The port was used between 1851 and 1873 to ship copper ore, copper regulus, alpaca wool and hides round Cape Horn to Swansea, Glamorgan and Wales.

According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, Huasco had 7,945 inhabitants (3,999 men and 3,946 women).

[1] As a commune, Huasco is a third-level administrative division of Chile administered by a municipal council, headed by an alcalde who is directly elected every four years.

Within the electoral divisions of Chile, Huasco is represented in the Chamber of Deputies by Alberto Robles (PRSD) and Giovanni Calderón (UDI) as part of the 6th electoral district, (together with Caldera, Tierra Amarilla, Vallenar, Freirina and Alto del Carmen).

The commune is represented in the Senate by Isabel Allende Bussi (PS) and Baldo Prokurica Prokurica (RN) as part of the 3rd senatorial constituency (Atacama Region).