 Of these, 12,412 (73.1%) lived in urban areas and 4,558 (26.9%) in rural areas.Between the 1992 and 2002 censuses, the population fell by 6.4% (1,165 persons).As a commune, Curacautín is a third-level administrative division of Chile administered by a municipal council, headed by an alcalde who is directly elected every four years.