Melipilla Province is one of six provinces

Provinces of Chile

A province is the second largest administrative division in Chile, after a region. Each region is divided into provinces. There are 54 provinces in total....

 in the Santiago Metropolitan Region

Santiago Metropolitan Region

Santiago Metropolitan Region or simply Metropolitan Region is one of Chile's 15 first order administrative divisions. It is the country's only landlocked administrative region and contains the nation's capital, Santiago...

 of central Chile

Chile

Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...

. The provincial capital is the city of Melipilla

Melipilla

Melipilla is a Chilean commune and capital city of the province of the same name, located in the Santiago Metropolitan Region southwest of the nation's capital...

.

Administration

As a province, Melipilla is a second-level administrative division of Chile, governed by a provincial governor

Governor

A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...

 who is appointed by the president

President of Chile

The President of the Republic of Chile is both the head of state and the head of government of the Republic of Chile. The President is responsible of the government and state administration...

. On March 18, 2010, Paula Andrea Gárate Rojas was appointed by governor by president Sebastian Piñera

Sebastián Piñera

Miguel Juan Sebastián Piñera Echenique is a Chilean businessman and politician. He was elected President of Chile in January 2010, taking office in March 2010.- Education :...

.

Communes

The province comprises five communes (Spanish

Spanish language

Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...

: comunas), each governed by a municipality consisting of an alcalde

Alcalde

Alcalde , or Alcalde ordinario, is the traditional Spanish municipal magistrate, who had both judicial and administrative functions. An alcalde was, in the absence of a corregidor, the presiding officer of the Castilian cabildo and judge of first instance of a town...

 and municipal council

Municipal council

A municipal council is the local government of a municipality. Specifically the term can refer to the institutions of various countries that can be translated by this term...

:

• Curacaví
  Curacaví
  Curacaví is a city and commune in the Melipilla Province of central Chile's Santiago Metropolitan Region.-Geography and climate:Immersed among the hills of the coastal mountain range, Curacaví occupies an area of and borders the following communes: Casablanca, Quilpué, Lampa, Pudahuel, Maipú,...
  
  
• María Pinto
  María Pinto
  María Pinto is a town and commune of the Melipilla Province in central Chile's Santiago Metropolitan Region.-Demographics:According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, María Pinto spans an area of and has 10,343 inhabitants . Of these, 1,654 lived in urban areas and 8,689 in...
  
  
• Melipilla
  Melipilla
  Melipilla is a Chilean commune and capital city of the province of the same name, located in the Santiago Metropolitan Region southwest of the nation's capital...
  
  
• San Pedro
  San Pedro, Chile
  San Pedro is a commune of the Melipilla Province in central Chile's Santiago Metropolitan Region.-Demographics:According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, San Pedro spans an area of and has 7,549 inhabitants , making the commune an entirely rural area...
  
  
• Alhué
  Alhué
  Alhué is a Chilean town and commune located in Melipilla Province, Santiago Metropolitan Region.-Demographics:According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, Alhué spans an area of and has 4,435 inhabitants . Of these, 2,593 lived in urban areas and 1,842 in rural areas...
  
  

Geography and demography

The province spans an area of 4065.7 sqkm, the second largest in the Santiago Metropolitan Region. According to the 2002 census, Melipilla was the fifth most populous province in the region with a total population of 141,165. At that time, there were 80,790 people living in urban area

Urban area

An urban area is characterized by higher population density and vast human features in comparison to areas surrounding it. Urban areas may be cities, towns or conurbations, but the term is not commonly extended to rural settlements such as villages and hamlets.Urban areas are created and further...

s, 60,375 living in rural areas, 71,595 men, and 69,570 women.