Peñalolén is a 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...

an commune in Santiago Province, 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...

. It was founded on November 15, 1984.

Demographics

According to the 2002 census

Census

A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...

 of the National Statistics Institute

National Statistics Institute (Chile)

The National Statistics Institute of Chile is a state-run organization of the Government of Chile, created in the second half of the 19th century and tasked with performing a general census of population and housing, then collecting, producing and publishing official demographic statistics of...

, Peñalolén spans an area of 54.2 sqkm and has 216,060 inhabitants (105,528 men and 110,532 women), making the commune an entirely 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...

. The population grew by 20.2% (36,279 persons) between the 1992 and 2002 censuses.

Stats

• Area: 54.2 km²
• Population: 238,177 (2006 projection)
• Average annual household income: US$23,856 (PPP
  Purchasing power parity
  In economics, purchasing power parity is a condition between countries where an amount of money has the same purchasing power in different countries. The prices of the goods between the countries would only reflect the exchange rates...
  
  , 2006)
• Population below poverty line: 8.7% (2006)
• Regional quality of life index: 74.35, medium, 26 out of 52 (2005)
• Human Development Index
  Human Development Index
  The Human Development Index is a composite statistic used to rank countries by level of "human development" and separate "very high human development", "high human development", "medium human development", and "low human development" countries...
  
  : 0.743, 52 out of 341 (2003)

Administration

As a commune, Peñalolén is a third-level administrative division of Chile administered by a 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...

, headed by 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...

 who is directly elected every four years. The 2008-2012 alcalde is Claudio Orrego Larraín (PDC

Christian Democratic Party

Christian democratic parties are those political parties that seek to apply Christian principles to public policy. The underlying Christian democracy movement emerged in 19th-century Europe, largely under the influence of Catholic social teaching, and it continues to be influential in Europe and...

).

Mayors

Since 1984, Peñalolén has had five mayors:

• María Angélica Cristi (1984–1989, appointed by Pinochet)
• Carlos Alarcón (1989–1993, appointed by Aylwin)
• Carlos Echeverría (1993–1996)
• Carlos Alarcón (1997–2004)
• Claudio Orrego (2004-present)

Within the electoral divisions of Chile, Peñalolén is represented in the Chamber of Deputies

Chamber of Deputies of Chile

The Chamber of Deputies of the Republic of Chile is the lower house of Chile's bicameral Congress. Its organisation and its powers and duties are defined in articles 42 to 59 of Chile's current constitution....

 by Enrique Accorsi (PPD

Party for Democracy

The Party for Democracy is a political party in Chile; it is social democratic in its political orientation. It was founded in December 1987 by Ricardo Lagos, who aimed at forming a legal social democratic party . The party continued to function after the defeat of Pinochet...

) and María Angélica Cristi (UDI) as part of the 24th electoral district, (together with La Reina

La Reina

La Reina is a commune of Chile located in Santiago Province, Santiago Metropolitan Region. It was created in 1963 from an eastern portion of the Ñuñoa commune...

). The commune is represented in the Senate

Senate of Chile

The Senate of the Republic of Chile is the upper house of Chile's bicameral National Congress, as established in the current Constitution of Chile.-Composition:...

 by Soledad Alvear

Soledad Alvear

María Soledad Alvear Valenzuela , is a Chilean lawyer and Christian Democrat politician, who was a cabinet member of the Aylwin, Frei and Lagos administrations. She was president of the Christian Democrat Party from 2006-2008...

 (PDC) and Pablo Longueira

Pablo Longueira

Juan Pablo Longueira Montes in a Chilean right-wing politician, industrial civil engineer and Independent Democrat Union senator . He was previously a deputy . He launched his candidacy for president of Chile on March 30, 2007, but canceled it on May 3, 2007.-External links:* *...

 (UDI) as part of the 8th senatorial constituency (Santiago-East).

Universities

• Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez
• Universidad Internacional SEK Chile

External links

Municipality of Peñalolén