| Cautín Province | |
| Native Name: | Provincia de Cautín |
| Native Name Lang: | es |
| Settlement Type: | Province |
| Mapsize: | 175px |
| Map Alt: | Location in the La Araucanía Region |
| Pushpin Map: | Chile |
| Pushpin Map Alt: | Location in Chile |
| Pushpin Mapsize: | 175 |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location in Chile |
| Coordinates: | -39°N -102°W |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | Chile |
| Subdivision Type1: | Region |
| Subdivision Name1: | La Araucanía |
| Parts Type: | Communes |
| Parts Style: | coll |
| Parts: | 21 communes: |
| P1: | Temuco |
| P2: | Carahue |
| P3: | Cholchol |
| P4: | Cunco |
| P5: | Curarrehue |
| P6: | Freire |
| P7: | Galvarino |
| P8: | Gorbea |
| P9: | Lautaro |
| P10: | Loncoche |
| P11: | Melipeuco |
| P12: | Nueva Imperial |
| P13: | Padre Las Casas |
| P14: | Perquenco |
| P15: | Pitrufquén |
| P16: | Pucón |
| P17: | Saavedra |
| P18: | Teodoro Schmidt |
| P19: | Toltén |
| P20: | Vilcún |
| Seat Type: | Capital |
| Seat: | Temuco |
| Government Type: | Provincial |
| Leader Party: | EVOP |
| Leader Title: | Governor |
| Leader Name: | Mauricio Ojeda Rebodollo |
| Unit Pref: | Metric |
| Area Footnotes: | [1] |
| Area Total Km2: | 18409.0 |
| Population Total: | 692582 |
| Population As Of: | 2012 Census |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Population Blank1 Title: | Urban |
| Population Blank1: | 449,147 |
| Population Blank2 Title: | Rural |
| Population Blank2: | 218,773 |
| Demographics Type1: | Sex |
| Demographics1 Title1: | Men |
| Demographics1 Info1: | 0 |
| Demographics1 Title2: | Women |
| Demographics1 Info2: | 0 |
| Timezone: | CLT[2] |
| Utc Offset: | -4 |
| Timezone Dst: | CLST[3] |
| Utc Offset Dst: | -3 |
| Area Code: | 56 + 45 |
| Website: | Government of Cautín |
Cautín Province (Spanish; Castilian: Provincia de Cautín) is one of two provinces in the southern Chilean region of La Araucanía (IX), bounded on the north by Arauco and Malleco provinces, on the east by Argentina, on the south by Valdivia Province, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean. Its population at the 2012 census was of 692,582. The most important communes are Temuco, Villarrica, Padre Las Casas, and Nueva Imperial. Cattle, forestry, and agriculture make up most of Cautin's economy. Its climate is humid, rainy in winter, and generally warm in summer.
Cautin province once formed part of the territory occupied by the Araucanian natives, and its present political existence dates from 1887. Cautín Province was the last area to be taken by Chile during the occupation of the Araucanía. Cautin is known for the 1971 Agrarian revolt.
The province of Cautín is known for its lakes and beaches. Perhaps best known internationally is the town of Pucón with its many recreational amenities on Villarrica Lake under the backdrop of the Villarrica Volcano. South of Villarrica on Calafquén Lake lies Licán Ray, another lakeside resort town. Saavedra is a popular beach on the Pacific coast.
Cautín lies within the temperate agricultural and forest region of the south, and produces cereal crops such as wheat and oats. In Carahue, the potato cultivation has a significant position. In addition, cattle production is remarkable.
The province of Cautín is divided into 21 communes (out of the 32 in the region):
According to the 2002 census by the National Statistics Institute (INE), the province spans an area of 18409sqkm[1] and had a population of 667,920 inhabitants (0 men and 0 women), giving it a population density of 36.3PD/sqkm. It is the third most populated province in the country after Santiago and Concepción. Of these, 449,147 (67.2%) lived in urban areas and 218,773 (32.8%) in rural areas. Between the 1992 and 2002 censuses, the population grew by 15.5% (89,715 persons).[1]