Antofagasta is the capital of Antofagasta Province and Antofagasta Region.
The city has an average elevation of 40 m or 131 ft, above sea level.
Antofagasta is twinned with the following sister cities: Ambato, Tungurahua, Ecuador; Split, Split-Dalmatia, Croatia; Tongling, Anhui, China and Volos, Thessaly, Greece.
Antofagasta was one of the host cities of the official 1959 Basketball World Cup, where Chile won the bronze medal.
The Antofagasta Region is one of Chile’s 16 administrative regions. It serves as the political and administrative centre of the region.
The La Portada Natural Monument is among the 15 natural monuments encompassed within Chile’s protected wilderness areas.
This city is considered the most expensive to live in Chile, next to Santiago and Punta Arenas.
Antofagasta’s economic development is mainly based on copper mining and nonmetallic minerals such as nitrate and iodine.
After the Spanish-American wars of independence, Bolivia claimed Antofagasta as part of its territory. Antofagasta was captured by Chile on February 14, 1879, triggering the War of the Pacific. Chilean sovereignty was officially recognised by Bolivia under the terms of the 1904 Treaty of Peace and Friendship.
Antofagasta has the highest GDP per capita of Chile, US$37,000 and 3rd place in the Human Development Index just after Metropolitana de Santiago Region and Magallanes and Antártica Chilena Region.
The football club Deportes Antofagasta is part of the Chilean First Division A and plays its home matches at Antofagasta Regional Stadium.
Antofagasta was settled on the 22nd of October 1868.
“Puerto Mayor” status signified that Antofagasta was the primary and most significant port for Bolivia’s international trade.
The city is a major mining hub in Chile, particularly for copper and other minerals. The region is home to numerous mining operations and plays a crucial role in the country’s mining industry, which is one of the largest in the world.
The University of Antofagasta is one of the region’s key educational institutions, contributing to research and education.
In Chile, Antofagasta is renowned for its historical and economic significance.
The Mano del Desierto is a large-scale sculpture of a hand located in the Atacama Desert in Chile, about 60 km to the south and east of the city of Antofagasta, on the Panamerican Highway.
The Antofagasta province borders the El Loa and Tocopilla provinces to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the west.
The first official map of the population and the port of Antofagasta was designed by Jose Santos Prada on 14 September 1869.
Since the 2010s, Antofagasta has become a pivotal service hub for the lithium mining industry.
