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The Biobío Region ( ) is one of
Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...
's sixteen
regions In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...
(first-order
administrative division Administrative divisions (also administrative units, administrative regions, subnational entities, or constituent states, as well as many similar generic terms) are geographical areas into which a particular independent sovereign state is divi ...
s). With a population of 1.5 million, thus being the third most populated region in Chile, it is divided into three provinces: Arauco, Biobío and Concepción. The latter contains its capital and largest city, Concepción, a major city and metro area in the country. Los Ángeles, capital of the Biobío Province, is another important city in the region.


Geography

The Region of the Biobío is bordered on the west by the
Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...
, on the east by
Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...
, on the north by the Chilean Ñuble Region, and on the south by the
Araucanía Region The Araucanía ( ), La Araucanía Region ( ) is one of Chile's 16 first-order administrative divisions, and comprises two provinces: Malleco in the north and Cautín in the south. Its capital and largest city is Temuco; other important cities ...
. The Region has been hit by many Chilean earthquakes, including the most powerful earthquake ever recorded (in 1960) and the great earthquake of 2010. Many communities in the region were greatly affected by the earthquake of 2010 and the subsequent
tsunami A tsunami ( ; from , ) is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and underwater explosions (including detonations, ...
. That earthquake damaged
Talcahuano Talcahuano () (From Mapudungun ''Tralkawenu'', "Thundering Sky") is a port city and commune in the Biobío Region of Chile. It is part of the Greater Concepción conurbation. Talcahuano is located in the south of the Central Zone of Chile. ...
and Dichato; the tsunami destroyed much of what remained of the port town.


History


Historic regions

This is an inland valley between the cities of Concepción and Los Angeles, and it felt the greatest impact of the earthquake of 27 February 2010. The Department of Rere was a vital settlement area of Chileans and the three-hundred-year struggle (until the 1870s) to defeat the strong indigenous tribe of the
Mapuche The Mapuche ( , ) also known as Araucanians are a group of Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous inhabitants of south-central Chile and southwestern Argentina, including parts of Patagonia. The collective term refers to a wide-ranging e ...
s. Chilean settlers of Spanish California from the present Region of the Bio Bío (especially from Concepción, Talcahuano, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, and the Department of Rere) may have played a part in the establishment of
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
and the rest of
southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural List of regions of California, region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its densely populated coastal reg ...
in the period between 1775 and 1820. Thousands of Chilean miners, ranchers, and shopkeepers from the Biobío Region are thought to have settled the coasts, mountains, and valleys of what became American California, both before and after the
Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War (Spanish language, Spanish: ''guerra de Estados Unidos-México, guerra mexicano-estadounidense''), also known in the United States as the Mexican War, and in Mexico as the United States intervention in Mexico, ...
, and to have helped create the cities of
San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
, San Jose, Santa Barbara, and
San Diego, California San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...
.


Demographics and cities

According to data from the 2017 census, the Region of the Biobío, with 2,018,803 inhabitants, is the second most populous region of Chile, after the Metropolitan Region of Santiago. In connection with the 1992 census, reflecting a total population of 1,734,305 inhabitants, there was a population growth of 7.3% in 10 years (1992–2002), the second lowest nationally, after the Region Magallanes and Chilean Antarctica. Taking into account their 37062.6 km ² in area, was in 2002, a density of 50.23 inhabitants per km2, the third highest nationally. The 2002 census showed an urban population of 1,528,306 inhabitants, corresponding to 82.1% of regional population and a rural population of 333,256 inhabitants, equivalent to 17.9% of the population of the region. Of the 1,861,562 inhabitants of the region of Biobío in 2002, 915,200 (49.16%) were men and 946,362 (50.84%) were women. The metropolitan area of Concepción is one of the most populated conurbations in the country with a population of 979,937 inhabitants, corresponding to the sum of the population of the ten districts of Greater Concepción: Concepción (216,061 inhabitants) Talcahuano (250,348), Hualpén (88,046), San Pedro de la Paz (80,447) Chiguayante (81,302) Colonel (95,528) Lota (49,089) Penco (46,016) Tomé (52,440) and Hualqui (20,660). Another of the most populated cities in the region are Chillán, with 165,528 inhabitants, is the tenth most populous urban area in the country, and is a conurbation with a portion of its population living in urban areas of the town of Chillán (146,701 inhabitants), and another that lives in the urban area of the town of Chillán Viejo (21,827 inhabitants), and Los Angeles, with its 166,556 inhabitants, is the eighteenth most populous urban area in the country. With regard to the Province of Biobío, in addition to Los Angeles, other major cities are: Mulchén with 21,819 inhabitants, Birth to 20,884 inhabitants, the conurbation La Laja-San Rosendo, with a total population of 19,537 inhabitants, with 11,947 inhabitants in Cabrero. With regard to the Province of Arauco, the most populated cities are: Curanilahue with 30,126 inhabitants, Lebu, the provincial capital, with 20,838 inhabitants, with 19,839 inhabitants Canete, Arauco with 16,291 inhabitants, and Los Alamos with 13,035 inhabitants. With regard to membership or Indigenous Native Peoples, 52,918 people declared in the census of 2002 as
Mapuche The Mapuche ( , ) also known as Araucanians are a group of Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous inhabitants of south-central Chile and southwestern Argentina, including parts of Patagonia. The collective term refers to a wide-ranging e ...
. This is 2.84% of the regional population and used the relationship Paternal = Female: Amerindian to determine the racial classification of persons identified as Mapuche.


Communes

The communes of the Biobío Region are:


Ethnography

Along with Araucania, Ñuble, Maule and O'Higgins regions, Biobío's population is believed to be a remarkably homogeneous culture, but is of various ethnic and racial backgrounds. About 70% of inhabitants are of European origin, primarily of Spanish, German, French and other European communities. The mestizos make up 27% of the population and are the result of mixing between Europeans and Amerindians, while Amerindian population is 3%, mainly Mapuche. There is a romantic symbol of Chilenidad: huaso or cowboy/ shepherd "culture", typical of Chile. Large numbers of Andalusians,
Asturians Asturians () are a Romance ethnic group native to the autonomous community of Asturias, in the North-West of the Iberian Peninsula. Culture and society Heritage The Asturians have Celtic ( Astures) and Latin cultural origins, most notably f ...
,
Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...
,
Galicians Galicians ( or ''pobo galego''; ) are an ethnic group primarily residing in Galicia, northwest Iberian Peninsula. Historical emigration resulted in populations in other parts of Spain, Europe, and the Americas. Galicians possess distinct cu ...
, Leonese, Murcian, Navarrans, and Valencians nationalities other than the " Castilian" Spanish established the nation and culture and gave the Spanish language to Chile. Other waves of non-Spanish settlement of the region include
Germans Germans (, ) are the natives or inhabitants of Germany, or sometimes more broadly any people who are of German descent or native speakers of the German language. The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany, constitution of Germany, imple ...
from Germany, Austria and Switzerland; French and
Italians Italians (, ) are a European peoples, European ethnic group native to the Italian geographical region. Italians share a common Italian culture, culture, History of Italy, history, Cultural heritage, ancestry and Italian language, language. ...
, whom contributed to the regional wine industry; British people, like English and Scottish, have densely settled Concepción on the coast; Dutch, Greek and Portuguese founded the oceanic fishing industry;
Arab people Arabs (,  , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of years ...
s like the Lebanese and
Palestinians Palestinians () are an Arab ethnonational group native to the Levantine region of Palestine. *: "Palestine was part of the first wave of conquest following Muhammad's death in 632 CE; Jerusalem fell to the Caliph Umar in 638. The indigenou ...
established several small businesses; and small scattering of U.S. Americans,
Scandinavia Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...
ns and Eastern Europeans (mostly from the former
Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
,
Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...
and
Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...
, especially
Croats The Croats (; , ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and other neighboring countries in Central Europe, Central and Southeastern Europe who share a common Croatian Cultural heritage, ancest ...
) established themselves in Chile as they fled political turmoil.


Religion

According to a 2002 census 58.63% of the inhabitants of the Biobío Region profess
Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
, equivalent to 805,517 people, the third largest concentration of
Catholics The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
in a region in Chile, while the lowest percentage of Catholics corresponding to a region nationwide. 28.36% declare themselves as
Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...
or
Evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of th ...
, equivalent to 389,632 people, the second largest concentration of Protestants in a region, while the highest percentage of Evangelicals corresponding to a region nationwide. The province of Arauco is the only province to national level in which the number of Evangelicals, corresponding to 47.47% of the population, is greater than that of Catholics, corresponding to 36.33% of the population. It is a result of Protestant (
Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...
and
Calvinist Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Protestantism, Continenta ...
),
Jehovah's Witnesses Jehovah's Witnesses is a Christian denomination that is an outgrowth of the Bible Student movement founded by Charles Taze Russell in the nineteenth century. The denomination is nontrinitarian, millenarian, and restorationist. Russell co-fou ...
, Seventh-day Adventist and Mormon missionary work in Arauco during the 20th century. Biobío tends to show a more culturally conservative attitude in contrast to the urban areas of Santiago/Valparaiso, which have a more liberal cosmopolitan position. It is more common for residents to attend church regularly, be it Catholic or Protestant.


Economy

For decades, the characteristic feature of the Biobío Region has been its
manufacturing industry Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of the secondary sector of the economy. The term may refer to a ...
, which contributes 35.6% of its GDP and operates mainly around the ports of Talcahuano, San Vicente, Lirquén, and Coronel, the greatest concentration of ports in Chile. The range of activities is broad, extending from iron and
steel Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon that demonstrates improved mechanical properties compared to the pure form of iron. Due to steel's high Young's modulus, elastic modulus, Yield (engineering), yield strength, Fracture, fracture strength a ...
making to
foodstuff Food is any substance consumed by an organism for nutritional support. Food is usually of plant, animal, or fungal origin and contains essential nutrients such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or minerals. The substance is in ...
s manufacture, petrochemicals, metalworking,
oil refining An oil refinery or petroleum refinery is an industrial processes, industrial process Factory, plant where petroleum (crude oil) is transformed and refining, refined into products such as gasoline (petrol), diesel fuel, Bitumen, asphalt base, ...
, and
shipyards A shipyard, also called a dockyard or boatyard, is a place where ships are built and repaired. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Compared to shipyards, which are sometimes more involved ...
. The region's dynamism is also rooted in its large rivers. The important hydroelectric power complex on the Laja River is composed of the El Toro, Abanico, and Antuco power plants, and the Pangue and Ralco plants on the upper Biobío River. These facilities supply 26.6% of the energy used from Taltal in the north to
Chiloé Archipelago The Chiloé Archipelago (, , ) is a group of islands lying off the coast of Chile, in the Los Lagos Region. It is separated from mainland Chile by the Chacao Channel in the north, the Sea of Chiloé in the east and the Gulf of Corcovado in the s ...
to the south. The region contains almost 44% of Chile's forest plantations, of which around 82% are radiata pine. It is the largest exporter of forestry products and supplies raw materials for pulp and paper plants, sawmills, and related activities. The fishing industry is another dynamic sector. The region possesses 32% of the country's total fishing fleet, while approximately 50% of the national catch is unloaded at its ports. Moreover, this region alone is responsible for 4% of the world's catch of seafood. Main items include
shellfish Shellfish, in colloquial and fisheries usage, are exoskeleton-bearing Aquatic animal, aquatic invertebrates used as Human food, food, including various species of Mollusca, molluscs, crustaceans, and echinoderms. Although most kinds of shellfish ...
and conger eel, sardines, anchovy, mackerel, hake, mollusks,
crustaceans Crustaceans (from Latin meaning: "those with shells" or "crusted ones") are invertebrate animals that constitute one group of Arthropod, arthropods that are traditionally a part of the subphylum Crustacea (), a large, diverse group of mainly aquat ...
, and
algae Algae ( , ; : alga ) is an informal term for any organisms of a large and diverse group of photosynthesis, photosynthetic organisms that are not plants, and includes species from multiple distinct clades. Such organisms range from unicellular ...
. High-quality fertile soils support a wide variety of crops, principally produce, grains, vegetables, artificial and improved pastures. Animal husbandry focuses on production of beef, milk, and dairy products. Mining activity includes non-metallic minerals, principally quartz for the glass and steel industries.


Notable sights

* Tumbes Peninsula


References


External links


Official website
of the Regional Government of Biobío {{DEFAULTSORT:Biobío Region Regions of Chile States and territories established in 1974