San Rafael is a
town
A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world.
Origin and use
The word "town" shares an ori ...
and
commune
A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to:
Administrative-territorial entities
* Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township
** Communes of ...
of the
Talca Province
Talca Province ( es, Provincia de Talca) is one of four provinces of the central Chilean region of Maule (VII). Its capital is the city of Talca.
Administration
As a province, Talca is a second-level administrative division of Chile, governed b ...
in the
Maule Region of
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 ...
. The town serves as the communal
capital.
Demographics
According to the 2002
census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...
of 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 ...
, San Rafael spans an area of and has 7,674 inhabitants (3,903 men and 3,771 women). Of these, 3,482 (45.4%) lived in
urban area
An urban area, built-up area or urban agglomeration is a human settlement with a high population density and infrastructure of built environment. Urban areas are created through urbanization and are categorized by urban morphology as cities ...
s and 4,192 (54.6%) in
rural area
In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry typically are descr ...
s. The population grew by 6.5% (465 persons) between the 1992 and 2002 censuses.
Administration
As a commune, San Rafael is a third-level
administrative division of Chile administered by a
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 ...
, headed by an
alcalde who is directly elected every four years. The 2008-2012 alcaldesa is CLAUDIA ALEJANDRA DIAZ BRAVO. (
UDI Udi may refer to:
Places
* Udi, Enugu, a local government areas and city in Nigeria
* Udi, a place in the Etawah district of Uttar Pradesh, India
People
* Udi Gal (born 1979), Israeli Olympic sailor
* Udi Vaks (born 1979), Israeli Olympic judoka
...
).
Within the
electoral divisions of Chile, San Rafael is represented in the
Chamber of Deputies by Pablo Lorenzini (
PDC) and Pedro Pablo Alvarez-Salamanca (UDI) as part of the 38th electoral district, together with
Curepto,
Constitución,
Empedrado,
Pencahue,
Maule,
San Clemente
San Clemente (; Spanish for " St. Clement") is a city in Orange County, California. Located in the Orange Coast region of the South Coast of California, San Clemente's population was 64,293 in at the 2020 census. Situated roughly midway between ...
,
Pelarco and
Río Claro. The commune is represented in the
Senate by Juan Antonio Coloma Correa (UDI) and
Andrés Zaldívar Larraín (PDC) as part of the 10th senatorial constituency (Maule-North).
References
External links
*
Municipality of San Rafael
{{Authority control
Populated places in Talca Province
Communes of Chile