La Unión (canton)

La Unión
Canton
Flag Seal
La Unión canton
La Unión La Unión canton location in Costa Rica
Coordinates: 9.9135636°N 83.9944093°W / 9.9135636; -83.9944093
Country	Costa Rica
Province	Cartago
Creation	7 December 1848[1]
Head city	Tres Ríos
Districts	Districts Tres Ríos San Diego San Juan San Rafael Concepción Dulce Nombre San Ramón Río Azul
Government
• Type	Municipality
• Body	Municipalidad de La Unión
Area
• Total	44.83 km^2 (17.31 sq mi)
Elevation	1,331 m (4,367 ft)
Population  (2011)
• Total	99,399
• Density	2,200/km^2 (5,700/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC−06:00
Canton code	303
Website	launion.go.cr

La Unión is a canton in the Cartago province of Costa Rica.[2][3] The head city is in Tres Ríos district.

Toponymy

A story tells of a group of Spanish missionaries from a convent in Guatemala, arriving accompanied by Indians of different cultural groups. The small town they established was called La Unión, meaning The Union, to commemorate their friendliness and brotherhood.

History

La Unión was created on 7 December 1848 by decree 167.[1]

Geography

La Unión has an area of 44.83 km^2[4] and a mean elevation of 1,331 metres.[2] La Unión is a compact canton situated midway between the national capital of San José and the former colonial capital city of Cartago.

Districts

The canton of La Unión is subdivided into the following districts:

1. Tres Ríos
2. San Diego
3. San Juan
4. San Rafael
5. Concepción
6. Dulce Nombre
7. San Ramón
8. Río Azul

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	±% p.a.
1864	2,046	—
1883	2,916	+1.88%
1892	4,256	+4.29%
1927	4,972	+0.45%
1950	7,789	+1.97%
1963	14,074	+4.66%
1973	23,352	+5.19%
1984	41,005	+5.25%
2000	80,279	+4.29%
2011	99,399	+1.96%
2022	99,539	+0.01%
Source: Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censos[5] Centro Centroamericano de Población[6]

For the 2011 census, La Unión had a population of 99,399 inhabitants.[7]

Education

The Lycée Franco Costaricien, a French international school, is in Concepción district.[8]

Transportation

Road transportation

The canton is covered by the following road routes:

• National Route 2
• National Route 202
• National Route 221
• National Route 251
• National Route 409

Rail transportation

The Interurbano Line operated by Incofer goes through this canton.

References

1. Hernández, Hermógenes (1985). Costa Rica: evolución territorial y principales censos de población 1502 - 1984 (in Spanish) (1 ed.). San José: Editorial Universidad Estatal a Distancia. pp. 164–173. ISBN 9977-64-243-5. Retrieved 5 October 2020.
2. "Declara oficial para efectos administrativos, la aprobación de la División Territorial Administrativa de la República N°41548-MGP". Sistema Costarricense de Información Jurídica (in Spanish). 19 March 2019. Retrieved 26 September 2020.
3. División Territorial Administrativa de la República de Costa Rica (PDF) (in Spanish). Editorial Digital de la Imprenta Nacional. 8 March 2017. ISBN 978-9977-58-477-5.
4. "Área en kilómetros cuadrados, según provincia, cantón y distrito administrativo". Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censos (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 24 October 2020. Retrieved 26 September 2020.
5. "Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censos" (in Spanish).
6. Centro Centroamericano de Población de la Universidad de Costa Rica. "Sistema de Consulta a Bases de Datos Estadísticas" (in Spanish).
7. "Censo. 2011. Población total por zona y sexo, según provincia, cantón y distrito". Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censos (in Spanish). Retrieved 26 September 2020.
8. "Contactez-nous"/"Contactos." Lycée Franco Costaricien. Retrieved on March 15, 2015. "De la casa de Don José Figueres, 4.5 Km. Noreste, carretera a Concepción de Tres Ríos"

External links

• (in Spanish) MI CARTAGO, Cartago Province's local newspaper