 According to data from the 2002 Census of Population and Housing, Maule had 16,837 inhabitants; of these, 6,739 (40.0%) lived in urban areas and 10,098 (60.0%) in rural areas.At that time, there were 8,691 men and 8,146 women.The population grew 22.3% (3,068 persons) between the 1992 and 2002 censuses.