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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...

 is divided into 15 region

Region

Region is most commonly found as a term used in terrestrial and astrophysics sciences also an area, notably among the different sub-disciplines of geography, studied by regional geographers. Regions consist of subregions that contain clusters of like areas that are distinctive by their uniformity...

s (in 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...

, regiones; singular región), which are the country's first-level administrative division. Each region is headed by an intendant

Intendant

The title of intendant has been used in several countries through history. Traditionally, it refers to the holder of a public administrative office...

 (intendente), 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...

, and an indirectly-elected body known as regional board (consejo regional).

Regions are divided into province

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....

s (second-level administrative division), each headed by a governor (gobernador), appointed by the President. There are 54 provinces, in total. Provinces are further divided into communes (third and lowest level administrative division), which are governed by municipalities

Municipality

A municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...

.

Naming

Each region is given a Roman numeral, followed by a name (e.g. IV Región de Coquimbo, read as "fourth region of Coquimbo" in Spanish). When the regional structure was created, Roman numerals were assigned in ascending order from north to south, with the northernmost region designated as I (first) and the southernmost region as XII (twelfth). 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...

, located in the center of the country and home to the country's capital Santiago

Santiago, Chile

Santiago , also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile, and the center of its largest conurbation . It is located in the country's central valley, at an elevation of above mean sea level...

, was excluded from this naming scheme and given instead the initials RM, standing for Región Metropolitana ("Metropolitan Region" in Spanish). With the creation of regions XIV in the south and XV in the north (XIII is not used) in 2007, the north-south Roman numeral order was broken.

History of the regional structure

The current administrative divisions of Chile were created in 1974 and limited to 13 regions (this limitation was eliminated in 2005 via a constitutional reform). Previously, Chile was divided into 25 provinces, which were further divided into departments, and then into communes. The new territorial organization was implemented in phases with some initial "pilot regions" beginning to operate in 1974, extending the process on January 1, 1976 to the rest of the country. The Santiago Metropolitan Region began to operate in April 1980.

In December 2006 two new regions were created: the northern Arica and Parinacota Region, by taking out the two northernmost provinces from the Tarapacá Region

Tarapacá Region

The I Tarapacá Region is one of Chile's 15 first order administrative divisions. It borders the Chilean Arica and Parinacota Region to the north, Bolivia's Oruro Department on the east, the Antofagasta Region on the south and the Pacific Ocean on the west. The port city of Iquique The I Tarapacá...

; and Los Ríos Region

Los Ríos Region

The XIV Los Ríos Region is one of Chile's 15 first order administrative divisions. Its capital is Valdivia. Pop. 356,396 . It began to operate as region on October 2, 2007. It was created by subdividing the Los Lagos Region in southern Chile...

 in the south, encompassing the province of Valdivia

Valdivia Province

Valdivia Province is one of two provinces of the southern Chilean region of Los Ríos . The provincial capital is Valdivia. Located in the province are two important rivers, the Calle-Calle / Valdivia River and the Cruces River.It is part of Northern Patagonia and its wild virgin forest embrace the...

, formerly part of the Los Lagos Region

Los Lagos Region

Los Lagos Region is one of Chile's 15 regions, which are first order administrative divisions, and comprises four provinces: Chiloé, Llanquihue, Osorno and Palena. The region contains the country's second largest island, Chiloé, and the second largest lake, Llanquihue.Its capital is Puerto Montt;...

. Both regions became operative in October 2007.

List of regions

Key	Name (English English language English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria... /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... )	Capital	Area (km2)	Population
XV	Arica and Parinacota Región de Arica y Parinacota	Arica Arica, Chile Arica is a commune and a port city with a population of 185,269 in the Arica Province of northern Chile's Arica and Parinacota Region, located only south of the border with Peru. The city is the capital of both the Arica Province and the Arica and Parinacota Region...	16,898.6	189,644
I	Tarapacá Tarapacá Region The I Tarapacá Region is one of Chile's 15 first order administrative divisions. It borders the Chilean Arica and Parinacota Region to the north, Bolivia's Oruro Department on the east, the Antofagasta Region on the south and the Pacific Ocean on the west. The port city of Iquique The I Tarapacá... Región de Tarapacá	Iquique Iquique Iquique is a port city and commune in northern Chile, capital of both the Iquique Province and Tarapacá Region. It lies on the Pacific coast, west of the Atacama Desert and the Pampa del Tamarugal. It had a population of 216,419 as of the 2002 census...	41,799.5	238,950
II	Antofagasta Antofagasta Region The II Antofagasta Region is one of Chile's fifteen first-order administrative divisions. It comprises three provinces, Antofagasta, El Loa and Tocopilla... Región de Antofagasta	Antofagasta Antofagasta Antofagasta is a port city in northern Chile, about north of Santiago. It is the capital of Antofagasta Province and Antofagasta Region. According to the 2002 census, the city has a population of 296,905...	126,049.1	493,984
III	Atacama Atacama Region The Atacama Region is one of Chile's 15 first order administrative divisions. It comprises three provinces, Chañaral, Copiapó and Huasco. It is bordered to the north by Antofagasta, to the south by Coquimbo, to east with Provinces of Catamarca, La Rioja and San Juan of Argentina, and to west with... Región de Atacama	Copiapó Copiapó Copiapó is a city in northern Chile, located about 40 miles east of the coastal town of Caldera. Founded on December 8, 1744, it is the capital of Copiapó Province and Atacama Region....	75,176.2	254,336
IV	Coquimbo Coquimbo Region The IV Coquimbo Region is one of Chile's 15 first order administrative divisions. It is some 400 km north of the capital, Santiago.The capital and largest city is La Serena, other important cities include the seaport Coquimbo and the agricultural centre... Región de Coquimbo	La Serena	40,579.9	603,210
V	Valparaíso Valparaíso Region The V Valparaíso Region is one of Chile's 15 first order administrative divisions.Valparaíso Region, 2006 With the country's third highest population of 1,539,852 million in 2002 and third smallest area of , the region is Chile's second most densely populated after the Santiago Metropolitan Region... Región de Valparaíso	Valparaíso Valparaíso Valparaíso is a city and commune of Chile, center of its third largest conurbation and one of the country's most important seaports and an increasing cultural center in the Southwest Pacific hemisphere. The city is the capital of the Valparaíso Province and the Valparaíso Region...	16,396.1	1,539,852
VI	O'Higgins O'Higgins Region The VI O'Higgins Region is one of Chile's 15 first order administrative divisions. It is subdivided into three provinces. It is named in honour of Bernardo O'Higgins Riquelme, one of Chile's founding fathers.... Región del Libertador General Bernardo O'Higgins	Rancagua Rancagua Rancagua is a city and commune in central Chile, part of the Rancagua conurbation. It is the capital of the Cachapoal Province and of the O'Higgins Region, located south of the national capital of Santiago. It had a 2002 population of 214,344...	16,387	780,627
VII	Maule Maule Region The VII Maule Region is one of Chile's 15 first order administrative divisions. Its capital is Talca. The region takes its name from the Maule River which, running westward from the Andes, bisects the region and spans a basin of about 20,600 km2... Región del Maule	Talca Talca Talca is a city and commune in Chile located about south of Santiago, and is the capital of both Talca Province and Maule Region . As of the 2002 census, the city had a population of 193,755....	30,296.1	908,097
VIII	Biobío Región del Biobío	Concepción Concepción, Chile Concepción is a city in Chile, capital of Concepción Province and of the Biobío Region or Region VIII. Greater Concepción is the second-largest conurbation in the country, with 889,725 inhabitants...	37,062.6	1,861,562
IX	Araucanía Araucanía Region The IX Araucanía Region is one of Chile's 15 first order administrative divisions and comprises two provinces: Malleco in the north and Cautín in the south.... Región de la Araucanía	Temuco Temuco Temuco is a city and commune, capital of the Cautín Province and of the Araucanía Region in southern Chile. The name comes from the Mapudungun language, meaning "temu water"; "temu" is a tree used by Mapuches for medicinal purposes. The city is located 670 km south of Santiago...	31,842.3	869,535
XIV	Los Ríos Los Ríos Region The XIV Los Ríos Region is one of Chile's 15 first order administrative divisions. Its capital is Valdivia. Pop. 356,396 . It began to operate as region on October 2, 2007. It was created by subdividing the Los Lagos Region in southern Chile... Región de Los Ríos	Valdivia Valdivia, Chile Valdivia is a city and commune in southern Chile administered by the Municipality of Valdivia. The city is named after its founder Pedro de Valdivia and is located at the confluence of the Calle-Calle, Valdivia and Cau-Cau Rivers, approximately east of the coastal towns of Corral and Niebla...	18,429.5	356,396
X	Los Lagos Los Lagos Region Los Lagos Region is one of Chile's 15 regions, which are first order administrative divisions, and comprises four provinces: Chiloé, Llanquihue, Osorno and Palena. The region contains the country's second largest island, Chiloé, and the second largest lake, Llanquihue.Its capital is Puerto Montt;... Región de Los Lagos	Puerto Montt Puerto Montt Puerto Montt is a port city and commune in southern Chile, located at the northern end of the Reloncaví Sound in the Llanquihue Province, Los Lagos Region. The commune spans an area of and had a population of 175,938 in 2002. It is located 1,055 km to the south of the capital, Santiago...	48,584.5	716,739
XI	Aisén Región Aisén del General Carlos Ibáñez del Campo	Coihaique	108,494.4	91,492
XII	Magallanes and Antártica Chilena Región de Magallanes y de la Antártica Chilena	Punta Arenas	132,297.2	150,826
RM	Santiago Metropolitan 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... Región Metropolitana de Santiago	Santiago Santiago, Chile Santiago , also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile, and the center of its largest conurbation . It is located in the country's central valley, at an elevation of above mean sea level...	15,403.2	6,061,185

Note: Populations are from the 2002 Census.