Chile

Santiago serves as the political, cultural and economic heart of Chile, positioned in South America. As the seat of government and often the most populous city, it concentrates the country's main institutions, universities and cultural landmarks. Beyond the capital, major cities include Valparaíso, Concepción, Antofagasta — each a hub of regional culture, economy and history. Santiago occupies a valley between the Andes and the coastal range, giving residents a view of snow-capped 6,000-metre peaks visible on clear days from city streets — though the smog that traps in the same geographical bowl means clear days are rarer than the spectacular view deserves.

With a population of approximately 19.2M, Chile is a vibrant society with a rich mix of traditions and communities. The official language is Spanish, which reflects the country's cultural heritage and connects it with a wide international community. Internationally, Chile is reached via the dialling code +56. Chilean society carries the deep mark of the 1973 Pinochet coup and subsequent 17-year dictatorship — a period that produced some of Latin America's most powerful literature (Isabel Allende, Roberto Bolaño) and the Arpilleras, embroidered cloths made by women to document human rights abuses that the regime tried to suppress.

Chile spans 756,102 km², in the South America subregion of Americas. Geographically centred around 30.0°S, 71.0°W, the country offers a diverse range of landscapes shaped by its location, climate and geology. Road traffic follows the right-hand rule, in line with surrounding Americas convention.

The official currency is the Chilean peso ($), used for everyday transactions and commerce throughout the country. Chile's economy is shaped by its geography, natural resources and trade relationships. Business and daily life operate under UTC-06:00, aligning the country with its regional neighbours.

The emblematic dish of Chile is Cazuela. Chilean seafood is among the world's finest, with locos (giant abalone), piure (sea squirt), and congrio (cusk eel) representing a Pacific coastline where cold Humboldt Current waters produce extraordinary cold-water shellfish — a culinary heritage that Nobel laureate Pablo Neruda celebrated in his Odes to Common Things.

Football holds a special place in the heart of Chile's national identity. Football is Chile's primary passion, but the country's cycling culture, skiing infrastructure, and tennis tradition give it unusual sporting range — the national team's 2015 and 2016 Copa América victories under manager Jorge Sampaoli remain the most celebrated moments in a history haunted by the memory of hosting the 1962 World Cup in national poverty.

The highest point in Chile is Ojos del Salado, rising to 6,893 metres above sea level. The Atacama Desert in northern Chile is the world's driest non-polar desert, where some weather stations have never recorded rainfall and the landscape of salt flats, geysers, and flamingo-filled lagoons at 4,500 metres resembles another planet — a comparison made literal by NASA which uses the Atacama to test Mars rovers.