Ñiquén


Ñiquén is a commune of the Punilla Province, located in the north of the Ñuble Region of Chile. Geographically, it is delimited by the Perquilauquén River to the north and the Ñiquén River in the south. Its boundary to the north is the commune of Parral and to the west that of Cauquenes both in the Maule Region, to the south with the commune of San Carlos, and to the east with San Fabian de Alico. The town of San Gregorio is the capital of this commune.

Demographics

According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, Ñiquén spans an area of and has 11,421 inhabitants. Of these, 1,143 lived in urban areas and 10,278 in rural areas. The population fell by 13.2% between the 1992 and 2002 censuses.

Administration

As a commune, Ñiquén is a third-level administrative division of Chile administered by a municipal council, headed by an alcalde who is directly elected every four years. The 2008-2012 alcalde is Domingo Garrido Torres.
Within the electoral divisions of Chile, Ñiquén is represented in the Chamber of Deputies by Jorge Sabag and Frank Sauerbaum as part of the 42nd electoral district,. The commune is represented in the Senate by Alejandro Navarro Brain and Hosain Sabag Castillo as part of the 12th senatorial constituency.