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Chile Demographic Analysis

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Overall, living conditions in Chile have improved tremendously over recent years. However, it is still working to improve the living standards of its people. According to the OECD Better Life Index, “Chile performs well in only a few measures of well-being and ranks low in a large number of topics relative to other countries in the Better Life Index.” (OECD, 2014) However, one of the largest concerns in this area is the large disparity between the wealthy and very poor.
Diet and nutrition
Meat and vegetable consumption rates
Following is an interesting pie chart indicating the percentage of caloric intake in a typical Chilean’s diet (Stuart, 2010).

Typical meals
The typical Chilean meal includes, bread, beans, meat and possibly fish. …show more content…

(World Vision Australia, 2009)
Many families are relocating to urban areas and is beginning to cause an issue of overcrowding. Many of the very poor relocating to the cities are living in tin shacks and lack adequate access to water. (World Vision Australia, 2009)
Do most people live in one family dwellings or with other families?
Large families have, traditionally, been fairly common in Chile. Family is very important, with extended families gathering on Sunday afternoons for dinner, or more often with the urbanization of their society, on feast days or holidays. It is becoming more common for the elderly to live with their grown children, who hire maids or helpers to care for them. (Chilean People, 2009)
Clothing
National dress
In today’s Chile, traditional dress is uncommon. Only in central Chile among the Machupe people and in the mountains is it common to see traditional clothing. For men, a chamanto which is similar to a poncho is the traditional garment. The chamanto has two sides. One of the sides in dark and the other light. The dark side is worn during the day and the light side is worn at night. Women’s traditional costume includes a pollera skirt, which is a long, flowing and very colorful worn at the waist with many underskirts. Additionally blouses with large ruffles …show more content…

Spurs, boots, hats and riding pants with tailored shirts are more commonly worn. (The Lovely Planet, 2014)
Types of clothing worn at work
Chileans in the city typically wear very similar clothing to those found in any other large metropolitan area. Depending upon their line of work, clothing would vary from suits and ties in the corporate arena, to riding pants and knee high boots for ranch hands.

Recreation, sports and other leisure activities
Chileans love for sports is centuries old and can be traced to a traditional game called, “palin” by the Mapuche. It is similar to hockey and is still played in Chile as well as supported by the Chilean government. Chile was the “only Latin American nation at the first Olympic Games held in Athens in 1896” (Sports in Chile, 2011) and has a tradition of participating and sponsoring rodeos, which happen to be extremely popular.

The Chileans love soccer or football which was begun in Chile by English immigrants in 1909. (Sports in Chile, 2011) “La Roja” or “the reds” is the name for the Chilean national football team who are followed with such attention that they attract larger crowds than Brazil and Argentina to their qualifying

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