Chile Flag and Facts
Hand drawn flag of Chile Picture of the flag of Chile
The meaning behind Chile’s flag
The chile flag has two equal horizontal lines of white across the top, a horizontal line across the bottom, a blue square in the top left corner and inside of the blue square is a white five-pointed star in the center. The five-pointed star represents a guide to progress and honor, the blue symbolizes the sky, white is for the snow-covered Andes mountains and the red represents the blood spilled in order to achieve Chile's independence. Another fact about the flag of Chile is that in the early 19th century when Chile started to become independent from Spain, cockades (a knot of ribbons) were worn by many patriotic Chileans in the colors blue, white, and yellow but the significance of those colors is not known. Another flag emerged when the break between Chile and Spain was made official. However, Spain defeated the rebels in 1814 and terminated use of the flag. Three years later, Jose de San Martin engaged the royalist army, what is known as the “Flag of Transition" was established and finally, on October 18,1817, the flag that we now use was established for the emerging republic.
Economy in Chile
Chile has a strong economy and the highest GDP in Latin America. Chile’s economy has been dominated by the making of copper and it accounts for 20 percent of the total government's profit. Chile's economy is based on mining, agriculture, and tourism. It's one of the most industrialized countries in Latin America. In the early 21st century Chile was one of the strongest economies in South America and it was the South American country with the largest GDP per capita. Chile's GDP per capita is 17,093.24 USD. Chile has a larger per capita than some neighboring countries such as Mexico with a GDP per capita of 13,926.11 USD and Brazil with a GDP per capita of 10,043.62 USD. Agriculture has played a role in Chile’s economy and so has the government of Chile. Chile has dozens of free trade agreements in place and it is part of the Pacific Alliance together with Peru, Colombia and Mexico. A free trade agreement can help the economy by lowering prices for consumers and creating new jobs. Chile primarily makes money through the export of minerals, particularly copper and Chile's main trading partners are: China, the United States, Japan, South Korea, and Brazil. Some of Chile’s imports include: refined petroleum, Cars, crude petroleum, Garments and trucks. Some of Chile’s exports include: copper ore, refined copper, Carbonates, Fish and raw copper. Chile has a significant income gap and is considered one of the most unequal countries in the world, with the richest 10% of the population earning significantly more than the poorest 50%, often with the top 1% controlling a large portion of the nation's money. Although Chile has a big income gap Chile has a high GDP and a very strong economy.