On 19 June 1968, the government promulgated the law creating the Commune of Llanquihue. The National Congress approved the bill, which in its first article states: Commune Llanquihue Puerto Varas, Llanquihue Province, the capital is the town of Llanquihue.
According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, Llanquihue spans an area of 420.8 km2 (162 sq mi) and has 16,337 inhabitants (8,141 men and 8,196 women). Of these, 12,728 (77.9%) lived in urban areas and 3,609 (22.1%) in rural areas. The population grew by 13.6% (1,951 persons) between the 1992 and 2002 censuses.[2]