 The city is often a base for Antarctic expeditions; Ushuaia (Argentina) and Christchurch (New Zealand) are also common starting points.In 2012 Punta Arenas recorded a population of over 127,000 inhabitants for the (2012 Census) by the National Statistics Institute.The population grew by 5.1% (5,830 persons) between the 1992 and 2002 censuses and further rose to 127,454 at the 2012 Census.