Llanquihue Province () is one of four provinces of the Chilean region of Los Lagos (X). Its capital is Puerto Montt. Chile's second largest lake, Lake Llanquihue, is located in the province as well as four volcanoes: Osorno, Calbuco, Puntiagudo and Cerro Tronador.
European settlement of Llanquihue began in 1852 when Germans were encouraged to immigrate to southern Chile. A century later in 1945 a new wave of Jewish refugees came from Germany.
The region is well known for the beauty of its natural environment as well as for the food and seafood from the ports of Puerto Montt and Calbuco.
Administration
As a province, Llanquihue is a second-level administrative division of Chile, governed by a municipality for each constituent commune (Spanish: comuna). Puerto Montt is the provincial capital. The provincial governor is Francisco Le-Bretón as appointed by the President of Chile.
Communes
Calbuco
Cochamó
Fresia
Frutillar
Llanquihue
Los Muermos
Maullín
Puerto Montt
Puerto Varas
Geography and demography
According to the 2002 census by the National Statistics Institute (INE), the province spans an area of and had a population of 321,493 inhabitants (162,636 men and 158,857 women), giving it a population density of . Of these, 232,962 (72.5%) lived in urban areas and 88,531 (27.5%) in rural areas. Between the 1992 and 2002 censuses, the population grew by 22.4% (58,931 persons).