In Aymara, the traditional indigenous language of the peoples of the Altiplano, Chile is known as 'donde acaba la tierra' - translated as 'where ends the earth'. Indeed Chile is often described as located at the edge of the world, the Andes mountain range running the full length of the country and disappearing into the oceans at the southern limits of the landmass, blocking off a continental coastal fringe of over 4,000 km.

According to the 2002 Census, the human population is over 15 million. The population has becoe increasing urbanised over the last fifty years, as more and more people flock to the major cities, espcially Santiago, the capital, in search of employment and higher standards of living.

Chile's economy is orientated to exportation, approximately composed by 45% industrial goods, another 45% of it in mining, and the remaining 10% in agricultural products. Inside the industrial sector the most important industries are the export of cellulose products, wood, methanol, and agricultural products like dairy and fishing. Forest-based industries, furniture, salmon farming and wine - renowned around the world - have acquired great importance in the last decade. Within the mining sector, copper is of particular note, representing a significant proportion of the world's production, and making the Chilean economy suseptable to fluctuations in global demand and price.