| Official Name: | Perquenco |
| Settlement Type: | Town and Commune |
| Map Alt: | Map of Perquenco commune in Araucania Region |
| Pushpin Map: | Chile |
| Pushpin Label Position: | bottom |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location in Chile |
| Pushpin Map Narrow: | 1 |
| Coor Pinpoint: | town |
| Coordinates: | -38.4167°N -95°W |
| 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: | PDC |
| Leader Name: | Luis Alberto Muñoz Pérez |
| Unit Pref: | Metric |
| Area Footnotes: | [3] |
| Area Total Km2: | 330.7 |
| Elevation M: | 278 |
| Population Total: | 6530 |
| Population As Of: | 2012 Census |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Population Blank1 Title: | Urban |
| Population Blank1: | 2929 |
| Population Blank2 Title: | Rural |
| Population Blank2: | 3521 |
| Demographics Type1: | Sex |
| Demographics1 Title1: | Men |
| Demographics1 Info1: | 3,281 |
| Demographics1 Title2: | Women |
| Demographics1 Info2: | 3,169 |
| Timezone: | CLT[4] |
| Utc Offset: | -4 |
| Timezone Dst: | CLST[5] |
| Utc Offset Dst: | -3 |
| Area Code: | (+56) 45 |
| Website: | Municipality of Perquenco |
Perquenco is a town and commune in the Cautín Province of southern Chile's Araucanía Region. The town was declared capital of the unrecognized Kingdom of Araucanía and Patagonia by Orélie-Antoine de Tounens, but soon after it was occupied by Cornelio Saavedra Rodríguez who was in charge of the Chilean occupation of the Araucanía.
According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, Perquenco spans an area of 330.7sqkm and has 6,450 inhabitants (3,281 men and 3,169 women). Of these, 2,929 (45.4%) lived in urban areas and 3,521 (54.6%) in rural areas. The population grew by 9.6% (564 persons) between the 1992 and 2002 censuses.[3]
As a commune, Perquenco 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 Luis Alberto Muñoz Pérez (PDC).[1] [2]
Within the electoral divisions of Chile, Perquenco is represented in the Chamber of Deputies by Enrique Estay (UDI) and Fuad Chahín (PDC) as part of the 49th electoral district, together with Victoria, Curacautín, Lonquimay, Melipeuco, Vilcún, Lautaro and Galvarino. The commune is represented in the Senate by Alberto Espina Otero (RN) and Jaime Quintana Leal (PPD) as part of the 14th senatorial constituency (Araucanía-North).