Populated for centuries by aboriginal peoples, the island was claimed by the Spanish Crown in 1493 following Christopher COLUMBUS’ second voyage to the Americas. In 1898, after 400 years of colonial rule that saw the indigenous population nearly exterminated and African slave labor introduced, Puerto Rico was ceded to the US as a result of the Spanish-American War. Puerto Ricans were granted US citizenship in 1917. Popularly elected governors have served since 1948. In 1952, a constitution was enacted providing for internal self-government. In plebiscites held in 1967, 1993, and 1998, voters chose not to alter the existing political status with the US, but the results of a 2012 vote left open the possibility of American statehood. Economic recession on the island has led to a net population loss since about 2005, as large numbers of residents moved to the US mainland. The trend has accelerated since 2010; in 2014, Puerto Rico experienced a net population loss to the mainland of 64,000, more than double the net loss of 26,000 in 2010. Hurricane Maria struck the island on 20 September 2017 causing catastrophic damage, including destruction of the electrical grid that had been crippled by Hurricane Irma just two weeks before. It was the worst storm to hit the island in eight decades, and damage is estimated in the tens of billions of dollars. A referendum held in late 2020 showed a narrow preference for American statehood.
land: 8,959 sq km
water: 145 sq km
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
mean elevation: 261 m
arable land: 6.6% (2018 est.)
permanent crops: 5.6% (2018 est.)
permanent pasture: 9.8% (2018 est.)
forest: 63.2% (2018 est.)
other: 14.8% (2018 est.)
3,057,311 (2023 est.)
noun: Puerto Rican(s) (US citizens)
adjective: Puerto Rican
White 75.8%, Black/African American 12.4%, other 8.5% (includes American Indian, Alaskan Native, Native Hawaiian, other Pacific Islander, and others), mixed 3.3% (2010 est.)
note: 99% of the population is Latino
Spanish, English
major-language sample(s):
La Libreta Informativa del Mundo, la fuente indispensable de información básica. (Spanish)
The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.
Roman Catholic 56%, Protestant 33% (largely Pentecostal), other 2%, atheist 1%, none 7% (2014 est.)
0-14 years: 12.84% (male 199,933/female 192,690)
15-64 years: 62.98% (male 921,003/female 1,004,395)
65 years and over: 24.18% (2023 est.) (male 317,522/female 421,768)
total dependency ratio: 56.3
youth dependency ratio: 21.3
elderly dependency ratio: 34.9
potential support ratio: 2.9 (2021 est.)
total: 45.6 years (2023 est.)
male: 43.6 years
female: 47.2 years
-1.29% (2023 est.)
7.8 births/1,000 population (2023 est.)
10 deaths/1,000 population (2023 est.)
-10.8 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2023 est.)
population clusters tend to be found along the coast, the largest of these is found in and around San Juan; an exception to this is a sizeable population located in the interior of the island immediately south of the capital around Caguas; most of the interior, particularly in the western half of the island, is dominated by the Cordillera Central mountains, where population density is low
urban population: 93.6% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization: -0.12% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
2.440 million SAN JUAN (capital) (2023)
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.75 male(s)/female
total population: 0.89 male(s)/female (2023 est.)
34 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)
total: 5.9 deaths/1,000 live births (2023 est.)
male: 6.5 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 5.3 deaths/1,000 live births
total population: 81.9 years (2023 est.)
male: 78.7 years
female: 85.3 years
1.25 children born/woman (2023 est.)
0.61 (2023 est.)
NA
improved: urban: NA
rural: NA
total: 100% of population
unimproved: urban: NA
rural: NA
total: 0% of population (2020 est.)
NA
3.06 physicians/1,000 population (2018)
improved: urban: NA
rural: NA
total: 100% of population
unimproved: urban: NA
rural: NA
total: 0% of population (2020 est.)
NA
37.4% (2023 est.)
3.6% of GDP (2021 est.)
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 92.4%
male: 92.4%
female: 92.4% (2021)
total: 16 years
male: 15 years
female: 18 years (2018)
soil erosion; occasional droughts cause water shortages; industrial pollution
tropical marine, mild; little seasonal temperature variation
agricultural land: 22% (2018 est.)
arable land: 6.6% (2018 est.)
permanent crops: 5.6% (2018 est.)
permanent pasture: 9.8% (2018 est.)
forest: 63.2% (2018 est.)
other: 14.8% (2018 est.)
urban population: 93.6% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization: -0.12% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
0% of GDP (2018 est.)
0% of GDP (2018 est.)
municipal solid waste generated annually: 4,170,953 tons (2015 est.)
municipal solid waste recycled annually: 583,933 tons (2013 est.)
percent of municipal solid waste recycled: 14% (2013 est.)
municipal: 800 million cubic meters (2020 est.)
industrial: 2.37 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)
agricultural: 110 million cubic meters (2020 est.)
7.1 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)
US Caribbean island territorial economy; hit hard by COVID-19 and hurricanes; declining labor force and job growth after a decade of continuous recession; capital-based industry and tourism; high poverty; energy import-dependent
$106.5 billion (2021 est.)
$106.28 billion (2020 est.)
$111.117 billion (2019 est.)
note: data are in 2017 dollars
0.21% (2021 est.)
-4.35% (2020 est.)
1.68% (2019 est.)
$32,600 (2021 est.)
$32,400 (2020 est.)
$34,800 (2019 est.)
note: data are in 2017 dollars
$104.2 billion (2017 est.)
1.8% (2017 est.)
-0.3% (2016 est.)
Standard & Poors rating: D (2015)
note: The year refers to the year in which the current credit rating was first obtained.
agriculture: 0.8% (2017 est.)
industry: 50.1% (2017 est.)
services: 49.1% (2017 est.)comparison rankings:
household consumption: 87.7% (2017 est.)
government consumption: 12.2% (2017 est.)
investment in fixed capital: 11.7% (2017 est.)
investment in inventories: 0.5% (2017 est.)
exports of goods and services: 117.8% (2017 est.)
imports of goods and services: -129.8% (2017 est.)
milk, plantains, bananas, poultry, tomatoes, mangoes/guavas, eggs, oranges, gourds, papayas
pharmaceuticals, electronics, apparel, food products, tourism
-2.1% (2017 est.)
1.136 million (2021 est.)
8.27% (2021 est.)
8.89% (2020 est.)
8.3% (2019 est.)
total: 18.5% (2021 est.)
male: 19.4%
female: 15.6%
NA
lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA
revenues: $9.268 billion (2017 est.)
expenditures: $9.974 billion (2017 est.)
-0.7% (of GDP) (2017 est.)
51.6% of GDP (2017 est.)
50.1% of GDP (2016 est.)
8.9% (of GDP) (2017 est.)
1 July - 30 June
$0 (2017 est.)
$0 (2016 est.)
$73.17 billion (2017 est.)
$73.2 billion (2016 est.)
Italy 15%, Netherlands 15%, Belgium 9%, Japan 8%, Germany 8%, Austria 8%, Spain 7%, China 5% (2019)
packaged medicines, medical cultures/vaccines, hormones, orthopedic and medical appliances, sulfur compounds (2019)
$49.01 billion (2017 est.)
$48.86 billion (2016 est.)
Ireland 38%, Singapore 9%, Switzerland 8%, South Korea 5% (2019)
nitrogen compounds, sulfur compounds, refined petroleum, medical cultures/vaccines, cars (2019)
$56.82 billion (31 December 2010 est.)
$52.98 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
the US dollar is used
electrification - total population: 100% (2021)
installed generating capacity: 6.18 million kW (2020 est.)
consumption: 15,203,140,000 kWh (2019 est.)
exports: 0 kWh (2020 est.)
imports: 0 kWh (2020 est.)
transmission/distribution losses: 2.5 billion kWh (2019 est.)comparison rankings:
fossil fuels: 94.8% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
nuclear: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
solar: 1.4% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
wind: 3.4% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
hydroelectricity: 0.3% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
tide and wave: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
geothermal: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
biomass and waste: 0.1% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
production: 0 metric tons (2020 est.)
consumption: 1.361 million metric tons (2020 est.)
exports: 0 metric tons (2020 est.)
imports: 1.502 million metric tons (2020 est.)
proven reserves: 0 metric tons (2019 est.)
total petroleum production: 0 bbl/day (2021 est.)
refined petroleum consumption: 79,000 bbl/day (2019 est.)
crude oil and lease condensate exports: 0 bbl/day (2018 est.)
crude oil and lease condensate imports: 0 bbl/day (2018 est.)
crude oil estimated reserves: 0 barrels (2021 est.)
0 bbl/day (2015 est.)
18,420 bbl/day (2015 est.)
127,100 bbl/day (2015 est.)
production: 0 cubic meters (2021 est.)
consumption: 1,366,512,000 cubic meters (2020 est.)
exports: 0 cubic meters (2021 est.)
imports: 1,366,512,000 cubic meters (2020 est.)
proven reserves: 0 cubic meters (2021 est.)
18.999 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
from coal and metallurgical coke: 3.774 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
from petroleum and other liquids: 11.407 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
from consumed natural gas: 3.818 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
94.379 million Btu/person (2019 est.)
29 (2021)
17
note: paved runways have a concrete or asphalt surface but not all have facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control; the length of a runway required for aircraft to safely operate depends on a number of factors including the type of aircraft, the takeoff weight (including passengers, cargo, and fuel), engine types, flap settings, landing speed, elevation of the airport, and average maximum daily air temperature; paved runways can reach a length of 5,000 m (16,000 ft.), but the “typical” length of a commercial airline runway is between 2,500-4,000 m (8,000-13,000 ft.)
12
note: unpaved runways have a surface composition such as grass or packed earth and are most suited to the operation of light aircraft; unpaved runways are usually short, often less than 1,000 m (3,280 ft.) in length; airports with unpaved runways often lack facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control
total: 26,862 km (2012) (includes 454 km of expressways)
major seaport(s): Ensenada Honda, Mayaguez, Playa de Guayanilla, Playa de Ponce, San Juan
container port(s) (TEUs): San Juan (1,438,218) (2021)
LNG terminal(s) (import): Guayanilla Bay
manyapis