Demography
Punta Arenas has a population of over 154,000 inhabitants (2008). According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, the Punta Arenas commune has 119,496 inhabitants (60,616 men and 58,880 women). Of these, 116,005 (97.1%) lived in urban areas and 3,491 (2.9%) in rural areas. The population grew by 5.1% (5,830 persons) between the 1992 and 2002 censuses.
The city has its roots among the population origin of the European colonists (Croatian and Spanish) that populated the area at mid-nineteenth century. One can also find colonies of descendants of people from other countries (i.e. German, English, Italian, Swiss, Irish and others).
Croatian immigration in Punta Arenas was a crucial development in the region of Magallanes and the city in particular. Currently, you can see this influence in the names of shops, streets and many buildings. According to some references to 50% of the population of Punta Arenas would be descendants of Croats.
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