A short country profile for science and technology

1. News

2. General Background

3. The National S&T System
. National policies for science, technology and innovation
. The Universities are a cornerstone of the S&T system
. Science and Technology (S&T) and Research and Development (R&D)
. Other actors in the scientific landscape

4. The Science and Technology Cooperation Agreement

5. S&T Cooperation Roadmap: 2010-2011  226 KB

6. Scientific and technological cooperation – some results

7. Other resources and web links

2. General Background

Chile has a population of an estimated 16.8 million (2008, about the size of the Netherlands). Some 85% are urban. Life expectancy at birth is about 78.5 years. Chile has one of the lowest infant mortality rates in Latin America (8.37 / 1000 live births).

Adult literacy rate (15 years and older) reached 96.5% in 2007 and combined primary, secondary and tertiary enrolment rate was 82.5%. Females rank almost as high as males. Chile is 44th out of 182 ranked countries in terms of human development (2007).

GDP (purchasing power parity) was estimated at US$ 242.2 billion (2009). Per capita GDP in 2007 was US$ 13,888. It ranks 44 among 182 countries for which a multidimensional human development/poverty index (UNDP, 2009).

Chile derives close to 6% of its GDP from agriculture, about 35% from industry and 52% from services. Total foreign direct investment (FDI) was $16.8 billion in 2009. A large % of FDI continues to go to four main sectors: electricity, gas, water and mining.

For more info, see Country Strategy Paper.

In May 2010 Chile became a full member of the OECD. For more information click here.