Chile is a country in South America, with about 19.9 million people (2025) and an area of 757,245 square kilometres. Its capital is Santiago, and it shares land borders with 3 countries.
By Team Geography·Last reviewed
Flag of ChileChile in solid, land neighbours outlined, capital marked.
The app teaches each country through short hand written lenses: PLACE for physical geography, STORY for history and identity, NOW for the news, and THREAD for the ties between countries. Here is one of Chile's 5, in full.
PLACELens 1 of 5
Chile is 4,300 km long and barely 180 km wide
Chile stretches from the Atacama Desert, the driest place on Earth, to the glaciers of Patagonia, squeezed between the Andes and the Pacific. It is longer than the distance from Lisbon to Moscow but averages only 180 km wide. That shape gives Chile almost every climate zone and makes internal cohesion a geographic challenge: the north mines copper, the center grows wine, and the south raises salmon in fjords.
More on Atacama Desert
Parts of the Atacama have never recorded rainfall. Its extreme dryness makes it ideal for astronomical observatories; Chile hosts more than half of the world's telescope infrastructure.
4 more lenses on Chile in the app
STORY Chile's transition from dictatorship to democracy became a model
NOW Chile is nationalizing its lithium to control the energy transition's key mineral
NOW Chile's constitutional saga ended without a new constitution
THREAD Chile faces the Pacific and trades more with Asia than its own continent
Titles only. The app brings each lens back on a spaced repetition schedule set by how well you knew it: New, Hazy or Clear.
Compare Chile with another country
Opens the country comparison tool with population, area, income and more side by side, every figure dated.
Common questions
What is the capital of Chile?
The capital of Chile is Santiago. Santiago lies at about 33.4 degrees south and 70.7 degrees west. Chile is in South America. It is home to about 19.9 million people. The world capitals quiz on this site tests every capital, and the printable capitals sheets cover each continent.
What is the population of Chile?
About 19.9 million people live in Chile, according to the World Bank figures for 2025. That makes it the 65th most populous of the 195 countries. With an area of 757,245 square kilometres, that is about 26 people per square kilometre.
What countries border Chile?
Chile shares land borders with 3 countries: Argentina, Bolivia and Peru. The map on this page outlines each of them around Chile. The count includes only borders on land, not neighbours across a sea or a lake. Borders here follow Natural Earth at the 1:50 million scale, with Crimea shown as part of Ukraine and Western Sahara as a separate territory.
How big is Chile?
Chile covers 757,245 square kilometres, or about 292,374 square miles. That makes it the 37th largest of the 195 countries. The figure is total surface area, which includes inland water such as lakes and rivers. Its population of about 19.9 million gives a density of 26 people per square kilometre.
Chile is a country in South America, with about 19.9 million people (2025) and an area of 757,245 square kilometres. Its capital is Santiago, and it shares land borders with 3 countries.
Capital
Santiago
Continent
South America
Population
19,859,921 2025, World Bank. 65th of 195.
Area
757,245 km² (292,374 sq mi) World Bank, surface area. 37th largest of 195.
Population density
26 people per km²
Land neighbours
3: Argentina, Bolivia, Peru
Official name
Republic of Chile
UN status
Member state
PLACE · from the Geography app
Chile is 4,300 km long and barely 180 km wide
Chile stretches from the Atacama Desert, the driest place on Earth, to the glaciers of Patagonia, squeezed between the Andes and the Pacific. It is longer than the distance from Lisbon to Moscow but averages only 180 km wide. That shape gives Chile almost every climate zone and makes internal cohesion a geographic challenge: the north mines copper, the center grows wine, and the south raises salmon in fjords.
Keep going on your iPhone. Scan for Geography: the world, one country at a time, about five minutes a day. No quizzes and no streaks. playgeography.app/countries/chile/ · Map data: Natural Earth. Figures: World Bank and national sources, as listed on the page.
Geography · Country report
Chile
NameDate
Draw the flag
Colour Chile on the map, then fill in what you find.
Capital
Continent
Population
Area
Languages
Currency
Neighbours
Landmarks
Rivers or mountains
Three things I learned
1
2
3
One question I still have
?
Keep going on your iPhone. Scan for Geography: the world, one country at a time, about five minutes a day. No quizzes and no streaks. playgeography.app/countries/chile/ · Map data: Natural Earth. Figures: World Bank and national sources, as listed on the page.
