During the term of Diego González Montero Justiniano a town that had evolved was given the name of Santa Lucia de Yumbel.

It grew little until the Chilean War of Independence when it was occupied by both sides at times and then was burned by the Spanish guerrilla Juan Manuel Picó and the end of 1820.

According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, Yumbel spans an area of 727 km2 (281 sq mi) and has 20,498 inhabitants (10,442 men and 10,056 women).

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

The commune is represented in the Senate by Alejandro Navarro Brain (MAS) and Hosain Sabag Castillo (PDC) as part of the 12th senatorial constituency (Biobío-Cordillera).