OFFICIAL SEAL: In the center of a green circular shield, a lamb holding a white banner reclines on the book of the Apocalypse. Above are a yoke, a cluster of arrows, and the letters “F” and “I,” signifying King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, rulers of Spain at the time of discovery; below is the commonwealth motto. Surrounding the shield, on a white border, are the towers of Castile and lions symbolizing Spain, crosses representing the conquest of Jerusalem, and Spanish banners.

FLAG: From the hoist extends a blue triangle, with one white star; five horizontal stripes—three red, two white—make up the balance.

MOTTO: Joannes est nomen ejus (John is his name).

SONG: “La Borinquena.”

FLOWER: Maga.

TREE: Ceiba.

ANIMAL: Coqui.

BIRD: Reinita.

LEGAL HOLIDAYS: New Year’s Day, 1 January; Three Kings Day (Epiphany), 6 January; Birthday of Eugenio Maria de Hostos, 2nd Monday in January; Birthday of Martin Luther King Jr., 3rd Monday in January; Presidents’ Day, 3rd Monday in February; Abolition Day, 22 March; Good Friday, Friday before Easter, March or April; Birthday of José de Diego, 3rd Monday in April; Memorial Day, last Monday in May; Independence Day, 4 July; Birthday of Luis Muñoz Rivera, 3rd Monday in July; Constitution Day, 25 July; Birthday of José Celso Barbosa, 25 July; Labor Day, 1st Monday in September; Discovery of America (Columbus Day), 12 October; Veterans’ Day, 11 November; Discovery of Puerto Rico Day, 19 November; Thanksgiving Day, 4th Thursday in November, Christmas Day, 25 December.

TIME: 8 AM Atlantic Standard Time = noon GMT.

1 Location and Size

Situated on the northeast periphery of the Caribbean Sea about 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers) southeast of Miami, Florida, Puerto Rico is the easternmost and smallest island of the Greater Antilles group. Its total area is 3,515 square miles (9,104 square kilometers), including 3,459 square miles (8,959 square kilometers) of land and 56 square miles (145 square kilometers) of inland water. The main island measures 111 miles (179 kilometers) from east to west and 36 miles (58 kilometers) from north to south. Offshore and to the east are two major islands, Vieques and Culebra. Puerto Rico’s total boundary length is 378 miles (608 kilometers).

2 Topography

About 75% of Puerto Rico’s land area consists of hills or mountains too steep for intensive commercial cultivation. The Cordillera Central range, separating the northern coast from the semiarid south, has the island’s highest peak, Cerro de Punta, at 4,389 feet (1,338 meters). Puerto Rico’s best known peak, El Yunque (3,496 feet or 1,066 meters), stands to the east, in the Luquillo Mountains (Sierra de Luquillo). The north coast consists of a level strip about 100 miles (160 kilometers) long and 5 miles (8 kilometers) wide. Principal valleys are located along the east coast, from Fajardo to Cape Mala Pascua, and around Caguas, in the east-central region. Off the eastern shore are two small islands: Vieques, with an area of 51 square miles (132 square kilometers), and Culebra, covering 24 square miles (62 square kilometers).

The longest river is the Rio de la Plata, extending 46 miles (74 kilometers) from Cayey to Dorado, where it empties into the Atlantic. There are few natural lakes but numerous artificial ones, of which Dos Bocas, south of Arecibo, is one of the most beautiful.

Like many other Caribbean islands, Puerto Rico is the crest of an extinct submarine volcano. About 45 miles (72 kilometers) north of the island lies the Puerto Rico Trench, which at over 28,000 feet (8,500 meters) is one of the world’s deepest chasms.

Puerto Rico Population Profile

Total population estimate in 2006:	3,927,776
Population change, 2000–06:	3.1%
Hispanic or Latino†:	98.5%
Population by race
One race:	95.1%
White:	76.4%
Black or African American:	7.2%
American Indian /Alaska Native:	0.2%
Asian:	0.2%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander:	0.0%
Some other race:	11.1%
Two or more races:	4.9%

Population by Age Group

Major Cities by Population
City	Population
Notes: †A person of Hispanic or Latino origin may be of any race. NA indicates that data are not available.
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey and Population Estimates. www.census.gov/ (accessed March 2007).
San Juan	433,412
Bayamón	224,670
Carolina	187,468
Ponce	186,112
Caguas	141,693
Guaynabo	101,280
Arecibo	101,283
Mayagüez	97,886
Toa Baja	94,867
Trujillo Alto	78,439

3 Climate

Tradewinds from the northeast keep Puerto Rico’s climate steady, although tropical. San Juan has a normal daily mean temperature of 80°f (27°c), ranging from 77°f (25°c) in January to 82°f (28°c) in July; the normal daily minimum is 73°f (23°c), the maximum 86°f (30°c). The lowest temperature ever recorded on the island is 39°f (4°c); the highest was 103°f (39°c). The recorded temperature in San Juan has never been lower than 60°f (16°c) or higher than 97°f (37°c).

Rainfall varies by region. Ponce, on the south coast, averages only 32 inches (81 centimeters) a year, while the highlands average 108 inches (274 centimeters); the rain forest on El Yunque receives an annual average of 183 inches (465 centimeters). San Juan’s average annual rainfall is 54 inches (137 centimeters), with its rainiest months being May through November.

The word “hurricane” derives from hurakán, a term the Spanish learned from Puerto Rico’s Taino Indians. Several hurricanes have struck Puerto Rico in this century, including the devastating Hurricane Georges in 1998.

4 Plants and Animals

During the 19th century, forests covered about three-fourths of Puerto Rico. As of the 21st century, however, only one-fourth of the island is forested. Flowering trees still abound, and the butterfly tree, African tulip, and flamboyán (royal poinciana) add bright reds and pinks to Puerto Rico’s lush green landscape. Among hardwoods, now rare, are nutmeg, satinwood, Spanish elm, and Spanish cedar.

The only mammal found by the conquistadores on the island was a kind of barkless dog, now extinct. Virtually all present-day mammals have been introduced, including horses, cattle, cats, and dogs. The only troublesome mammal is the mongoose, brought in from India to control reptiles in the cane fields and now wild in remote rural areas.

Mosquitoes and sand flies are common pests, but the only dangerous insect is the giant centipede, whose sting is painful but rarely fatal.

Perhaps the island’s best known inhabitant is the golden coqui, a tiny threatened tree frog. Marine life is extraordinarily abundant, including many tropical fish, crabs, and corals. Puerto Rico has some 200 bird species, many of which live in the rain forest. Thrushes, orioles, grosbeaks, and hummingbirds are common, and the reinita and pitirre are distinctive to the island. Several parrot species are rare, and the Puerto Rican parrot is endangered. Also on the endangered list are the yellow-shouldered blackbird and the Puerto Rican plain pigeon, and Puerto Rican whippoorwill. The Mona boa and Mona ground iguana are threatened. There are three national wildlife refuges, covering a total of 2,425 acres (981 hectares).

5 Environmental Protection

US environmental laws and regulations are applicable in Puerto Rico. Land-use planning, overseen by the Puerto Rico Planning Board, is an especially difficult problem, since residential, industrial, and recreational developers are all competing for about 30% of the total land area on an island that is already more densely populated than any state of the United States except New Jersey. Pollution from highland latrines and septic systems and from agricultural and industrial waste is a potential hazard. The rum industry, for example, has traditionally dumped its waste into the ocean. Sewage discharges into the ocean remain a problem.

As of 2003, the island had 16 hazardous waste sites, 10 of which were on the National Priorities List in 2006.

6 Population

Puerto Rico’s population was estimated at 3,927,776 in 2006, up from 3,522,037 in 1990. The population projection for 2010 is 4.4 million. With a population density of 1,137.4 per square mile (439.2 per square kilometer), Puerto Rico is one of the most densely populated areas of the world.

In 2000, the population was estimated to be 75% urban and 25% rural. In 2005, about 27% of the population was under the age of 15 and about 13% was 65 years old or older. San Juan is Puerto Rico’s capital and largest city, with a 2005 population estimate of 433,412, followed by Bayamón, 224,670; Carolina, 187,468; Ponce, 186,112; and Caguas, 141,693.

7 Ethnic Groups

Three main ethnic strands are the heritage of Puerto Rico: the Taino Indians, most of whom fled or perished after the Spanish conquest; black Africans, imported as slaves under Spanish rule; and the Spanish themselves. With an admixture of Dutch, English, Corsicans, and other Europeans, Puerto Ricans today enjoy a distinct Hispanic-Afro-Antillean heritage. In 2006, about 76.4% of the population was white (primarily of Spanish origin), 7.2% was black, 0.2% was Amerindian, and 11.1% was of some other race.

Less than two thirds of all ethnic Puerto Ricans live on the island. Virtually all the rest reside on the US mainland. In 2000, there were 3.4 million people who identified themselves as Puerto Rican in the 50 states. The State of New York has almost half the US ethnic Puerto Rican population.

8 Languages

Spanish and English are the official languages of Puerto Rico, but Spanish remains dominant among the residents. From 1898 through the 1920s, US authorities unsuccessfully sought to make English the island’s primary language.

Puerto Rico Population by Race

Census 2000 was the first national census in which the instructions to respondents said, “Mark one or more races.” This table shows the number of people who are of one, two, or three or more races. For those claiming two races, the number of people belonging to the various categories is listed. The U.S. government conducts a census of the population every ten years.

	Number	Percent
Source: U.S. Census Bureau. Census 2000: Redistricting Data. Press release issued by the Redistricting Data Office. Washington, D.C., March, 2001. A dash (—) indicates that the percent is less than 0.1.
Total population	3,808,610	100.0
One race	3,650,195	95.8
Two races	146,453	3.8
White and Black or African American	88,324	2.3
White and American Indian/Alaska Native	1,255	—
White and Asian	1,533	—
White and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander	410	—
White and some other race	31,963	0.8
Black or African American and American Indian/Alaska Native	1,378	—
Black or African American and Asian	574	—
Black or African American and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander	156	—
Black or African American and some other race	11,879	0.3
American Indian/Alaska Native and Asian	1,156	—
American Indian/Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander	46	—
American Indian/Alaska Native and some other race	3,701	0.1
Asian and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander	52	—
Asian and some other race	3,239	0.1
Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander and some other race	787	—
Three or more races	11,962	0.3

Taino Indian terms that survive in Puerto Rican Spanish include such place names as Arecibo, Guayama, and Mayagüez, as well as hamaca (hammock) and canoa (canoe). Among many African borrowings are food terms like quimbombó (okra), guince (banana), and mondongo (a spicy stew).

9 Religions

During the first three centuries of Spanish rule, Roman Catholicism was the only religion permitted in Puerto Rico. About 85% of the population was still Roman Catholic in 2006, and the Church maintains numerous hospitals and schools on the island. Most of the remaining Puerto Ricans belong to other Christian denominations, which have been allowed on the island since the 1850s. Pentecostal churches have attracted a significant following, particularly among the urban poor of the barrios.

10 Transportation

Rivers are not navigable, and the only function of narrow-gauge rural railroads is to haul sugarcane to the mills during the harvesting season. Other goods are transported by truck. A few public bus systems provide intercity passenger transport, the largest being the Metropolitan Bus Authority (MBA), a government-owned company serving San Juan and nearby cities. The predominant form of public transportation outside the San Juan metropolitan area is the público, a privately owned jitney service of small buses and cars. In many rural areas, this is the only form of public transit.

In 2004, Puerto Rico had 264 miles (424 kilometers) of interstate highways, and 15,673 miles (25,217 kilometers) of local roads. A rail transit system (the Tren Urbano or Urban Train) began operations in December 2004, connecting San Juan to the surrounding urban areas with 16 stations along a 10.7-mile (17-kilometer), 30-minute route.

San Juan, the island’s principal port handled 9.6 million tons of cargo in 2001. Ponce and Mayagüez handle considerable tons of cargo as well. Ferries link the main island with Vieques and Culebra.

Puerto Rico receives flights from the US mainland and from the Virgin Islands, the British West Indies, Jamaica, and the Dominican Republic, as well as from Great Britain, France, Spain, and the Netherlands. Puerto Rico had 30 airports in 2004. Luis Muñoz Marin International Airport serviced 10.4 million passengers in 2002.

11 History

Archaeological finds indicate that at least three Native American cultures settled on the island now known as Puerto Rico long before its discovery by Christopher Columbus on 19 November 1493. The first group, belonging to the Archaic Culture, is believed to have come from Florida and relied on the products of the sea. The second group, the Igneri, came from northern South America and brought agriculture and pottery to the island. The third culture, the Taino, combined fishing with agriculture. A peaceful, sedentary tribe, the Taino were adept at stonework and lived in many parts of the island. To these Indians, the island was known as Boriqúen.

Columbus, accompanied by a young nobleman named Juan Ponce de León, landed at the western end of the island—which he called San Juan Bautista (St. John the Baptist)—and claimed it for Spain. Not until colonization was well under way would the island acquire the name Puerto Rico (literally, “rich port”), with the name San Juan Bautista applied to the capital city. The first settlers arrived on 12 August 1508, under the able leadership of Ponce de León, who sought to transplant and adapt Spanish civilization to Puerto Rico’s tropical habitat. The small contingent of Spaniards compelled the Taino, numbering perhaps 30,000, to mine for gold; the rigors of forced labor and the losses from rebellion reduced the Taino population to about 4,000 by 1514, by which time the mines were nearly depleted. With the introduction of slaves from Africa, sugarcane growing became the leading economic activity. Since neither mining or sugarcane was able to provide sufficient revenue to support the struggling colony, the treasury of New Spain began a subsidy which defrayed the cost of the island’s government and defense until the early 19th century.

16th to18th Centuries From the early 16th century onward, an intense power struggle for the control of the Caribbean marked Puerto Rico as a strategic base of the first magnitude. After a French attack in 1528, construction of La Fortaleza (still in use today as the governor’s palace) was begun in 1533, and work on El Morro fortress in San Juan commenced six years later. The new fortifications helped repel a British attack led by Sir Francis Drake in 1595; a second force, arriving in 1598 under George Clifford, Earl of Cumberland, succeeded in capturing San Juan, but the British were forced to withdraw by tropical heat and disease.

In 1625, a Dutch attack under the command of Boudewijn Hendrikszoon was repulsed, although much of San Juan was sacked and burned by the attackers. By the 18th century, Puerto Rico had become a haven for pirates, and smuggling was the major economic activity. A Spanish envoy who came to the island in 1765 was appalled, and his report to the crown inaugurated a period of economic, administrative, and military reform. The creation of a native militia helped Puerto Rico withstand a fierce British assault on San Juan in 1797, by which time the island had more than 100,000 inhabitants.

Long after most of the Spanish colonies in the New World had obtained independence, Puerto Rico and Cuba remained under Spanish rule. Despite several rebellions, most of them inspired by the Latin American liberator Simón Bolivar, Spain’s military might halted any revolution on the island.

Puerto Rico became a shelter for refugees from Santo Domingo, Haiti, and Venezuela who were faithful to Spain, fearful of disturbances in their own countries, or both. As in Cuba, the sugar industry developed in Puerto Rico during this period favored the institution of slavery on the island.

19th Century The 19th century also gave birth, however, to a new Puerto Rican civil and political consciousness. Puerto Rican participation in the short-lived constitutional experiments in Spain (1812–14 and 1820–23) fostered the rise of a spirit of liberalism. The Spanish constitution of 1812 declared that the people of Puerto Rico were no longer colonial subjects but were full-fledged citizens of Spain. Nevertheless, the Spanish crown maintained an alert, centralized, absolutist government in Puerto Rico with all basic powers concentrated in the captain general.

Toward the middle of the 19th century, a criollo generation with strong liberal roots began a new era in Puerto Rican history. This group, which called for the abolition of slavery and the introduction of far-reaching economic and political reforms, also developed and strengthened the Puerto Rican literary tradition. The more radical reformers espoused the cause of separation from Spain and joined in a propaganda campaign in New York on behalf of Cuban independence. An aborted revolution began in the town of Lares in September 1868 (and coincided with an insurrection in Spain that deposed Queen Isabella II). Though it was soon quelled, this rebellion awakened a dormant sense of national identity among Puerto Ricans.

The major reform efforts after 1868 revolved around abolitionism and autonomia, or self-government. Slavery was abolished in 1873 by the First Spanish Republic, which also granted new political rights to the islanders. The restoration of the Spanish monarchy two years later, however, was a check to Puerto Rican aspirations. During the last quarter of the century, leaders such as Luis Muñoz Rivera sought unsuccessfully to secure vast new powers of self-government.

The imminence of war with the United States over Cuba, coupled with autonomist agitation within Puerto Rico, led Spain in November 1897 to grant to the island a charter with broad powers of self-rule. No sooner had an elected government begun to function in July 1898 than US forces, overcoming Spanish resistance, took over the island. A cease fire was proclaimed on 13 August, and sovereignty was formally transferred to the United States with the signing of the Treaty of Paris in December, ending the Spanish-American War.

The US government swept aside the self-governing charter granted by Spain and established military rule from 1898 to 1900. Civilian government was restored in 1900 under a colonial law, the Foraker Act, that gave the federal government full control of the executive and legislative branches, leaving some local representation in the lower chamber, or house of delegates. Under the Jones Act, Congress extended US citizenship to the islanders and granted an elective senate, but still reserved vast powers over Puerto Rico to the federal bureaucracy.

20th Century The early period of US rule saw an effort to Americanize local institutions, and even tried to substitute English for the Spanish language. In the meantime, American corporate capital took over the sugar industry, developing a plantation economy so pervasive that, by 1920, 75% of the population relied on the cane crop for its livelihood. Glaring irregularities of wealth resulted, sharpening social and political divisions. This period also saw the development of three main trends in Puerto Rican political thinking. One group favored the incorporation of Puerto Rico into the United States as a state; a second group, fearful of cultural assimilation, favored self-government; while a third group wanted independence.

The Depression hit Puerto Rico especially hard. With a population approaching two million by the late 1930s and with few occupational opportunities outside the sugar industry, the island’s economy deteriorated. Mass unemployment and near-starvation were the results.

Controlling the Puerto Rican legislature from 1932 to 1940 was a coalition of the Socialist Party, led by Santiago Iglesias, a Spanish labor leader who became a protégé of the American Federation of Labor; and the Republican Party, which had traditionally espoused statehood and had been founded in Puerto Rico by José Celso Barbosa, a black physician who had studied in the United States. The coalition was unable to produce any significant improvement, although under the New Deal a US government effort was made to supply emergency relief for the “stricken island.”

Agitation for full political and economic reform or independence gained ground during this period. Great pressure was put on Washington for a change in the island’s political status, while social and economic reform was carried to the fullest extent possible within the limitations of the Jones Act. Intensive efforts were made to centralize economic planning, attract new industries through local tax exemptions (Puerto Rico was already exempt from federal taxation), reduce inequalities of income, and improve housing, schools, and health conditions. By 1955, income from manufacturing surpassed agriculture and was five times as great by 1970.

The Popular Democratic Party (PDP), the dominant force in Puerto Rican politics from 1940 to 1968, favored a new self-governing relationship with the United States, distinct from statehood or independence. The party succeeded not only in bringing about significant social and economic change but also in obtaining from Congress, in 1950, a law allowing Puerto Ricans to draft their own constitution with full local self-government. This new constitution, approved in a general referendum on 3 March 1952, led to the establishment on 25 July of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico (Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico), which was constituted as an autonomous political entity in voluntary association with the United States.

More advanced than most Caribbean countries in education, health, and social development, Puerto Rico suffered from growing political tensions in the early 1980s, with occasional terrorist attacks on US military installations and personnel. These tensions may have been exacerbated by the national recession of 1980–81, which had a particularly severe impact on Puerto Rico. At the same time, the island’s economy experienced a structural shift. Whereas 50% of jobs in Puerto Rico had been in agriculture in 1940, by 1989 that figure had dropped to 20%. Manufacturing jobs, in contrast, rose from 5 to 15% of total employment between 1940 and 1989. The economy grew at an estimated 2.2% in 2001. Due to adverse conditions in the global economy, however, the gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate stood at 0.5% in 2002.

In 1989, Hurricane Hugo caused 12 deaths and $1 billion in damage in Puerto Rico. In 1998, Hurricane Georges ravaged the island, causing damage estimated in the billions of dollars.

21st Century In the 2000 elections, Sila M. Calderón was elected the island’s first female governor. During Calderón’s administration, Puerto Rico was faced with a growing crime rate, fueled by the drug trade. The economy was ailing, made worse by the phasing out of tax breaks that had been given to US companies to set up operations on the island. Calderón did not run for a second term; in 2004, Anibal Acevedo Vila narrowly defeated former governor Pedro Rossello for the office. Political gridlock between the legislature and the governor resulted in the lack of a budget. On 1 May 2006, the government ran out of money. Nearly 100,000 Puerto Rican government employees lost their jobs, some 43 government agencies shut down, and the island’s 1,600 public schools were closed.

In 2003, the US Navy withdrew from the island of Vieques, and approximately 15,000 acres of land previously used by the military were turned over to the US Department of the Interior’s Fish and Wildlife Service, to be dedicated to a wildlife refuge closed to the public. Puerto Ricans had over the years protested the US military presence on Vieques, maintaining that military exercises carried out there were responsible for health and environmental problems. In 1999, an accident on the island during a US military training exercise had killed one Puerto Rican civilian and wounded four others.

The 51st State? Puerto Rico’s political status remains a source of controversy. Statehood would give Puerto Rico representation in the US Congress and would make the island eligible for billions of dollars more a year in food stamps, medical insurance, and income support payments, which are currently set at levels far below those of states.

Statehood, however, would also incur the loss of tax benefits. Under current federal tax law for the commonwealth, individuals pay no federal income tax. More importantly, corporations pay no federal tax on profits, which has persuaded many companies, particularly manufacturers of pharmaceuticals, chemicals, and electronics, to build plants in Puerto Rico.

In a 1993 plebiscite, a slight majority of Puerto Rican voters chose to maintain the island’s status as an American commonwealth. The vote was conditioned, however, by a request that Congress modify the terms of the island’s commonwealth status. Specifically, Puerto Ricans asked for such “enhancements” as removing the federal ceiling on food stamps and extending Supplemental Security Income, a federal aid program, to elderly and disabled Puerto Ricans. They also requested that federal tax law, recently amended to reduce the exemptions corporations could claim from taxes on profits by 60%, be restored to its original form.

12 State Government

Since 1952, Puerto Rico has been a commonwealth of the United States, governed under the Puerto Rican Federal Relations Act and under a constitution based on the US model.

The commonwealth legislature comprises a senate (Senado) of 27 or more members, 2 from each of 8 senatorial districts and 11 elected at large, and a house of representatives (Cámara de Representantes) of 51 or more members, 1 from each of 40 districts and 11 at large. Each senate district consists of five house districts. If a single party wins two-thirds or more of the seats in either house, the number of seats can be expanded (up to a limit of 9 in the senate and 17 in the house) to assure representation for minority parties. The governor, who may serve an unlimited number of four-year terms, is the only elected executive.

Residents of Puerto Rico may not vote in US presidential elections. A Puerto Rican who settles in one of the 50 states automatically becomes eligible to vote for president; conversely, a state resident who migrates to Puerto Rico forfeits such eligibility. Puerto Rico has no vote in the US Senate or House of Representatives, but a non-voting resident delegate, elected every four years, may speak on the floor of the House, introduce legislation, and vote in House committees.

13 Political Parties

The Popular Democratic Party (PPD), founded in 1938, favors the strengthening and development of commonwealth status. The New Progressive Party (PNP), created in 1968 as the successor to the Puerto Rican Republican Party, is pro-statehood. Two smaller parties, each favoring independence for the island, are the Puerto Rican Independence Party, founded in the mid-1940s and committed to democratic socialism, and the more radical Puerto Rican Socialist Party, which has close ties with Cuba. A breakaway group, the Renewal Party, led by the then-mayor of San Juan, Hernán Padilla, left the PNP and took part in the 1984 elections.

In 1980, Governor Carlos Romero Barceló of the PNP, who had pledged to actively seek Puerto Rico’s admission to the Union if elected by a large margin, retained the governorship by a plurality of fewer than 3,500 votes. Former governor Rafael Hernández Colón defeated Romero Barceló’s bid for reelection in 1984 by more than 54,000 votes. Colon was reelected in 1988 and was succeeded in 1992 by Pedro Rossello, a New Progressive and a supporter of statehood, and who was reelected in 1996. In 2000, Sila M. Calderón was elected Puerto Rico’s first female governor, with 48.6% of the vote. The 2004 general elections were the second-closest in Puerto Rican history. A recount confirmed the winner, Anibal Acevedo Vila of the PPD. He was the first governor in Puerto Rican history not to have a resident commissioner of his same party, given that Luis Fortuno of the PNP won the post.

Although Puerto Ricans have no vote in US presidential elections, the island does send voting delegates to the national conventions of the Democratic and Republican parties.

14 Local Government

The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico had 78 municipios (municipalities) in 2006, each governed by a mayor and municipal assembly elected every four years. In fact, these governments resemble US county governments in that they perform services for both urban and rural areas. Many of the functions normally performed by municipal governments in the United States—for instance, fire protection, education, water supply, and law enforcement—are performed by the commonwealth government directly.

15 Judicial System

Puerto Rico’s highest court, the supreme court, consists of a chief justice and six associate justices. They are appointed, like all other judges, by the governor with the consent of the senate and serve until compulsory retirement at age 70. The court may sit in separate panels for some purposes, but not in cases dealing with the constitutionality of commonwealth law, for which the entire body convenes. Decisions of the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico regarding US constitutional questions may be appealed to the US Supreme Court.

The circuit court of appeals consists of 33 justices named by the governor with the consent of the senate. The court was created in 1994 as an intermediary tribunal between the courts of first instance and the supreme court.

The nine superior courts are the main trial courts; superior court judges are appointed to 12-year terms. In 2003, superior courts were divided into 13 districts. These courts have original jurisdiction in civil cases not exceeding $10,000 and in minor criminal cases. District courts also hear preliminary motions in more serious criminal cases. Municipal judges, serving for five years, and justices of the peace, in rural areas, decide cases involving local ordinances.

San Juan is the seat of the US District Court for Puerto Rico, which has the same jurisdiction as federal district courts on the US mainland.

16 Migration

Although migration from Puerto Rico to the US mainland is not an entirely new phenomenon—several Puerto Rican merchants were living in New York City as early as 1830—there were no more than 70,000 islanders in the United States in 1940. Mass migration, spurred by the booming postwar job market in the United States, began in 1947. The out-migration was particularly large from 1951 through 1959, when the net outflow of migrants from the island averaged more than 47,000 a year.

According to the 2003 American Community Profile, an estimated 3,717,941 ethnic Puerto Ricans were living in the 50 states, or about 1.31% of the population. At least 32 cities had Puerto Rican communities of 5,000 or more. Puerto Ricans are found in significant numbers not only in New York but also in New Jersey, Illinois, Pennsylvania, California, Florida, Connecticut, and Massachusetts.

17 Economy

The island’s most important industrial products are pharmaceuticals, electronics, apparel, and food products. The sugar industry has gradually lost ground to dairy production and other livestock products in the agricultural sector. Tourism is the backbone of a large service industry, and the government sector has also grown. Tourist revenues and remittances from Puerto Rican workers on the US mainland largely counterbalance the island’s chronic trade deficit.

The recession in the United States that began in 2001 negatively impacted the Puerto Rican economy more severely than the mainland economy. The 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks had an adverse effect on the Puerto Rican tourist industry. By 2003, the economy was showing signs of stabilizing. However, as of 2006, some of the same factors affecting the US economy, such as the ongoing war with Iraq and rising oil prices, affected the island’s economy as well.

18 Income

Per capita (per person) income in Puerto Rico, $12,031 in 2004, was far lower than in any of the 50 states during that year, but still greatly exceeded that of its Caribbean neighbors. Average family income on the island in 2004 was about $37,900.

19 Industry

In 1992, the value of manufactured shipments was $31 billion. Chemicals accounted for 43%; food and related products, 17%; and electronic equipment, 9%. In 1995, 172,000 Puerto Ricans were employed in manufacturing. The leading employment categories are apparel and textiles, chemicals and allied products, food and food-related products, electric and electronic equipment, and instruments. The growth areas were electric and electronic equipment, up 47% from 1977, and instruments and related products, up 60%.

There are more than 90 pharmaceutical plants representing 20 of the world’s leading drug and health companies. The largest included Johnson & Johnson (Rio Piedras), Abbott Chemicals (Barceloneta), Bristol-Myers Squibb (Humacao), Warner-Lambert (Vega Baja), and Schering Plough (Manati). Baxter International (medical devices) is one of the commonwealth’s largest non-locally based manufacturers, with 10 plants; Westinghouse Electric (electric components) has 15; and Motorola (radio equipment), 4.

In 2003, manufacturing accounted for 42.1% of GDP, more than double the percentage for the US mainland. Despite the phase-out of federal tax incentives for US firms, the pharmaceutical industry employed more than 30,000 people in 2005.

20 Labor

Puerto Rico’s civilian labor force as of 2006 numbered 1,417,300. The unemployment averaged 19.5%.

In 2003, agriculture, forestry, and fishing accounted for about 2% of employment; construction and mining, 7%; manufacturing, 11%; wholesale and retail trade, 21%; finance, insurance, and real estate, 4%; transportation and other public utilities, 5%; services, 28%; and government, 21%.

Less than 10% of the labor force belongs to trade unions. Wages tend to adhere closely to the US statutory minimum, which applies to Puerto Rico.

21 Agriculture

In 1940, agriculture employed 43% of the work force; by 2000, about 3% of the Puerto Rican labor force had agricultural jobs. Nowhere is this decline more evident than in the sugar industry. Production peaked at 1.3 million tons in 1952. The hilly terrain makes mechanization difficult, and manual cutting contributes to production costs that are much higher than those of Hawaii and Louisiana.

Despite incentives and subsidies, tobacco is no longer profitable, and coffee production—well adapted to the highlands—falls far short of domestic consumption, although about half of the crop is exported. Plantains are also an important crop. Ornamental plants, vegetables, and tropical fruits such as pineapples, mangoes, and bananas are also grown.

22 Domesticated Animals

In early 2002, there were 281,371 cattle and 87,490 hogs on Puerto Rico farms and ranches. Sales of cattle and calves amounted to $36.5 million in 2002; hogs and pigs, $9.7 million. Dairy cattle numbered 153,097 in 2002; poultry for meat numbered 7.7 million; and chickens for egg production numbered 1.9 million in 2002. Puerto Rican dairy farms produced 373.3 million quarts of milk products valued at $194.2 million in 2002; egg production that year reached 17.6 million dozen. Sales of dairy products and poultry products in 2002 totaled $194.2 million and $78.7 million, respectively.

23 Fishing

Although sport fishing, especially for blue marlin, is an important tourist attraction, the waters surrounding Puerto Rico are too deep to lend themselves to commercial fishery. Tuna brought in from African and South American waters was processed on the western shore, although some plants were closed as tax benefits to companies operating in Puerto Rico were phased out. Species produced by Puerto Rican aquaculture include saltwater shrimp, red tilapia fish, and ornamental species. Approximately 4,497,000 pounds (2,039,805 kilograms) of fish were produced in 2002, for a total value of $10.3 million. Fifty aquacultural farms were operating in 2002, up from 44 in 1998; aquaculture accounted for $2.9 million in sales that year.

24 Forestry

Puerto Rico lost its self-sufficiency in timber production by the mid-19th century, as population expansion and increasing demand for food led to massive deforestation. Puerto Rico must import nearly all of its wood and paper products. The public forest system covers 86,095 acres (34,842 hectares), of which 58,249 acres (23,573 hectares) are part of the Puerto Rico State Forest system and 27,846 acres (11,269 hectares) are part of the Caribbean National Forest.

25 Mining

The estimated value of nonfuel mineral commodities produced in Puerto Rico was $159 million in 2000. Portland cement and crushed stone are the most valuable commodities.

At least 11 different types of metallic mineral deposits, including copper, iron, gold, manganese, silver, molybdenum, zinc, lead, and other minerals, are found on the island. Also produced are industrial minerals (cement, stone, clay, and sand and gravel).

26 Energy and Power

Puerto Rico is almost totally dependent on imported crude oil for its energy needs. The island has not yet developed any fossil fuel resources of its own, and its one experimental nuclear reactor, built on the south coast at Rincon in 1964, was shut down after a few years. Solar-powered hot water heaters have been installed in a few private homes and at La Fortaleza. Inefficiency in the public transport system has encouraged commonwealth residents to rely on private vehicles, thereby increasing the demands for imported petroleum. Of Puerto Rico’s total energy requirements, about 93% is supplied by oil. In 2003, Puerto Rico consumed an estimated 218,000 barrels per day of oil; the vast majority of its imports came from American and Caribbean suppliers.

Puerto Rico began importing liquefied natural gas in 2000 to supply its gas-fired plant in Penuelas. In 2003, an estimated 740 million cubic meters (26.1 billion cubic feet) was consumed. In 2002, Puerto Rico consumed 176,370 tons of coal, all of it imported. A new coal-fired plant in Guayama was recognized as one of the cleanest coal-fired plants in the world when it became operational in 2002.

27 Commerce

Wholesale trade in Puerto Rico in 2002 included some 2,313 establishments and major distributors, with sales of over $16.1 billion. Retail trade consists mainly of food and apparel stores. Two large shopping centers, Plaza las Americas and Plaza Carolina, are in the San Juan area. Retail trade during 2002 involved 11,465 establishments; total retail trade amounted to over $20.4 billion.

Foreign trade is a significant factor in Puerto Rico’s economy. Trade between the United States and Puerto Rico is unrestricted. In 2003, the island’s imports were $33.7 billion, and exports were $55.2 billion. During 2001, the United States received $41.4 billion of Puerto Rico’s exports and supplied about $15.6 billion of its imports. Puerto Rico’s main trading partners, aside from the US, are the Netherlands, Belgium, Ireland, and Japan.

28 Public Finance

Puerto Rico’s annual budget is prepared by the Bureau of Budget and Management and submitted by the governor to the legislator, which has unlimited power to amend it. The fiscal year extends from July 1 to June 30. In the 1999/2000 fiscal year (the most recent for which data was available), revenues totaled $6.7 billion and expenditures amounted to $9.6 billion.

29 Taxation

The Puerto Rican Federal Relations Act stipulates that the Commonwealth is exempt from US internal revenue laws. The federal income tax is not levied on permanent residents of Puerto

Rico, but federal Social Security and unemployment taxes are deducted from payrolls, and the commonwealth government collects an income tax. Corporations in Puerto Rico are also taxed.

In 2004, the treasury reported total tax revenues of $7.24 billion. About $97.8 million was collected in property taxes. Income tax provided revenues of about $5.3 billion, with $2.7 billion from individual income tax and $1.8 billion from corporations and partnerships. There is no general sales tax, but there is a 5% tax on jewelry. There are also taxes on room charges at hotels. An excise tax applies for all inbound shipments and there are taxes on alcohol and motor vehicles as well. Merchandise arriving from the US is subject to a tax of about 6.6%.

30 Health

Infant mortality declined from 113 per 1,000 live births in 1940 to 9.14 in 2006. A resident of Puerto Rico born in 2006 is expected to live 78.4 years (74.46 years for males; 82.54 years for females). The leading causes of death were similar to those in most industrialized countries (heart disease, cancer, diabetes mellitus). Alcoholism and drug addiction are among the major public health problems, although suicide occurs less often than it does in most of the states. At the end of 2004, there were an estimated 10,079 residents with AIDS. In 2003, the death rate for HIV was estimated at 13.6 per 100,000 population.

In 2002, Puerto Rico had 58 hospitals. In 2004, there were 254 doctors and 1,552 dentists per 100,000 people. In 2005, there were 383 registered nurses per 100,000 population.

31 Housing

In 2000, there were a total of about 1,418,476 housing units with 2.98 persons per unit, versus 867,697 units in 1980 when there were 3.66 persons per occupied unit. In 2000, about 1,261,325 units were occupied; 72.9% were owner-occupied. About 68% of all units were single-family detached homes and just over 25% of all units were built between 1970 and 1979. Nearly 24% of all units had no telephone service, 5.2% lacked complete plumbing facilities, and 1.5% lacked complete kitchen facilities. The median home value was $75,100. The median monthly cost for a mortgage was $625 and the median monthly cost for rent was $297.

32 Education

Education is compulsory for children between 6 and 16 years of age, and nearly two out of ten commonwealth budget dollars goes to education. As of 2002, about 94.1% of the population was literate.

In 2004, there were 584,916 students attending public school. Instruction is carried out in Spanish, but English is taught at all levels. In 2004, there were 1,489 public schools and 545 private schools in Puerto Rico.

The primary state supported institution of higher learning is the University of Puerto Rico with its main campus at Rico Piedras. The system also includes doctorate-level campuses at Mayagüez and San Juan (for medical sciences), and four-year colleges at Aguadilla, Arecibo, Bayamon, Carolina, Cavey, Humacao, Ponce, and Utuado. The 39 private institutions in 2002/03 included Interamerican University, with campuses at Hato Rey, San German, and other locations, and the Catholic University of Puerto Rico, at Ponce. Total enrollment at higher education institutions was 191,552 in 2002/03.

33 Arts

The Tapia Theater in Old San Juan is the island’s major showcase for local and visiting performers, including the Taller de Histriones group and zarzuela (comic opera) troupes from Spain. The Institute of Puerto Rican Culture produces an annual theatrical festival. The Fine Arts Center is the largest center of its kind in the Caribbean. It features entertainment ranging from ballet, opera, and symphonies to drama, jazz, and popular music.

Puerto Rico has its own symphony orchestra and conservatory of music. The Opera de Camara tours several houses. Puerto Rico supports both a classical ballet company (the Ballets de San Juan), and the Areyto Folkloric Group, which performs traditional folk dances. Salsa, a popular style pioneered by such Puerto Rican musicians as Tito Puente, influenced the development of pop music on the US mainland during the 1970s.

34 Libraries and Museums

In 1997, Puerto Rico’s public libraries contained about 609,391 volumes. The University of Puerto Rico Library at Rio Piedras held 1,804,010 books in 2003; the library of the Puerto Rico Conservatory of Music, in San Juan, has a collection of music written by Puerto Rican and Latin American composers. Among the some 50 museums in 2003, the Museo de Arte de Ponce (Luis A. Ferre Foundation) had paintings, sculptures, and archaeological artifacts, as well as a library. The Marine Station Museum in Mayagüez exhibits Caribbean marine specimens and sponsors research and field trips.

35 Communications

The Puerto Rico Telephone Company was founded in 1914 by the creators of International Telephone and Telegraph (ITT). In 1974, the Puerto Rican government bought the phone company from ITT. In 2004, there were an estimated 1.112 million telephone lines on the island. That year, there were an estimated 2.682 million cellular phone subscribers.

As of 2006, there were 74 AM and 53 FM radio stations. In 2003, there were four commercial television channels/networks with six affiliates, one public broadcast television channel/ network, three cable television service companies (with 360,579 subscribers), and four satellite television providers. The total number of television broadcast stations reached 32 in 2006.

There were 132 Internet hosts in 2005, servicing approximately 1 million Internet users.

36 Press

Puerto Rico has four major dailies: El Nuevo Dia s, with the largest circulation in 2005—203,153 mornings and 245,500 Sundays; El Voceo; Primera Hor; and the English-language San Juan Star, which won a Pulitzer Prize in 1961. There are also 22 weekly and 8 monthly newspapers.

37 Tourism, Travel & Recreation

Only government and manufacturing exceed tourism in importance to the Puerto Rican economy. The industry has grown rapidly from 65,000 tourists in 1950 to 1.1 million in 1970 and 3 million in 2003. Tourism employs approximately 60,000 workers. During 2000/01, visitors spent $2.7 billion in Puerto Rico, a 14.2% increase over 1999/00.

Most tourists come for sunning, swimming, deep sea fishing, and the fashionable shops, night clubs, and casinos of San Juan’s Condado Strip. Attractions of old San Juan include two fortresses, El Morro and San Cristobal, San Jose Church (one of the oldest in the New World), and La Fortaleza, the governor’s palace. The government has encouraged tourists to journey outside of San Juan to destinations such as the rain forest of El Yunque, and the bird sanctuary and mangrove forest on the shores of Torrecilla Lagoon.

38 Sports

Baseball is very popular in Puerto Rico. There is a six-team professional winter league, in which many ball players from American and National league teams participate. Horse racing, cock-fighting, boxing, and basketball are also popular. Other annual sporting events include the Copa Velasco Regatta, the first leg of the Caribbean Ocean Racing Triangle, and the International Billfish Tournament in San Juan.

39 Famous

Elected to represent Puerto Rico before the Spanish Cortes in 1812, Ramón Power y Giralt (1775–1813), a liberal reformer, was the leading Puerto Rican political figure of the early 19th century. Power, appointed vice president of the Cortes, participated in the drafting of the new Spanish constitution of 1812. Ramón Emeterio Betances (1827–1898) became well known not only for his efforts to alleviate a cholera epidemic in 1855, but also for his crusade to abolish slavery in Puerto Rico and for his leadership in a racial separatist movement.

The dominant political figure in 20th-century Puerto Rico was Luis Muñoz Marin (1898–1980), founder of the Popular Democratic Party in 1938 and president of Puerto Rico’s senate from 1940 to 1948. Muñoz, the first native-born elected governor of the island (1948–1964), devised the commonwealth relationship that has governed the island since 1952.

Women have actively participated in Puerto Rican politics. Ana Roqué de Duprey (1853–1933) led the Asociación Puertorriquena de Mujeres Sufragistas, organized in late 1926, while Milagros Benet de Mewton (1868–1945) presided over the Liga Social Sufragista, founded in 1917. Both groups actively lobbied for the extension of the right to vote to Puerto Rican women, not only in Puerto Rico but in the United States and other countries as well.

Manuel A. Alonso (1822–1889) blazed the trail for a distinctly Puerto Rican literature with the publication in 1849 of El Gibaro, the first major effort to depict the traditions and mores of the island’s rural society.

In the world of entertainment, Academy Award winners José Ferrer (1912–1992) and Rita Moreno (b.1931) are among the most famous. Notable in classical music is cellist-conductor Pablo Casals (b.Spain, 1875–1973), a longtime resident of Puerto Rico. Well known popular musicians include Tito Puente (b.New York, 1923–2000) and José Feliciano (b.1945).

Roberto Clemente (1934–1972), one of baseball’s most admired performers and a member of the Hall of Fame, played on 12 National League All-Star teams and was named Most Valuable Player in 1966.