Porvenir 5.73

Porvenir is the capital of both the homonymous commune and the Chilean Province of Tierra del Fuego of the Magallanes y la Antártica Chilena Region. It is one of Chile's southernmost towns, and has 4,734 inhabitants, including several thousand soldiers. It is the largest settlement in the Chilean half of the island of Tierra del Fuego.Porvenir (Spanish for "hereafter"--literally "yet to come") was founded in 1883 by immigrants from Croatia and Chiloé during a minor nineteenth century gold rush.The main sources of income are sheep farming and small scale fishing (wrecks in Porvenir bay prevent larger vessels from mooring). In addition there is a regiment of the Chilean army and a high security prison. An abattoir operates for only short periods of the year.Some gold deposits remain and are commercially mined. Porvenir also gives access to Cerro Sombrero, an oil town, 125km east of Porvenir.DemographicsAccording to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, Porvenir spans an area of 6982.6sqkm and has 5,465 inhabitants (3,307 men and 2,158 women). Of these, 4,734 (86.6%) lived in urban areas and 731 (13.4%) in rural areas. The population grew by 7.1% (361 persons) between the 1992 and 2002 censuses.