Santiago Metropolitan Region () is one of Chile's 16 first-order administrative divisions. It is the country's only landlocked administrative region and contains the nation's capital, Santiago. Most commercial and administrative centers are located in the region, including Chile's main international airport, Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport.
With an area of and population over seven million, it is Chile's most populated and most densely populated region. It is also the most developed subdivision in all of South America with a very high HDI of 0.908.
History
The region's history of European influence started in 1542, this iconic tree of central Chile had a much larger range prehistorically, before the decimation of much of its habitat by the expanding human population.
The region mountainous parts of the region host various deposits of copper ore. To the north the mine of Los Bronces straddle the border with Valparaíso Region in the high Andes. Also in the high Andes but to the south along the border with O'Higgins Region lies the unexploited copper ore prospect of Catedral. To the west of the region at the foot of the Chilean Coastal Cordillera lies the mine Lo Aguirre which closed in 2000.
Climate
The climate of the Metropolitan Region is temperate Mediterranean cold, of the kind called continental. Precipitation is concentrated in the winter months, generally as snow over 900 m above sea level and, in colder years, over the city of Santiago. Winter tends to be cold with frequent frosts during which temperature drops below . The summer months are usually dry and hot. The Cordillera de la Costa acts as a climate screen and reduces marine influence, which makes the climate more continental. This situation becomes apparent when comparing precipitation from a coastal location such as Valparaíso (460 mm) with that of Santiago de Chile (360 mm).
The annual median precipitation reaches 367 mm on average. The annual median temperature comes out to , with a median high of and a median low of in urban areas. Rural areas tend to be colder, as temperature reaches in the coldest months (July, August).
Government
The region is divided into 6 provinces, which are themselves divided into 52 communes. Since 2021 the region is governed by the governor, who is elected by popular vote. The current governor is Claudio Orrego Larraín (Independent). The Presidential Delegate has been Germán Codina since 11 March 2026.
{| class="wikitable sortable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed static-row-numbers plainrowheaders vertical-align-top sticky-header-multi sort-under"
|- class="static-row-header" style="text-align:center;vertical-align:bottom;"
!Commune
!Province
!Population
(2024)|percentages=pagr|align=right|cols=1
As of the 2024 census, the region has a population of 7,400,741, of which 48.4% are male and 51.6% are female, compared to the nationwide average of 48.5% and 51.5% respectively. People under 15 years old make up 17.3% of the population, and people over 65 years old make up 13.2%, compared to the nationwide average of 17.7% and 14.0% respectively. 96.2% of the population is urban and 3.8% is rural.