Santiago Metropolitan Region

Chile's only landlocked region, home to its capital and economic hub.

Last updated 20 October 2026

As of the 2024 census, its population is 7,400,741, with 96.2% living in urban areas.^[1]

Geography and history

European influence in the region began in 1542, shortly after the founding of Santiago.^[2] The endangered Chilean Wine Palm, Jubaea chilensis, occurs within Santiago Province, though its prehistoric range was much larger.^[3] The unexploited Catedral copper prospect lies along the border with O'Higgins Region in the high Andes to the south.^[4] Copper ore deposits are found in the mountainous areas of the region.^[4]

Six provinces and 52 communes make up the region's administrative divisions.^[5] A governor chosen through popular vote has been in charge of the region since 2021.^[5] Claudio Orrego Larraín, an Independent, serves as the current governor.^[5]

What the cited sources add

The same source states that Codina's role is fundamental for coordinating security and public order in the capital.^[6] Sebastián Figueroa (Republicano), a close associate of Kast, will be in charge of regional financing.^[6]

References

Wikipedia, "Santiago Metropolitan Region" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Resultados – Censo 2024", INE (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Santiago Metropolitan Region" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Santiago Metropolitan Region", Government of Chile Foreign Investment Committee }}{{dead link, May 2018 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Santiago Metropolitan Region" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: C. Michael Hogan (2008) Chilean Wine Palm: Jubaea chilensis, GlobalTwitcher.com, ed. Nicklas Stromberg (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Santiago Metropolitan Region" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Catedral", ENAMI, 2019; Saric, "Geología del yacimiento Lo Aguirre, Chile", Revista Geológica de Chile, 2003, p. 317-331 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Santiago Metropolitan Region" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Germán Codina, exalcalde de Puente Alto será delegado presidencial de la Región Metropolitana", Portal Puente Alto, 23 January 2026 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
"Germán Codina, exalcalde de Puente Alto será delegado presidencial de la Región Metropolitana", Portal Puente Alto, 23 January 2026. facts only, no text reused. portalpuentealto.cl

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Santiago Metropolitan Region (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.