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South America, bordering South Pacific Ocean.
Figures unless otherwise stated are from the CIA Factbook.
Estimated per capita GDP:
2007 $14,400 (ranks 77th)
GDP annual growth rate estimated for 2007: 5.2 percent. (Ranks 101st)
Factbook (2005): "GDP growth benefited from high copper prices, solid export earnings (particularly forestry, fishing, and mining), and stepped-up foreign direct investment.... 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.
Deaths: 5.87. Births: 15.05, down from 15.44 in 2005
Estimated for July 2007: 16.3 million, down from 16.0 million in 2005.
For 2007: infant deaths before the age of one per 1,000 live births: 8.34, down from 8.8 in 2005.
Average life expectancy estimated for 2007: 76.96, up from 76.58 in 2005.
Living with HIV/AIDS, ages 15 to 49: 0.3 percent (2003)
On March 12, Michelle Bachelet was inaugurated president. She belongs to the center-left coalition that has been in power since the end of military rule in 1990. The transfer of power from Ricardo Lago was with hugs and cheering for Lagos. Her rule appears to be a triumph over the hatred that reigned during the military rule, which left over 3,000 Chileans dead, including her father, an airforce general had opposed the military coup. Michelle Bachelet was one of those tortured during the dictatorship. Bachelet has been a successful advocate of reconciliation among Chileans. She spoke of a Chile united, with respect for Chile's military institutions, for businessmen, with equal opportunity and concern for the well-being of all. Nobody, she said, would be "left dangling" in indifference.
SOURCES:
http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/
Copyright © 2008 by Frank E. Smitha. All rights reserved.