A commune ( es, comuna, ) is the smallest administrative subdivision in
Chile. It may contain
cities,
towns,
villages,
hamlets as well as
rural areas. In highly populated areas, such as
Santiago,
Valparaíso and
Concepción, a conurbation may be broken into several communes. In sparsely populated areas, conversely, a commune may cover a substantial rural area together with several settled areas which could range from hamlets to towns or cities.
The term "commune" is ambiguous in English, but the word is commonly used in translation for "comuna", although with some controversy among translators. A comuna is similar to a "county" in Anglo-American usage and practice, and may be more universally understood as a "municipality".
Each commune or municipality is governed by a
directly elected
Direct election is a system of choosing political officeholders in which the voters directly cast ballots for the persons or political party that they desire to see elected. The method by which the winner or winners of a direct election are cho ...
body known as a municipal council (''concejo municipal'') consisting of a mayor (''alcalde'') and a group of councillors (''concejales''), for a period of four years. The communal civil service administration is known as the
municipality (''
municipalidad'') and is headquartered at the mayor's office (''alcaldía''). According to Chilean law, a single municipality may administer one or more communes, though currently, the only such case is the municipality of
Cabo de Hornos
Cape Horn ( es, Cabo de Hornos, ) is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island. Although not the most southerly point of South America (which are the Diego Ramírez ...
, which administers the communes of
Antártica and
Cabo de Hornos
Cape Horn ( es, Cabo de Hornos, ) is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island. Although not the most southerly point of South America (which are the Diego Ramírez ...
.
Law 19,726
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Chile's 346 communes are grouped into 56 provinces (''provincia'', pl. ''provincias''), which are themselves grouped into 16 regions (''región'', pl. ''regiones'').
List of communes by region and province
Traditionally, Chilean regions are listed in geographical order starting with the northernmost region, leaving the Santiago Metropolitan Region at the end. The following table lists all Chilean communes, providing a complete list of administrative divisions at all levels. Each commune's municipality website is given along with the area and population from the National Statistics Institute National Institute of Statistics may refer to:
*National Institute of Statistics of Bolivia
*National Institute of Statistics of Cambodia
*National Institute of Statistics and Census of Costa Rica
*National Institute of Statistics and Census of Nica ...
's most recent census conducted in 2002.
See also
*Administrative divisions of Chile
The administrative division or territorial organization of Chile exemplifies characteristics of a unitary state. State administration is functionally and geographically decentralized, as appropriate for each authority in accordance with the law.
...
*Regions of Chile
Chile is divided into 16 regions (in Spanish, ''regiones''; singular ''región''), which are the country's first-level administrative division. Each region is headed by an intendant (''intendente)'', appointed by the President of Chile, and a di ...
* Provinces of Chile
* List of towns in Chile
*List of cities in Chile
This is a list of cities in Chile.
A city is defined by Chile's National Statistics Institute (INE) as an "urban entity"An "urban entity" is defined by Chile's National Statistics Institute as a concentrated group of dwellings with over 2,000 ...
References
External links
Municipalities in Chile
directory of official links for each municipality
{{DEFAULTSORT:Communes Of Chile
Subdivisions of Chile
Communes
Communes, Chile