Heredia is a canton in the Heredia province of Costa Rica.[1][2] The head city is in Heredia district, and is also the provincial capital of Heredia Province.

Heredia
Inmaculada Concepción Church, Heredia
Inmaculada Concepción Church, Heredia
Flag of Heredia
Official seal of Heredia
Map
Heredia canton
Heredia canton location in Costa Rica
Heredia canton location in Costa Rica
Heredia
Heredia canton location in Costa Rica
Coordinates: 10°07′44″N 84°02′31″W / 10.1289028°N 84.0419806°W / 10.1289028; -84.0419806
Country Costa Rica
ProvinceHeredia
Creation7 December 1848
Head cityHeredia
Districts
Government
 • TypeMunicipality
 • BodyMunicipalidad de Heredia
 • MayorÁngela Ileana Aguilar Vargas (PLN)
Area
 • Total282.6 km2 (109.1 sq mi)
Elevation
1,242 m (4,075 ft)
Population
 (2011)
 • Total123,616
 • Estimate 
(2022)
131,901
 • Density440/km2 (1,100/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC−06:00
Canton code401
Websitewww.heredia.go.cr/en

History

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Heredia was created on 7 December 1848 by decree 167.[3]

Geography

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Heredia has an area of 283.11 km2 (109.31 sq mi)[4] and a mean elevation of 1,242 m (4,075 ft).[1]

The canton includes the areas south and west of the capital city of Heredia as far as the Virilla River and the National Route 1.

The non-contiguous district of Varablanca, that includes a large portion of Braulio Carrillo National Park high in the Cordillera Central, is also administered as part of Heredia Canton.

Government

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Mayor

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According to Costa Rica's Municipal Code, mayors are elected every four years by the population of the canton.[5] As of the latest municipal elections in 2024, the National Liberation Party candidate, Ángela Ileana Aguilar Vargas, was elected mayor of the canton with 31.58% of the votes, with Víctor Andrés Sánchez González and Kenneth Armando Arguedas Navarro as first and second vice mayors, respectively.[6]

Mayors of Heredia since the 2002 elections[7]
Period Name Party
2002–2006 Javiel Carvajal Molina   PUSC
2006–2010 José Manuel Ulate Avendaño   PLN
2010–2016
2016–2020
2020–2024
2024–2028 Ángela Ileana Aguilar Vargas

Municipal Council

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Like the mayor and vice mayors, members of the Municipal Council (called regidores) are elected every four years. Heredia's Municipal Council has 9 seats for regidores and their substitutes, who can participate in meetings but not vote unless the owning regidor (regidor propietario) is absent.[5] The current president of the Municipal Council is the Sentir Heredia regidor, José Pablo Quesada Castro, with National Liberation Party member, Heidy Hernández Benavides, as vice president.[8] The Municipal Council's composition for the 2024–2028 period is as follows:

Current composition of the Municipal Council of Heredia after the 2024 municipal elections[9]
 
Political parties in the Municipal Council of Heredia
Political party Regidores
Owner Substitute
  National Liberation Party (PLN) 3 Lilliana Jiménez Barrientos Maritza Sandoval Vega
Luis Alfonso Araya Villalobos Alfredo Eduardo Prendas Jiménez
Heidy Hernández Benavides(VP) Odette Fernández Salazar
  Social Christian Unity Party (PUSC) 3 Marlon Antonio Obando Juárez Jean Carlos Barboza Roman
Roxana Mayela Arias Ramírez Maribel Quesada Fonseca
Luis Alberto Williams Ovares Freddy Cervantes Paniagua
  Social Democratic Progress Party (PSD) 1 Jorge Eduardo Blanco Chan Manrique Ortíz Paniagua
  Broad Front (FA) 1 José Daniel Berrocal Miranda Fidel Barrera Romero
  Feel Heredia (SH) 1 José Pablo Quesada Castro(P) Esteban Felipe Venegas Murillo

Districts

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The canton of Heredia is subdivided into the following districts:

  1. Heredia
  2. Mercedes
  3. San Francisco
  4. Ulloa
  5. Varablanca

Demographics

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Historical population
CensusPop.±% p.a.
186414,073—    
188316,452+0.83%
189216,480+0.02%
192712,667−0.75%
195019,898+1.98%
196330,919+3.45%
197336,487+1.67%
198454,896+3.78%
2000103,894+4.07%
2011123,616+1.59%
2022131,901+0.59%
Source: Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censos[10]
Centro Centroamericano de Población[11]

In 2022, the National Institute of Statistics and Census estimated Heredia's population at 131,901,[12] up from 123,616 at the time of the 2011 census.[13]

According to a publication by the United Nations Development Programme, Heredia had a Human Development Index of 0.816 in 2022, ranking it 4th in its province and 9th in the entire country.[14]

Transportation

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Road transportation

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The canton is covered by the following road routes:

Rail transportation

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The Interurbano Line operated by Incofer goes through this canton.

References

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  1. ^ a b "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. Archived from the original on 24 February 2024. Retrieved 26 September 2020.
  2. ^ 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.
  3. ^ 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.
  4. ^ Instituto Geográfico Nacional de Costa Rica (20 June 2024). "División Territorial Administrativa, 2024 – Totales de Provincias, Cantones y Distritos de Costa Rica" [Administrative Territorial Division, 2024 – Totals of Provinces, Cantons and Districts of Costa Rica] (PDF) (in Spanish).
  5. ^ a b Asamblea Legislativa de la República de Costa Rica (13 May 2024). "Código Municipal" [Municipal Code]. Sistema Costarricense de Información Jurídica (in Spanish).
  6. ^ Tribunal Supremo de Elecciones (8 March 2024). "N.° 2158-E11-2024 - Declaratoria de elección de alcaldías y vicealcaldías de las municipalidades de los cantones de la provincia de Heredia, para el período comprendido entre el primero de mayo de dos mil veinticuatro y el treinta de abril de dos mil veintiocho" (in Spanish). Retrieved 25 July 2024.
  7. ^ Tribunal Supremo de Elecciones. "Resoluciones declaratorias de elección". Tribunal Supremo de Elecciones (in Spanish). Retrieved 21 July 2024.
  8. ^ "Concejo Municipal". Portal Municipalidad de Heredia (in Spanish). Retrieved 24 July 2024.
  9. ^ Tribunal Supremo de Elecciones (12 March 2024). "N.° 2221-E11-2024 - Declaratoria de elección de regidurías de las municipalidades de los cantones de la provincia de Heredia, para el período comprendido entre el primero de mayo de dos mil veinticuatro y el treinta de abril de dos mil veintiocho" (in Spanish). Retrieved 25 July 2024.
  10. ^ "Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censos" (in Spanish).
  11. ^ Centro Centroamericano de Población de la Universidad de Costa Rica. "Sistema de Consulta a Bases de Datos Estadísticas" (in Spanish).
  12. ^ Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censos (July 2023). Estimación de Población y Vivienda 2022 : Resultados Generales [2022 Population and Housing Estimate : General Results] (PDF) (in Spanish). ISBN 9789930525753. Retrieved 25 July 2024.
  13. ^ "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.
  14. ^ Sistema Nacional de Información y Registro Único de Beneficiarios del Estado; Escuela de Estadística de la Universidad de Costa Rica; Programa de las Naciones Unidas para el Desarrollo (9 June 2023). "Atlas de Desarrollo Humano Cantonal en Costa Rica, 2022". Retrieved 25 July 2024.