Chile (/ˈtʃɪli/ ( listen), /ˈtʃɪleɪ/;[8] Spanish: [ˈtʃile]),[nb 2] officially the Republic of Chile (Spanish: 

República de Chile (help·info)), is a country in western South America. It occupies a long, narrow strip

of land between the Andes to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Chile covers an area of
756,096 square kilometres (291,930 sq mi) and has a population of 17.5 million as of 2017.[4] The
capital and largest city is Santiago and the national language is Spanish.
Chile borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake
Passage in the far south. Chilean territory includes the Pacific islands of Juan Fernández, Salas y
Gómez, Desventuradas, and Easter Island in Oceania. Chile also claims about 1,250,000 square
kilometres (480,000 sq mi) of Antarctica under the Chilean Antarctic Territory.[nb 3]
Spain conquered and colonized the region in the mid-16th century, replacing Inca rule, but failing to
conquer the independent Mapuche who inhabited what is now south-central Chile. After declaring
independence from Spain in 1818, Chile emerged in the 1830s as a relatively stable authoritarian
republic. In the 19th century, Chile saw significant economic and territorial growth, ending Mapuche
resistance in the 1880s and gaining its current northern territory in the War of the Pacific (1879–83)
after defeating Peru and Bolivia. In the 1960s and 1970s, the country experienced severe left-
right political polarization and turmoil. This development culminated with the 1973 Chilean coup
d'état that overthrew Salvador Allende's democratically elected left-wing government and instituted a
16-year right-wing military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet that left more than 3,000 people dead or
missing.[9] The regime ended in 1990 after a referendum in 1988 and was succeeded by a center-left
coalition which ruled until 2010.
Chile is a high-income economy with high living standards.[9][10] It is among South America's most
economically and socially stable and prosperous nations and it leads Latin American nations in
rankings of competitiveness, income per capita, globalization, state of peace, economic freedom,
and low perception of corruption.[11] It also ranks high regionally in sustainability of the state, and
democratic development.[12] Currently it also has the lowest homicide rate in the Americas after
Canada. Chile is a founding member of the United Nations, the Union of South American
Nations (UNASUR), the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) and
the Pacific Alliance, and joined the OECD in 2010.