Country Chile Province Santiago Elevation 579 m (1,900 ft) Area 22.4 km² | Region Santiago Metro. Established February 12, 1541 Time zone CLT (UTC-4) Local time Wednesday 2:28 AM | |
Weather 16°C, Wind S at 11 km/h, 64% Humidity Colleges and Universities University of Chile, Pontifical Catholic University, IP Duoc UC, University of Santiago, Diego Portales University | ||
The Commune of Santiago is the central commune of the Santiago Province, located at the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Region in Chile's Central Zone. Locally, Santiago is usually abbreviated Stgo. It is also called as "Santiago Centro" (Downtown Santiago) in order to differentiate it from Greater Santiago, a larger entity which includes Santiago Commune along with other 36 communes.
Contents
Map of Santiago, Santiago Metropolitan Region, Chile
History
The city of Santiago was founded on February 12, 1541 as "Santiago de la Nueva Extremadura" by Pedro de Valdivia. It is officially the provincial, regional and national capital. It encompasses the oldest part of the city —that enclosed by old rail lines—, including downtown, and houses all major government infrastructure, including the government palace La Moneda.
Demographics
According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, the commune has an area of 22.4 km2 (9 sq mi) and a population of 200,792 (99,155 men and 101,637 women), giving it a population density of 8,963.9/km2 (23,216/sq mi). The population shrank by 13.1% (30,185 persons) in the ten years since the 1992 population of 230,977. In 2002, there were 17,514 households, each with an average income of $28,648 in PPP US dollars in 2006.
The commune is subdivided into 29 census districts.
Administration
As a commune, Santiago is a third-level administrative division of Chile administered by a municipal council, headed by an mayor who is directly elected every four years. Since 2012 the mayoress is Carolina Tohá Morales (PPD). The communal council has the following members:
Within the electoral divisions of Chile, Santiago is represented in the Chamber of Deputies by Alberto Cardemil (RN) and Felipe Harboe (PPD) as part of the 22nd electoral district, (together with ). The commune is represented in the Senate by Guido Girardi Lavín (PPD) and Jovino Novoa Vásquez (UDI) as part of the 7th senatorial constituency (Santiago-West).