Arauco Province is one of four provinces

Provinces of Chile

A province is the second largest administrative division in Chile, after a region. Each region is divided into provinces. There are 54 provinces in total....

 of the Chile

Chile

Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...

an region of Biobío (VIII). It spans a coastal area of 6366 sqkm just south of the mouth of the Biobío River, the traditional demarcation between the nation's major natural region

Natural region

A Natural region is one which is distinguished by its natural features of geography and usually more important, geology. The natural ecology of the region is likely to be significant but one of these factors tends to influence the others....

s, Zona Central

Zona Central, Chile

Zona central is one of the five natural regions into which CORFO divided continental Chile in 1950. It is home to a majority of the Chilean population and includes the three largest metropolitan areas- Santiago, Valparaíso, and Concepción...

 and Zona Sur

Zona Sur

The Zona Sur is one of the five natural regions on which CORFO divided continental Chile in 1950. Its northern border is formed by the Bío-Bío River, the limit with the Central Chile Zone. By west with the Pacific Ocean, by the east with the Andean mountains and Argentina. Its southern border is...

. The province originally covered the once-independent indigenous territory of Araucanía, but this was afterward divided into four provinces. It is devoted largely to agricultural pursuits. The capital Lebu

Lebu, Chile

Lebu is a port city and commune in central Chile administered by the Municipality of Lebu. Lebu is also the capital of Arauco Province in Bío-Bío Region...

 (population 25,000) is situated on the coast about 90 km (56 mi) south of Concepción

Concepción, Chile

Concepción is a city in Chile, capital of Concepción Province and of the Biobío Region or Region VIII. Greater Concepción is the second-largest conurbation in the country, with 889,725 inhabitants...

 with which it is connected by rail.

Administration

As a province, Arauco is a second-level administrative division

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....

 of Chile, governed by a provincial governor

Governor

A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...

 who is appointed by the president

President of Chile

The President of the Republic of Chile is both the head of state and the head of government of the Republic of Chile. The President is responsible of the government and state administration...

.

Communes

The province is composed of seven communes, each governed by a municipality consisting of an elected alcalde

Alcalde

Alcalde , or Alcalde ordinario, is the traditional Spanish municipal magistrate, who had both judicial and administrative functions. An alcalde was, in the absence of a corregidor, the presiding officer of the Castilian cabildo and judge of first instance of a town...

 and municipal council

Municipal council

A municipal council is the local government of a municipality. Specifically the term can refer to the institutions of various countries that can be translated by this term...

.

1. Arauco
   Arauco, Chile
   Arauco is a city and commune in Chile, located in Arauco Province in the Biobio Region. The meaning of Arauco means Chalky Water in Mapudungun. The region was a Moluche aillarehue...
   
   
2. Cañete
3. Contulmo
   Contulmo
   Contulmo is a Chilean town and commune in Arauco Province, Biobío Region. Colonized by Germans of Berlin since 1884.-Geography:...
   
   
4. Curanilahue
   Curanilahue
   Curanilahue is a Chilean commune and city in Arauco Province, Biobío Region.-Demographics:According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, Curanilahue spans an area of and has 31,943 inhabitants . Of these, 30,126 lived in urban areas and 1,817 in rural areas...
   
   
5. Lebu
   Lebu, Chile
   Lebu is a port city and commune in central Chile administered by the Municipality of Lebu. Lebu is also the capital of Arauco Province in Bío-Bío Region...
   
    (provincial capital)
6. Los Álamos
   Los Álamos
   Los Álamos is a Chilean commune and city in Arauco Province, Biobío Region.-Demographics:According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, Los Álamos spans an area of and has 18,632 inhabitants . Of these, 16,394 lived in urban areas and 2,238 in rural areas...
   
   
7. Tirúa
   Tirúa
   Tirúa is a Chilean commune and town in Arauco Province, Biobío Region.-Demographics:According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, Tirúa spans an area of and has 9,664 inhabitants . Of these, 2,508 lived in urban areas and 7,156 in rural areas...
   
   

Geography and demography

According to the 2002 census by the National Statistics Institute

National Statistics Institute (Chile)

The National Statistics Institute of Chile is a state-run organization of the Government of Chile, created in the second half of the 19th century and tasked with performing a general census of population and housing, then collecting, producing and publishing official demographic statistics of...

(INE), the province spans an area of 5457.2 sqkm and had a population of 157,255 inhabitants (79,263 men and 77,992 women), giving it a population density of 28.8 PD/sqkm. Of these, 117,569 (74.8%) lived in urban areas and 39,686 (25.2%) in rural areas. Between the 1992 and 2002 censuses, the population grew by 5% (7,554 persons).