANTIAGO (capital) 5.883 million; Valparaiso 865,000 Major City (2009) Economy Profile 2009 2010 2011 World GDP Growth -5% 9% - CHILE GDP Growth -1.5% (2009 est.) 5.1% (2010 est.) 6.5% (2011 est.) GDP $243 billion (2011 est.) GDP – Per capita $16,100 (2011 est.) agriculture: 5.1%; industry: 41.8%; services: 53.1% (2010 GDP – Composition by sector est.) Inflation 3.3% (2011 est.) Exchanges Rates 470.9 (2011 est.) Agriculture; Salmon; Forestry; Mining; Services; Finances; Primary Economy Sector Tourism General Profile General Unemployment Rate 6.9% (2011 est.) Chapter: Chapter: 1 Coronel, Huasco, Lirquen, Puerto Ventanas, San Antonio, San Vicente, Valparaiso Ports and Terminals Antofagasta-Cerro Moreno Airport; Arica-Chacalluta Airport; Concepcion Airport; Puerto Montt-El Tepual Airport; ARTURO International Airports MERINO BENÍTEZ INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - CPD 9 (PDC 4, PPD 3, PS 2), APC 9 (RN 6, UDI 3); Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - APC 58 (UDI 37, RN 18, other 3), CPD 57 (PDC 19, PPD 18, PS 11, PRSD 5, PC 3, other 1), PRI 3, independent 2; note - as of 1 February 2012, the composition of Election results the entire legislature is as follows: Senate - seats by party - CPD 19 (PDC 9, PPD 4, PS 5, PRSD 1), APC 16 (RN 8, UDI 8), independent 2, MAS 1; Chamber of Deputies - seats by party - APC 57 (UDI 39, RN 18), CPD 53 (PDC 19, PPD 18, PS 11, PRSD 5), independent 5, PC 3, PRI 2 Min. of Agriculture : Luis MAYOL Min. of Communications & the Press : Andres CHADWICK Min. for the Economy, Development, & Reconstruction : Juan Pablo LONGUEIRA Min. of Education : Harald BEYER Min. of Energy : Jorge BUNSTER Min. for the Environment : Maria Ignacia BENITEZ Pereira Min. of Finance: Felipe LARRAIN Bascunan Min. of Foreign Affairs : Alfredo MORENO Charme Min. of Health : Jaime MANALICH Muxi Min. of Housing & Urban Development : Rodrigo PEREZ Mackenna Min. of Interior & Public Security : Rodrigo HINZPETER Kirberg Ministry Name Min. of Justice : Teodoro RIBERA Min. of Labor & Social Security : Evelyn MATTHEI Fornet Min. of Mining : Hernan DE SOLMINIHAC Tampier Min. of the National Council for Culture & the Arts : Luciano CRUZ-COKE Carvallo Min. of National Defense : Andres ALLAMAND Zavala Min. of National Patrimony : Catalina PAROT Donoso Min. of the National Service for Women : Carolina SCHMIDT Zaldivar Min. of Planning & Cooperation : Joaquin LAVIN Infante Min. of Policy Coordination : Cristian LARROULET Vignau Min. of Public Works : Laurence GOLBORNE Riveros Min. of Transport & Telecommunications : Pedro Pablo ERRAZURIZ Dominguez Broad Social Movement or MAS; Clean Chile Vote Happy or CLVF (including Broad Social Movement, Country Force, and Regionalist Political parties and Party of Independents or PRI); Coalition for Change or CC (formerly leaders known as the Alliance for Chile (Alianza) or APC) (including Terminals Ports and National Renewal or RN [Carlos LARRAIN Pena], Independent Democratic Union or UDI [Juan Antonio COLOMA Correa], and Chapter: Chapter: 2 Chile First [Vlado MIROSEVIC]); Coalition of Parties for Democracy (Concertacion) or CPD (including Christian Democratic Party or PDC [Ignacio WALKER], Party for Democracy or PPD [Carolina TOHA Morales], Radical Social Democratic Party or PRSD [Jose Antonio GOMEZ Urrutia], and Socialist Party or PS [Osvaldo ANDRADE]); Partido Ecologista del Sur; Together We Can Do More (including Communist Party or PC [Guillermo TEILLIER del Valle], and Humanist Party or PH [Danilo MONTEVERDE]) Political parties and leaders and parties Political Chapter: Chapter: 3 Chile has a market-oriented economy characterized by a high level of foreign trade and a reputation for strong financial institutions and sound policy that have given it the strongest sovereign bond rating in South America. Exports account for more than one-third of GDP, with commodities making up some three-quarters of total exports. Copper alone provides one-third of government revenue. During the early 1990s, Chile's reputation as a role model for economic reform was strengthened when the democratic government of Patricio AYLWIN - which took over from the military in 1990 - deepened the economic reform initiated by the military government. Since 1999, growth has averaged 4% per year. Chile deepened its longstanding commitment to trade liberalization with the signing of a free trade agreement with the US, which took effect on 1 January 2004. Chile claims to have more bilateral or regional trade agreements than any other country. It has 59 such agreements (not all of them full free trade agreements), including with the European Union, Mercosur, China, India, South Korea, and Mexico. Over the past seven years, foreign direct investment inflows have quadrupled to some $15 billion in 2010, but foreign direct investment had dropped to about $7 billion in 2009 in the CHILE Economy face of diminished investment throughout the world. The Chilean Characteristics government conducts a rule-based countercyclical fiscal policy, accumulating surpluses in sovereign wealth funds during periods of high copper prices and economic growth, and allowing deficit spending only during periods of low copper prices and growth. As of November 2011, those sovereign wealth funds - kept mostly outside the country and separate from Central Bank reserves - amounted to more than $18 billion. Chile used this fund to finance fiscal stimulus packages during the 2009 economic downturn. In December 2009, the OECD invited Chile to become a full member, after a two year period of compliance with organization mandates, and in May 2010 Chile signed the OECD Convention, becoming the first South American country to join the OECD. The economy started to show signs of a rebound in the fourth quarter of 2009, and GDP grew 5.1% in 2010 and 6.5% in 2011. Chile achieved this growth despite the 8.8 magnitude earthquake that struck in February 2010, which was one of the top 10 strongest earthquakes on record. The earthquake and subsequent tsunamis it generated caused considerable damage near the epicenter, located about 70 miles from Concepcion - and about 200 miles southwest of Santiago. Chile’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) left its benchmark policy rate (TPM unchanged on Thursday evening for a third straight month at a broadly neutral 5.25 per cent. In a statement accompanying the decision, the MPC said that "any Bank and Moneter Policy future changes in the policy rate will depend on the implications of the domestic and external conditions for the inflation outlook." CHILE Economy Characteristics Economy CHILE Chile now has the third-highest benchmark rate in Latin America, after Brazil and Argentina. Brazil earlier this month unexpectedly Chapter: Chapter: 4 cut rates by 50 basis points after five increases, in response to a deterioration of the global economy. In contrast, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) raised interest rates on Friday for the 12th time in 18 months, and said it would stick to its anti-inflationary stance despite slowing growth.2 CHILE Potential copper, fish, fruits, paper and pulp, chemicals Trade Opportunities Mining industry; Energy supply; Financial services; Construction; Education and training copper, timber, iron ore, nitrates, precious metals, molybdenum, Main Industry hydropower Falabella, Cencosud, Antarchile, BCI-Banco Credito, Empresas Biggest Company CMPC, SQM, CAP CHILE Potential CHILE Chapter: Chapter: 5 .