 According to the 2002 census by the National Statistics Institute, the Rauco commune had 8,566 inhabitants 4,364 men and 4,202 women.Of these, 3,114 (36.4%) lived in urban areas and 5,452 (63.6%) in rural areas.The population grew by 9.5% (744 persons) between the 1992 and 2002 censuses.