Puntarenas (canton)

Puntarenas is a canton in the Puntarenas province of Costa Rica.^[2][3] The head city is Puntarenas.

Puntarenas
Canton
Flag Seal
Puntarenas canton
Country	Costa Rica
Province	Puntarenas
Creation	7 December 1848[1]
Head city	Puntarenas
Districts	Districts Puntarenas Pitahaya Chomes Lepanto Paquera Manzanillo Guacimal Barranca Isla del Coco Cóbano Chacarita Chira Acapulco El Roble Arancibia
Government
• Type	Municipality
• Body	Municipalidad de Puntarenas
Area
• Total	1,842.33 km2 (711.33 sq mi)
Elevation	169 m (554 ft)
Population  (2011)
• Total	115,019
• Density	62/km2 (160/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC−06:00
Canton code	601
Website	www.puntarenas.go.cr

History

Puntarenas was created on 7 December 1848 by decree 167.^[1]

Geography

Puntarenas has an area of 1,842.33 km²^[4] and a mean elevation of 169 metres.^[2]

The canton includes areas on both sides of the Gulf of Nicoya and the island Isla del Coco. The southern portion of the Nicoya Peninsula is also in the canton, including the popular tourist areas of Tambor, Montezuma and Malpais.

Districts

The canton of Puntarenas is subdivided into the following districts:

• Puntarenas
• Pitahaya
• Chomes
• Lepanto
• Paquera
• Manzanillo
• Guacimal
• Barranca
• Isla del Coco
• Cóbano
• Chacarita
• Chira
• Acapulco
• El Roble
• Arancibia

Monte Verde was the ninth district of the canton, on 29 September 2021 it was segregated to become a canton on its own, the Monteverde canton, the twelfth of Puntarenas province and eighty third of the country.

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	±% p.a.
1864	2,942	—
1883	4,018	+1.65%
1892	8,869	+9.20%
1927	14,746	+1.46%
1950	31,074	+3.29%
1963	55,592	+4.58%
1973	65,562	+1.66%
1984	74,135	+1.12%
2000	102,504	+2.05%
2011	115,019	+1.05%
2022	141,697	+1.91%
Source: Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censos[5] Centro Centroamericano de Población[6]

For the 2011 census, Puntarenas had a population of 115,019 inhabitants.^[7]

Transportation

Road transportation

The canton is covered by the following road routes:

• National Route 1
• National Route 17
• National Route 21
• National Route 23
• National Route 132
• National Route 160
• National Route 163
• National Route 601
• National Route 602
• National Route 603
• National Route 604
• National Route 605
• National Route 606
• National Route 619
• National Route 620
• National Route 621
• National Route 623
• National Route 624