Puntarenas (canton)

Canton in Puntarenas province, Costa Rica

Canton in Puntarenas, Costa Rica

Flag

Seal

Puntarenas canton

Country

Costa RicaProvincePuntarenasCreation7 December 1848^[1]Head cityPuntarenasDistricts

Districts

Puntarenas
Pitahaya
Chomes
Lepanto
Paquera
Manzanillo
Guacimal
Barranca
Isla del Coco
Cóbano
Chacarita
Chira
Acapulco
El Roble
Arancibia

Government

• TypeMunicipality • BodyMunicipalidad de PuntarenasArea

• Total1,842.33 km² (711.33 sq mi)Elevation

169 m (554 ft)Population

(2011)

• Total115,019 • Density62/km² (160/sq mi)Time zoneUTC−06:00Canton code601Websitewww.puntarenas.go.cr

Puntarenas is a canton in the Puntarenas province of Costa Rica.^[2]^[3] The head city is Puntarenas.

History

Puntarenas was created on 7 December 1848 by decree 167.^[1]

Geography

Puntarenas has an area of 1,842.33 km²^[4] and a mean elevation of 169 metres.^[2]

The canton includes areas on both sides of the Gulf of Nicoya. The southern portion of the Nicoya Peninsula is also in the canton, including the popular tourist areas of Tambor, Montezuma and Malpais.

Districts

The canton of Puntarenas is subdivided into the following districts:

Monte Verde was the ninth district of the canton, on 29 September 2021 it was segregated to become a canton on its own, the Monteverde canton, the twelfth of Puntarenas province and eighty third of the country.

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.	±% p.a.
1864	2,942	—
1883	4,018	+1.65%
1892	8,869	+9.20%
1927	14,746	+1.46%
1950	31,074	+3.29%
1963	55,592	+4.58%
1973	65,562	+1.66%
1984	74,135	+1.12%
2000	102,504	+2.05%
2011	115,019	+1.05%
2022	143,875	+2.06%
Source: Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censos^[5] Centro Centroamericano de Población^[6]

For the 2011 census, Puntarenas had a population of 115,019 inhabitants.^[7]

Transportation

Road transportation

The canton is covered by the following road routes:

National Route 1
National Route 17
National Route 21
National Route 23
National Route 132
National Route 160
National Route 163
National Route 601
National Route 602
National Route 603
National Route 604
National Route 605
National Route 606
National Route 619
National Route 620
National Route 621
National Route 623
National Route 624

References

^ ^a ^b Hernández, Hermógenes (1985). Costa Rica: evolución territorial y principales censos de población 1502 - 1984 (in Spanish) (1 ed.). San José: Editorial Universidad Estatal a Distancia. pp. 164–173. ISBN 9977-64-243-5. Retrieved 5 October 2020.
^ ^a ^b "Declara oficial para efectos administrativos, la aprobación de la División Territorial Administrativa de la República N°41548-MGP". Sistema Costarricense de Información Jurídica (in Spanish). 19 March 2019. Retrieved 26 September 2020.
^ División Territorial Administrativa de la República de Costa Rica (PDF) (in Spanish). Editorial Digital de la Imprenta Nacional. 8 March 2017. ISBN 978-9977-58-477-5.
^ "Área en kilómetros cuadrados, según provincia, cantón y distrito administrativo". Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censos (in Spanish). Retrieved 26 September 2020.
^ "Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censos" (in Spanish).
^ Centro Centroamericano de Población de la Universidad de Costa Rica. "Sistema de Consulta a Bases de Datos Estadísticas" (in Spanish).
^ "Censo. 2011. Población total por zona y sexo, según provincia, cantón y distrito". Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censos (in Spanish). Retrieved 26 September 2020.