Chile's relationship with copper is a notable example of Latin America's commodity-driven economies. For several decades, Chile's copper mines have been the primary drivers of economic growth. The metal makes up 20 percent of the government's revenue, and copper and copper products made up 52 percent of the country's exports in 2013. Chile is the top producer of copper in the world, yielding more than 30 percent of global output with 5.7 million metric tons per year. Chile's Dependence on Copper The country's copper boom came about during the wider Latin American commodities boom of the mid-2000s. Increased East Asian demand for commodities such as oil, iron ore, copper and soybeans spurred significant growth across Latin America's economies. Steady Chinese demand also enabled countries that would otherwise be vulnerable to global slowdowns in economic growth to ride out the economic recession in 2008 and 2009.