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" (Central Santiago) in order to differentiate it from Greater Santiago, a larger entity which includes Santiago Commune along with other 36 communes.
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.[7]
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.[4] In 2002, there were 17,514 households,[1] each with an average income of $38,648 in PPPUS dollars in 2006.[citation needed]
The commune is subdivided into 29 census districts.
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