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Providencia, Chile
Providencia is a commune of Chile located in Santiago Province, Santiago Metropolitan Region. Part of Greater Santiago, it is bordered by the communes of Santiago to the west, Recoleta to the northwest, Las Condes and Vitacura to the northeast, La Reina to the east, and Nunoa to the south.
Providencia is home to a large upper-middle-class population and it holds the region's highest percentage of population over 60 (21.51%). It contains many high-rise apartment buildings as well as a significant portion of Santiago's commerce. It is notable for its large, old and elegant houses inhabited in the past by the Santiago elite and now mostly used as offices. It is served by the Santiago Metro's Lines 1, 4 and 5.
Providencia includes Barrio Suecia, an area filled with pubs and nightclubs, and Barrio Bellavista, a bohemian area populated with artists and performers. The latter lies in the shadow of Cerro San Cristobal, a prominent hill in the city topped by a 22 m statue of The Virgin Mary. The north of Providencia is its financial and commercial district , while the remainder of it contains high-priced residential development.
Other notable areas of interest in Providencia include the Metropolitan Zoo, the Teleferico (an aerial gondola that transports people from the foot of Pedro de Valdivia Avenue to the top of San Cristobal Hill), several television networks, Radio Cooperativa, and the Mormon temple. The municipality is also home to many embassies, including those of Italy, Russia, China, and Uruguay.
Stats
Area: 14.4 km
Population: 126,436 (2009 projection)
Average annual household income: US$53,767
Population below poverty line: 3.5% (2006)
Regional quality of life index: 83.01, high, 5 out of 52 (2005)
Human Development Index: 0.911, 4 out of 341 (2003)" Las Trayectorias del Desarrollo Humano en las Comunas de Chile (1994-2003)." UNDP, Gobierno de Chile, Mideplan
Notable residents
Patricio Aylwin
Ricardo Lagos
Pablo Neruda
Gabriel Valdes
External links
Municipality of Providencia official website
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This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Providencia, Chile