智利(Chile)
南美洲西南部国家，北与秘鲁和玻利维亚接壤，东和阿根廷有很长的交界线，西濒太平洋。面积共756,630平方公里。人口约15,402,000（2001）。首都︰圣地牙哥。从种族上说，智利人是欧洲人和美洲印第安人的混血种。当地的部族和来自西班牙的征服者在16和17世纪开始通婚，18世纪移入巴斯克人。语言︰西班牙语（官方语）。宗教︰天主教。货币︰智利披索。智利主要是个狭长国家，介於东部的安地斯山脉和西部的太平洋之间。从北到南长约4,265公里，最宽处仅356公里。北部有一个乾旱高原、阿塔卡马沙漠和一些超过1,900公尺的高山，但大部分的高峰是位於与玻利维亚、阿根廷的边界上。河流（包括比奥比奥河）短小。境内有许多湖泊，如延基韦湖。南端海岸布满许多小海湾、岛屿和岛群。火地岛西半部和合恩岛属於智利，胡安.费尔南德斯群岛和复活岛也属智利。智利已部分发展出自由市场经济，以采矿业和制造业为主。政府形式为多党制共和国，两院制。国家元首暨政府首脑是总统。
原始住民是印第安部族阿劳坎人。15世纪时印加帝国征服智利北部。1536～1537年西班牙人开始入侵。1541年开始在圣地牙哥殖民，後来受秘鲁总督辖区统治，1778年成为单独的总督区。1810年开始出现反抗西班牙的独立运动，但一直到1818年才获独立。1833年制定中央集权的宪法，政府朝向保守作风。1836～1839年与秘鲁－玻利维亚邦联发生战争。1866年加入与西班牙的战争。1879～1884年参与太平洋战争对抗秘鲁和玻利维亚，赢得玻利维亚沿海丰富的硝酸盐矿产，并占领塔克纳和阿里卡到1929年，这两个地方一直是智利与秘鲁争端所在。1891年政府的行政与立法部门发生冲突，导致短暂的内战，後来按议会规则来解决，削弱总统权力。与阿根廷的边界纠纷在1902年底定。第一次世界大战时保持中立，但因贸易关系而金融大受影响。1925年采用新宪法。第二次世界大战期间，1943年与轴心国关系恶劣，1945年对日宣战。1960年代制订了一个「智利化」的企业国有改革计画。接下来举行全国大选，马克思主义者阿连德於1970年当选总统。由於经济混乱，1973年皮诺契特发动军事政变，阿连德遇刺身亡。皮诺契特的军事会议统治该国多年，严厉镇压所有反对势力。1988年举行全民公投，结果人民不接受皮诺契特的政权。1989年大选结果恢复了文人政府。
English version：
Chile
Country, southwestern South America, bounded by Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, the Drake Passage, and the Pacific Ocean. Area: 292,257 sq mi (756,946 sq km). Population (1997 est.): 14,583,000. Capital: Santiago. The indigenous peoples before Spanish colonization included the Diaguita, Picunche, Mapuche, Araucanian, Huilliche, Pehunche, and Cunco Indians. Spanish colonists arrived during the 16th-17th century, followed by Basques in the 18th century. A relatively homogeneous, primarily mestizo population has developed. Language: Spanish (official). Religion: Roman Catholicism. Currency: Chilean peso. Chile is a long narrow country lying between the Andes and the Pacific Ocean. From north to south, it is 2,650 mi (4,265 km) long, and nowhere more than 221 mi (356 km) wide. The north has an arid plateau, the Atacama Desert, and contains several peaks above 1,900 ft (5,790 m), but most of the highest peaks are on the boundaries with Bolivia and Argentina. Its rivers, including the Bío-Bío, are limited in size. There are many lakes, including the Llanquihue. The extreme southern coast is marked by many inlets, islands, and archipelagos; the western half of Tierra del Fuego and the island on which Cape Horn is located are Chilean, as are small islets of Juan Fernández and Easter Island. Chile has a partially developed free-market economy based mainly on mining and manufacturing. It is a republic with two legislative houses; its head of state and government is the president. Originally inhabited by native peoples, including the Mapuche, the area was invaded by the Spanish in 1536. A settlement begun at Santiago in 1541 was governed under the viceroyalty of Peru, but became a separate captaincy general in 1778. It revolted against Spanish rule in 1810; its independence was finally assured by the victory of Jose de San Martin in 1818, and the area was then governed by Bernardo O'Higgins to 1823. In the War of the Pacific against Peru and Bolivia, it won the rich nitrate fields on the coast of Bolivia, effectively forcing that country into a landlocked position. Chile remained neutral in World War I; it entered World War II on the side of the Axis, but severed ties with them in 1943. In 1970 Salvador Allende was elected president, becoming the first avowed Marxist to be elected chief of state in Latin America. Following economic upheaval, he was ousted in 1973 in a coup led by Augusto Pinochet, whose military junta for many years harshly suppressed all internal opposition. A national referendum in 1988 rejected Pinochet, and elections held in 1989 returned the country to civilian rule.