| Official Name: | Loncoche |
| Native Name Lang: | es |
| Settlement Type: | City and Commune |
| Flag Alt: | Flag |
| Shield Alt: | Coat of arms |
| Map Alt: | Map of Loncoche commune in Araucanía Region |
| Pushpin Map: | Chile |
| Pushpin Label Position: | bottom |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location in Chile |
| Pushpin Map Narrow: | 1 |
| Coor Pinpoint: | city |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | Chile |
| Subdivision Type1: | Region |
| Subdivision Name1: | Araucanía |
| Subdivision Type2: | Province |
| Subdivision Name2: | Cautín |
| Government Footnotes: | [1] [2] |
| Government Type: | Municipality |
| Leader Title: | Alcalde |
| Leader Party: | RN |
| Leader Name: | Ricardo Peña Riquelme |
| Established Title: | Founded as |
| Established Date: | Villa Carrera |
| Established Title2: | April 22, 1900 |
| Unit Pref: | Metric |
| Area Footnotes: | [3] |
| Area Total Km2: | 976.8 |
| Elevation M: | 98 |
| Population Total: | 21458 |
| Population As Of: | 2012 Census |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Population Blank1 Title: | Urban |
| Population Blank1: | 15223 |
| Population Blank2 Title: | Rural |
| Population Blank2: | 7814 |
| Demographics Type1: | Sex |
| Demographics1 Title1: | Men |
| Demographics1 Info1: | 11,499 |
| Demographics1 Title2: | Women |
| Demographics1 Info2: | 11,538 |
| Timezone: | CLT |
| Utc Offset: | −4 |
| Timezone Dst: | CLST |
| Utc Offset Dst: | −3 |
| Coordinates: | -39.3667°N -72.6333°W |
| Area Code: | country 56 + city 45 |
| Website: | Municipality of Loncoche |
Loncoche (Mapudungun for "head of an important person") is a city and commune in Cautín Province in the Araucanía Region, southern Chile. It is located near the border to Los Ríos Region and the city of Lanco.
Loncoche is a major centre for milk production. Loncoleche is the main milk and dairy product producer in the zone.
Pablo Neruda wrote a poem called "Aromos rubios en los campos de Loncoche".
According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, Loncoche spans an area of 976.8sqkm and has 23,037 inhabitants (11,499 men and 11,538 women). Of these, 15,223 (66.1%) lived in urban areas and 7,814 (33.9%) in rural areas. The population fell by 2.6% (606 persons) between the 1992 and 2002 censuses.[3]
As a commune, Loncoche is a third-level administrative division of Chile administered by a municipal council, headed by an alcalde who is directly elected every four years. The 2008-2012 alcalde is Ricardo Peña Riquelme (RN).[1] [2]
Within the electoral divisions of Chile, Loncoche is represented in the Chamber of Deputies by René Manuel García (RN) and Fernando Meza (PRSD) as part of the 52nd electoral district, together with Cunco, Pucón, Curarrehue, Villarrica, Gorbea and Toltén. The commune is represented in the Senate by José Garcia Ruminot (RN) and Eugenio Tuma Zedan (PPD) as part of the 15th senatorial constituency (Araucanía-South). There are two high schools - Liceo Bicentenario P. Alberto Hurtado Cruchaga and Santa Cruz.