A province is the second largest administrative division in

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

with 56 in total. The largest administrative division in Chile is that of a

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics ( physical geography), human impact characteristics ( human geography), and the interaction of humanity an ...

with 16 in total. Each provincial presidential delegation (''delegación presidencial provincial'') is headed by a provincial presidential delegate (''delegado presidencial provincial'') appointed by the President. The governor exercises their powers in accordance with instructions from the regional presidential delegate (''delegado presidencial regional''). The provincial delegate is advised by the Provincial Economic and Social Council (''Consejo Económico y Social Provincial'' or CESPRO). No provincial presidential delegations exist in those provinces where the regional capital is located; its functions were merged with those of the regional presidential delegate. The country's provinces are further divided into 346

communes An intentional community is a voluntary residential community which is designed to have a high degree of social cohesion and teamwork from the start. The members of an intentional community typically hold a common social, political, relig ...

which are administered by an alcalde and

municipal council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...

. Until 1976, a province was the main administrative division in Chile, with 25 provinces: Aconcagua, Aysén (since 1929), Antofagasta, Arauco, Atacama, Biobío, Cautín, Chiloé, Colchagua, Concepción, Coquimbo, Curicó, Linares, Llanquihue, Magallanes (since 1929), Malleco, Maule, Ñuble, O'Higgins, Osorno (since 1940), Santiago, Talca, Tarapacá, Valdivia, and Valparaíso. Despite being claimed by Chile, Antártica Chilena is not generally recognized as part of Chile due to being located in Antarctica.

List of provinces

The following table gives each province, its capital, surface area and 2002 population according to the National Statistics Institute.

References

External links

Decreto Ley 2.868
* {{Spanish terms for country subdivisions

Provinces A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

Provinces, Chile Subdivisions of Chile

List of provinces

See also

References

External links