View source for Puerto Rico

{{Short description|U.S. territory in the Caribbean}}
{{Redirect-multi|2|Porto Rico|Borinquen|other uses|Porto Rico (disambiguation)|and|Borinquen (disambiguation)|and|Puerto Rico (disambiguation)}}
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{{Infobox political division
| name = Puerto Rico
| settlement_type = [[Territories of the United States|Organized and unincorporated U.S. territory]]
| official_name = Commonwealth of Puerto Rico {{nobold|(English)}}{{efn|name=commonwealth}}<br />{{lang|es|Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico}} {{nobold|([[Puerto Rican Spanish|Spanish]])}}
| image_flag = Flag of Puerto Rico.svg
| flag_size = 125px
| flag_link = Flag of Puerto Rico
| image_seal = Coat of arms of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.svg
| seal_size = 85px
| seal_type = Coat of arms
| seal_link = Coat of arms of Puerto Rico
| nickname = {{native phrase|es|"La Isla del Encanto"|italics=off}}<br />('The Island of Enchantment')
| nickname_link = List of U.S. state and territory nicknames
| motto_link = List of U.S. state and territory mottos
| motto = {{native phrase|la|"[[Coat of arms of Puerto Rico#History|Joannes est nomen ejus]]"|italics=off}}<br />('[[Saint John the Baptist|John]] is his name')
| anthem_link = List of U.S. state songs
| anthem = {{native phrase|es|"[[La Borinqueña]]"|italics=off}}<br />("The Song of Borinquen") <div style="display:inline-block;margin-top:0.4em;">{{center|[[File:United States Navy Band - La Borinqueña.ogg]]}}</div>
| image_map = {{Switcher|[[File:Puerto Rico (orthographic projection).svg|upright=1.15|280px||frameless|alt=Americas map of Puerto Rico]]|Show Puerto Rico within the [[Americas]]|[[File:Puerto Rico - Caribbean.svg|upright=1.15|280px|frameless|alt=Caribbean map of Puerto Rico]]|Show Puerto Rico within the [[Caribbean]]|[[File:USA Puerto Rico labeled.svg|upright=1.15|280px|frameless|alt=Municipal map of Puerto Rico]]|Show [[Municipalities of Puerto Rico|municipalities]] of Puerto Rico|default=1}}
| map_alt =
| map_caption =
| mapsize =
| image_map2 =
| subdivision_type = [[Sovereign state]]
| subdivision_name = {{flag|United States}}{{efn|Despite being under the sovereignty of the United States since 1898, Puerto Rico is not [[Territories of the United States#Incorporated vs. unincorporated territories|incorporated]] <ref>{{cite web |title=U.S. Territories - Developments in the Law|work= [[Harvard Law Review]] |date= April 10, 2017 |url= https://harvardlawreview.org/print/vol-130/us-territories-introduction/ |language=en |access-date=June 11, 2024}}</ref> See the page for the [[Insular Cases#Background|Insular Cases]] for more information.}}
| established_title = Before annexation by the United States
| established_date = [[Captaincy General of Puerto Rico]]
| established_title2 = {{nowrap|[[Treaty of Paris (1898)|Cession from Spain]]}}
| established_date2 = December 10, 1898
| established_title3 = [[Constitution of Puerto Rico|Current constitution]]
| established_date3 = July 25, 1952
| demonym = [[Puerto Ricans|Puerto Rican]] ({{langx|es|puertorriqueño -a}})<br />[[boricua]] (neutral){{efn|The term ''boricua'' is gender-neutral, whereas the terms ''puertorriqueño'', ''borinqueño'', ''borincano'', and ''puertorro'' are male-specific when ending in «o» and female-specific when ending in «a».}}<br />''borinqueño -a''<br /> ''borincano -a''<ref>{{cite web |title=puertorriqueño |website=Diccionario de la Lengua Española por la Real Academia Española |url=https://dle.rae.es/puertorrique%C3%B1o#D2Prb5S |language=es |access-date=January 19, 2024}}</ref><br />''puertorro -a''{{efn|The term ''puertorro -a'' is used [[Popular culture|popularly]], [[Colloquialism|spontaneously]], and [[High culture|politely]] to refer to Puerto Ricans or Puerto Rico. It is occasionally mistaken for a [[pejorative]], but the term is not considered offensive by Puerto Ricans. It has been most famously used by Puerto Rican musicians, including [[Bobby Valentín]] in his song ''Soy Boricua'' (1972), [[Andy Montañez]] in ''En Mi Puertorro'' (2006), and [[Bad Bunny]] in ''ACHO PR'' (2023).}}<ref>{{cite web |title=puertorro|website=Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española: Diccionario de Americanismos |url= https://www.asale.org/damer/puertorro |language=es |access-date=January 19, 2024}}</ref>
| capital = [[San Juan, Puerto Rico|San Juan]]
| largest_city = 
| coordinates = {{Coord|18|27|N|66|6|W|type:city_region:US-PR}}
| ethnic_groups = {{plainlist|''By race:''
* 49.78% [[Multiracial Americans|Mixed]]
* 17.06% [[White Puerto Ricans|White]]
* 6.96% [[Afro-Puerto Ricans|Black]]
* 0.54% [[Native Americans in the United States|Native]]
* 0.12% [[Asian Puerto Ricans|Asian]]
* 0.02% [[Pacific Islander American|Pacific Islander]]
* 25.51% Other}}
{{plainlist|''By origin:''
* 98.9% [[Hispanic and Latino Americans|Hispanic or Latino]]
* 1.1%  non-Hispanic or Latino}}
| ethnic_groups_ref = <ref name="2020CensusData">{{cite web |url= https://data.census.gov/table/DECENNIALPL2020.P1?g=040XX00US72 |title=2020 Census Illuminates Racial and Ethnic Composition of the Country: Puerto Rico |work=[[United States Census]] |access-date=August 17, 2021 |archive-date=October 21, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211021091045/https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2021/08/improved-race-ethnicity-measures-reveal-united-states-population-much-more-multiracial.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
| ethnic_groups_year = 2020
| government_type = [[Devolution|Devolved]] [[Presidential system|presidential]] [[constitution]]al [[Dependent territory|dependency]]
| leader_title1 = [[President of the United States|President]]
| leader_name1 = [[Donald Trump]] ([[Republican Party (United States)|R]])
| leader_title2 = [[Governor of Puerto Rico|Governor]]
| leader_name2 = [[Jenniffer González-Colón]] ([[New Progressive Party (Puerto Rico)|PNP]]) ([[Republican Party of Puerto Rico|R]])
| national_representation = [[United States Congress]]
| national_representation_type1 = [[Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico|Resident Commissioner]]
| national_representation1 = [[Pablo Hernández Rivera]] ([[Popular Democratic Party (Puerto Rico)|PPD]]) ([[Democratic Party of Puerto Rico|D]])
| legislature = [[Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico|Legislative Assembly]]
| upper_house = [[Senate of Puerto Rico|Senate]]
| lower_house = [[House of Representatives of Puerto Rico|House of Representatives]]
| area_km2 = 13,792
| area_sq_mi = 5,325<!--Do not remove per [[WP:MOSNUM]]-->
| percent_water = 35.6
| elevation_max_ft = 4,390{{efn|name=peakk|[[Cerro de Punta]] in the [[Cordillera Central (Puerto Rico)|Cordillera Central]] mountain range is the highest elevation in Puerto Rico.}}
| elevation_max_m = 1,338
| population_census = 3,285,874<ref name="Census2020-Tab2">{{cite web |date=April 26, 2021 |title=Table 2. Resident Population for the 50 States, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico: 2020 Census |url=https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial/2020/data/apportionment/apportionment-2020-table02.pdf |publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]] |access-date=April 26, 2021 |archive-date=April 26, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210426194205/https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial/2020/data/apportionment/apportionment-2020-table02.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>
| population_census_year = 2020
| population_estimate_rank = 136th
| population_density_km2 = 361.4
| population_density_sq_mi = 936
| population_density_rank = 36th
| GDP_PPP = {{increase}} $158.019 billion<ref name="IMFWEO.PR">{{cite web |url=https://www.imf.org/external/datamapper/profile/PRI |title=IMF DataMapper - Puerto Rico |publisher=[[International Monetary Fund]] |date=November 3, 2024 |access-date=November 3, 2024}}</ref>
| GDP_PPP_year = 2024
| GDP_PPP_rank = 92nd
| GDP_PPP_per_capita = {{increase}} $49,590<ref name="IMFWEO.PR" />
| GDP_PPP_per_capita_rank = 39th
| GDP_nominal = {{increase}} $120.970 billion<ref name="IMFWEO.PR" />
| GDP_nominal_year = 2024
| GDP_nominal_rank = 64th
| GDP_nominal_per_capita = {{increase}} $37,930<ref name="IMFWEO.PR" />
| GDP_nominal_per_capita_rank = 27th
| Gini = 58
| Gini_year = 2024
| Gini_ref =<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.statista.com/outlook/co/socioeconomic-indicators/puerto-rico#economic-inequality|date=August 2024|access-date=September 23, 2024 |title=Socioeconomic Indicators - Puerto Rico &#124; Market Forecast }}</ref>
| HDI = 0.868
| HDI_change = increase
| HDI_year = 2022
| HDI_ref = <ref>{{cite journal |format=PDF |first=Ricardo R. |last=Fuentes-Ramírez |url=https://zenodo.org/records/14187921 |title=Puerto Rico's Human Development Index and Inequality-Adjusted Human Development Index (2013 – 2022) |journal=Ceteris Paribus: Journal of Socio-Economic Research |volume=12 |year=2024 |access-date=May 6, 2025 |archive-date=November 26, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241126190646/https://zenodo.org/records/14187921 }}</ref>
| HDI_rank = 47th
| currency = [[United States dollar]] (US$)
| currency_code = USD
| timezone = [[Atlantic Time Zone|AST]]
| utc_offset = −04:00
| date_format = dd/mm/yyyy<br />mm/dd/yyyy
| drives_on = right
| calling_code = [[Telephone numbers in Puerto Rico|+1]]
| postal_code_type = {{nowrap|[[USPS abbreviation]]}}
| postal_code = PR
| iso_code = {{hlist|[[ISO 3166-2:PR|PR]]|[[ISO 3166-2:US|US-PR]]}}
| cctld = [[.pr]]
| website = {{URL|https://www.pr.gov/|pr.gov}}
|image_blank_emblem=|blank_emblem_size=|blank_emblem_type=
|population_estimate={{DecreaseNeutral}} 3,203,295{{efn|name=pop|Puerto Rico is the [[List of Caribbean countries by population#Table|4th most populated]] island in the Caribbean, [[List of islands by population|27th most populated]] island in the world, and [[List of countries and dependencies by population#Sovereign states and dependencies by population|136th most populated]] country or dependency in the world.}}<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/PR/PST045224|access-date=January 9, 2025|title= United States Census Quick Facts Puerto Rico}}</ref> ([[List of U.S. states and territories by population|33rd]]),
|population_estimate_year=2024|area_land_km2=8868|area_land_sq_mi=3424|area_water_km2=4924|area_water_sq_mi=1901|area_footnote={{efn|name=area| The area of the island of Puerto Rico, the main island of the archipelago of the same name, is 5,325 square miles (13,792 km<sup>2</sup>). The [[land]] and [[Internal waters|internal costal water]] area of the island is 3,513 sq mi (9,100 km<sup>2</sup>), with land covering 3,424 sq mi (8,868 km<sup>2</sup>) and internal costal waters 89 sq mi (232 km<sup>2</sup>). The [[Territorial waters#Territorial sea|territorial sea]] of the island stretches for 1,812 sq mi (4,692 km<sup>2</sup>).<ref name= "Geography">{{Cite web |url= https://www.census.gov/geographies/reference-files/2010/geo/state-area.html |title= State Area Measurements and Internal Point Coordinates |website= United States Census Bureau |access-date=February 24, 2024}}</ref> Including the islands of Vieques with a land area of 51 sq mi (132 km<sup>2</sup>),<ref name= "Geography23">{{Cite web |url= https://data.census.gov/profile/Vieques_Municipio,_Puerto_Rico?g=050XX00US72147 |title= Vieques Municipio, Puerto Rico |website= US Census Bureau |access-date=February 24, 2024}}</ref> Mona with 22 sq mi (56 km<sup>2</sup>),<ref name= "Geography24">{{Cite web |url= https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/87589/mona-island |title= Mona Island |website= Earth Observatory |date= February 28, 2016 |access-date=February 24, 2024}}</ref> Culebra with 12 sq mi (31 km<sup>2</sup>),<ref name= "Geography25">{{Cite web |url= https://data.census.gov/profile/Culebra_Municipio,_Puerto_Rico?g=050XX00US72049 |title= Culebra Municipio, Puerto Rico |website= US Census Bureau |access-date=February 24, 2024}}</ref> Caja de Muertos with 0.62 sq mi (1.62 km<sup>2</sup>),<ref name= "Geography26">{{Cite web |url= https://www.drna.pr.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/PlanManejoRNICM_septiembre2010.pdf |title= Plan de Manejo Reserva Natural Isla Caja de Muertos |website= Gobierno de Puerto Rico: Departamento de Recursos Naturales y Ambientales |access-date=February 24, 2024}}</ref> and Desecheo with 0.56 sq mi (1.45 km<sup>2</sup>),<ref name= "Geography27">{{Cite web |url= https://www.fws.gov/refuge/desecheo/about-us |title= Desecheo National Wildlife Refuge |website= U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service |access-date=February 24, 2024}}</ref> the entire archipelago of Puerto Rico has a land area of at least 3,510 sq mi (9,090 km<sup>2</sup>). The [[Exclusive economic zone#United States|exclusive economic zone]] of the archipelago covers 68,605 sq mi (177,327 km<sup>2</sup>).<ref name= "Geography22">{{Cite web |url= http://www.seaaroundus.org/data/#/eez/630?chart=catch-chart&dimension=taxon&measure=tonnage&limit=10 |title= Catches by Taxon in the waters of Puerto Rico (USA) |website= Sea Around Us |access-date=February 24, 2024}}</ref>}}|length_km=177{{Efn|name=100x35|Puerto Rico, the main island of the archipelago of the same name, is 178 kilometers long (110 [[Mile|statute miles]]; 96 [[nautical mile]]s) and 65 kilometers wide (40 statute miles; 35 nautical miles). Boricuas often refer to Puerto Rico as ''100x35'' ([[Spanish language|Spanish]]: ''100por35''), a direct reference to the island's size in nautical miles. Various Puerto Rican singers have used the term, including [[Farruko]] and [[Pedro Capó]] in their song ''Jíbaro'' (2021).<ref name= "Geographic">{{Cite web |url=https://gis.pr.gov/Pages/Geografia_PR.aspx |title= Geografía de Puerto Rico |website= Sistemas de Información Geográfica |language=es |access-date=February 24, 2024}}</ref>}}|length_mi=110|width_km=65|width_mi=40|dimensions_footnotes=
|population_rank_link=|area_rank=|leader_title3=[[Secretary of State of Puerto Rico|Secretary of State]]|leader_name3=[[Rosachely Rivera |Rosachely Rivera Santana]] ([[New Progressive Party (Puerto Rico)|PNP]]) ([[Democratic Party of Puerto Rico|D]])|largest_settlement=[[San Juan–Bayamón–Caguas metropolitan area]]|judiciary=[[Supreme Court of Puerto Rico]]|official_languages={{hlist|[[Puerto Rican Spanish|Spanish]]|[[English language in Puerto Rico|English]]<ref name="auto1">{{cite news |url=http://www.efe.com/efe/english/life/p-rico-senate-declares-spanish-over-english-as-first-official-language/50000263-2704154 |title=P. Rico Senate declares Spanish over English as first official language |date=September 4, 2015 |work=Agencia EFE |access-date=February 7, 2016 |location=San Juan, Puerto Rico |archive-date=November 1, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201101090937/https://www.efe.com/efe/english/life/p-rico-senate-declares-spanish-over-english-as-first-official-language/50000263-2704154}}</ref>}}
|largest_settlement_type=[[Puerto Rico statistical areas|<br />metropolitan <br />area]]|capital_type=Capital and largest [[Municipalities of Puerto Rico|municipality]]}}<!-- Above is the info box, below here the introduction starts. -->
'''Puerto Rico'''{{efn|English pronunciation: {{IPAc-en|ˌ|p|ɔr|t|oʊ|_|ˈ|r|iː|k|oʊ|,_|ˌ|p|w|ɛər|t|oʊ|_|-|,_|-|t|ə|_|-|small=no}} {{respell|POR|toh|_|REE|koh|,_|PWAIR|toh|_-,_-|tə|_-}}<br>{{IPA|es|ˈpweɾto ˈriko|small=no}}, {{IPA|es|ˈpwelto ˈχiko, - ˈʀ̥iko|label=locally (in rural areas)|generic=yes|small=no}}<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=l9jLBAAAQBAJ&q=pwelto&pg=PT113 |title=Portuguese-Spanish Interfaces: Diachrony, synchrony, and contact |publisher=John Benjamins Publishing Company |author1=Amaral, Patrícia |author2=Ana Maria Carvalho |name-list-style=amp |year=2014 |location=Philadelphia |page=130 |isbn=978-90-272-5800-7}}</ref><br/>{{langx|tnq|Borikén}} or {{lang|tnq|Borinquen}}}} (abbreviated '''PR'''),<ref name="CIA World Factbook - Puerto Rico">{{cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/puerto-rico/ |title=CIA World Factbook – Puerto Rico |access-date=August 5, 2019 |archive-date=January 5, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210105163943/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/puerto-rico/ |url-status=live }}</ref> officially the '''Commonwealth of Puerto Rico''',{{efn|The definition of ''[[Commonwealth]]'' according to [[United States Department of State|U.S. State Department]] policy (as codified in the department's ''[[Foreign Affairs Manual]]'') reads: "The term 'Commonwealth' does not describe or provide for any specific political status or relationship."<ref>{{cite web
| url = https://fam.state.gov/FAM/07FAM/07FAM1120.html#M1121_2_1
| title = 7 fam 1120 acquisition of u.s. nationality in u.s. territories and possessions
| access-date = December 13, 2015
| date = January 3, 2013
| work = U.S. Department of State Foreign Affairs Manual Volume 7- Consular Affairs
| publisher = U.S. Department of State
| format = PDF
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151222081013/https://fam.state.gov/FAM/07FAM/07FAM1120.html#M1121_2_1
| archive-date = December 22, 2015
}}</ref>|name=commonwealth}}{{efn|{{langx|es|Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico|lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico|links=no}}}} is a [[Government of Puerto Rico|self-governing]] [[Caribbean]] [[Geography of Puerto Rico|archipelago and island]] organized as an [[Territories of the United States|unincorporated territory]] of the [[United States]] under the designation of [[Commonwealth (U.S. insular area)|commonwealth]]. Located about {{convert|1000|mi}} southeast of [[Miami]], Florida, between the [[Dominican Republic]] in the [[Greater Antilles]] and the [[United States Virgin Islands|U.S. Virgin Islands]] in the [[Lesser Antilles]], it consists of the [[eponym]]ous main island and numerous smaller islands, including [[Vieques, Puerto Rico|Vieques]], [[Culebra, Puerto Rico|Culebra]], and [[Isla de Mona|Mona]]. With approximately 3.2&nbsp;million [[Puerto Ricans|residents]], it is divided into [[Municipalities of Puerto Rico|78 municipalities]], of which the most populous is the [[Capital city|capital]] municipality of [[San Juan, Puerto Rico|San Juan]], followed by those within the [[San Juan–Bayamón–Caguas metropolitan area|San Juan metropolitan area]].<ref name="CIA World Factbook - Puerto Rico"/> [[Puerto Rican Spanish|Spanish]] and English are the [[official languages]] of the [[Government of Puerto Rico|government]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ley de los Idiomas Oficiales del Gobierno de Puerto Rico |url=https://bvirtualogp.pr.gov/ogp/Bvirtual/leyesreferencia/PDF/3-duplicados/1-1993.pdf |access-date=October 8, 2024 |website=Biblioteca Virtual de OGP "Miguel J. Rodríguez Fernández" Viejo San Juan, Puerto Rico}}</ref> though Spanish predominates.<ref name=":1">{{cite web |url=http://www.prfaa.pr.gov/puertoricond2.asp |title=Puerto Rico |access-date=September 21, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150912144331/http://prfaa.pr.gov/puertoricond2.asp |archive-date=September 12, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=SOBRE PUERTO RICO |url=https://www.studypuertorico.pr.gov/sobre-puerto-rico |access-date=October 16, 2024 |website=www.studypuertorico.pr.gov |language=es}}</ref>

Puerto Rico was settled by a succession of [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Amerindian peoples]] beginning 2,000 to 4,000 years ago;<ref name="Taus-Bolstad2004">{{cite book |author=Stacy Taus-Bolstad |date=September 1, 2004 |title=Puerto Ricans in America |publisher=Lerner Publications |pages=7– |isbn=978-0-8225-3953-7 |oclc=1245779085 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AZG9k5LqlCoC&pg=PA7}}</ref> these included the [[Ortoiroid people|Ortoiroid]], [[Saladoid]], and [[Taíno]]. It was claimed by [[Spanish Empire|Spain]] following the [[Voyages of Christopher Columbus#Second voyage (1493–1496)|arrival]] of [[Christopher Columbus]] in 1493 and subsequently [[Spanish colonization of the Americas|colonized]] by [[Juan Ponce de León]] in 1508.<ref name="CIA World Factbook - Puerto Rico" /> Puerto Rico was contested by other [[List of modern great powers#Early modern powers|European powers]] into the 18th century but remained a Spanish possession for the next 400 years. The [[Population history of the Indigenous peoples of the Americas|decline of the Indigenous population]], followed by an influx of [[Spaniards|Spanish]] settlers, primarily from the [[Canary Islands]] and [[Andalusia]], and [[Slavery in the Spanish New World colonies|African slaves]] vastly changed the cultural and demographic landscape of the archipelago. Within the [[Spanish Empire]], Puerto Rico played a secondary but [[Geography of Puerto Rico#Strategic geography|strategically significant role]] compared to larger and wealthier colonies like [[Viceroyalty of Peru|Peru]] and [[New Spain]].<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |title=Constructing a Colonial People: Puerto Rico and the United States, 1898–1932 |last=Caban |first=Pedro A. |publisher=Westview Press |year=2009 |isbn=978-0-7867-4817-4 |page=10}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fb2PmghQ-DsC |title=Subject People and Colonial Discourses: Economic Transformation and Social Disorder in Puerto Rico, 1898–1947 |last=Santiago-Valles |first=Kelvin A. |publisher=SUNY Press |year=1994 |isbn=978-0-7914-1589-4 |page=ix}}</ref> By the late 19th century, a distinct Puerto Rican identity began to emerge, centered on a fusion of [[European colonization of the Americas|European]], [[African diaspora|African]], and [[Taíno|Indigenous]] elements.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HjkhAwAAQBAJ |title=A History of Afro-Hispanic Language: Five Centuries, Five Continents |last=Lipski |first=John M. |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2005 |isbn=978-1-107-32037-6 |page=37}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.loc.gov/collections/puerto-rico-books-and-pamphlets/articles-and-essays/nineteenth-century-puerto-rico/documenting-puerto-rican-identity/|title=Documenting a Puerto Rican Identity {{!}} In Search of a National Identity: Nineteenth and Early-Twentieth-Century Puerto Rico {{!}} Articles and Essays {{!}} Puerto Rico at the Dawn of the Modern Age: Nineteenth- and Early-Twentieth-Century Perspectives|publisher=Digital Collections, Library of Congress|access-date=April 11, 2020|archive-date=April 11, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200411210607/https://www.loc.gov/collections/puerto-rico-books-and-pamphlets/articles-and-essays/nineteenth-century-puerto-rico/documenting-puerto-rican-identity/|url-status=live}}</ref> In 1898, following the [[Spanish–American War]], Puerto Rico was [[Treaty of Paris (1898)|acquired by the United States]].{{efn|Puerto Rico was acquired along with [[Guam]] and the [[Philippines]] via the 1898 [[Treaty of Paris (1898)|Treaty of Paris]] ending the [[Spanish–American War]]. The Philippines became independent via the 1946 [[Treaty of Manila (1946)|Treaty of Manila]]; Puerto Rico and Guam remain U.S. territories today.}}<ref name="CIA World Factbook - Puerto Rico"/><ref>José Trías Monge. ''Puerto Rico: The Trials of the Oldest Colony in the World''. New Haven, CT; London: Yale University Press, 1999. p. 4.</ref>

[[Puerto Ricans]] have been [[United States nationality law|U.S. citizens]] since 1917 and can move freely between the [[Geography of Puerto Rico|archipelago]] and the [[Contiguous United States|mainland]].<ref>[https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/8/1402 8 U.S. Code § 1402 – Persons born in Puerto Rico on or after 11 April 1899] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170708100919/https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/8/1402 |date=July 8, 2017 }} (1941) Retrieved: January 14, 2015.</ref> However, residents of Puerto Rico are [[Federal voting rights in Puerto Rico#Disenfranchisement in Puerto Rico|disenfranchised from federal elections]]<ref>[http://puertoricoadvancement.org/Documents/Igartua%20de%20la%20Rosa_V_United%20States.pdf Igartúa–de la Rosa v. United States (Igartúa III)] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120316075619/http://puertoricoadvancement.org/Documents/Igartua%20de%20la%20Rosa_V_United%20States.pdf|date=March 16, 2012}}, 417 F.3d 145 (1st Cir. 2005) (en banc), [https://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-1st-circuit/1545899.html GREGORIO IGARTÚA, ET AL., Plaintiffs, Appellants, v. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, ET AL., Defendants, Appellees. No. 09-2186] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180905103026/https://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-1st-circuit/1545899.html|date=September 5, 2018}} (November 24, 2010)</ref> and generally do not pay [[Taxation in Puerto Rico|federal income tax]].<ref>[https://abcnews.go.com/Health/trauma-puerto-ricos-maria-generation/story?id=60980466 ''The trauma of Puerto Rico's 'Maria Generation' ''.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190924204813/https://abcnews.go.com/Health/trauma-puerto-ricos-maria-generation/story?id=60980466 |date=September 24, 2019}} Robin Ortiz. ABC News. February 17, 2019. Accessed September 24, 2019.</ref><ref>[http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-06-541 ''PUERTO RICO: Fiscal Relations with the Federal Government and Economic Trends during the Phaseout of the Possessions Tax Credit.''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110726055556/http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-06-541 |date=July 26, 2011}} General Accounting Office publication number GAO-06-541. US Gen. Acctg. Office, Washington, DC. May 19, 2006. Public Release: June 23, 2006. (Note: All residents of Puerto Rico pay federal taxes, with the exception of federal '''income''' taxes which only <u>'''some'''</u> residents of Puerto Rico must still pay).</ref>{{efn|See the [[Political status of Puerto Rico]] article for more information.}} In common with four other [[Territories of the United States|territories]], Puerto Rico sends a [[Nonvoting members of Congress|nonvoting representative]] to the [[U.S. Congress]], called a [[Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico|Resident Commissioner]], and participates in [[2020 Puerto Rico presidential primaries|presidential primaries]]; as it is not a state, Puerto Rico does not have a vote in the U.S. Congress, which oversees it under the [[Puerto Rico Federal Relations Act of 1950]]. Congress approved a [[Constitution of Puerto Rico|territorial constitution]] in 1952, allowing residents of the archipelago to elect a [[Governor of Puerto Rico|governor]] in addition to a [[Senate of Puerto Rico|senate]] and [[House of Representatives of Puerto Rico|house of representatives]]. The [[political status of Puerto Rico]] is an [[Proposed political status for Puerto Rico|ongoing debate]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/row/R42765.pdf |title=Puerto Rico's Political Status and the 2012 Plebiscite: Background and Key Questions |date=June 25, 2013 |access-date=January 17, 2016 |via=fas.org |publisher=Congressional Research Service |archive-date=March 3, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303175716/http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/row/R42765.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.elnuevodia.com/noticias/politica/nota/elsenadoapruebaenmiendasalaleydelplebiscito-2312006/ |title=El Nuevo Día |website=Elnuevodia.com |date=April 18, 2017 |access-date=May 3, 2017 |archive-date=August 27, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170827085437/https://www.elnuevodia.com/noticias/politica/nota/elsenadoapruebaenmiendasalaleydelplebiscito-2312006/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

Beginning in the mid-20th century, the [[federal government of the United States|U.S. government]], together with the [[Puerto Rico Industrial Development Company]], launched a series of economic projects to develop Puerto Rico into an industrial high-income economy. It is classified by the [[International Monetary Fund]] as a [[developed country|developed jurisdiction]] with an advanced, [[high-income economy]];<ref name="Advanced economies">{{cite web |url=https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2019/01/weodata/weoselco.aspx?g=110&sg=All+countries+%2f+Advanced+economies |title=Advanced economies |publisher=IMF |access-date=August 1, 2019 |archive-date=June 17, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190617091701/https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2019/01/weodata/weoselco.aspx?g=110&sg=All+countries+%2f+Advanced+economies |url-status=live}}</ref> it ranks 47th on the [[Human Development Index]]. The major sectors of Puerto Rico's economy are [[manufacturing in Puerto Rico|manufacturing]], primarily [[Pharmaceutical industry in Puerto Rico|pharmaceuticals]], [[petrochemical]]s, and electronics, followed by [[Tertiary sector of the economy|services]], namely [[Tourism in Puerto Rico|tourism]] and hospitality.<ref name="manufacturing-by-pr.gov">{{cite web |url=http://www2.pr.gov/GobiernoEmpresas/SectoresInversion/Pages/Manufactura.aspx |title=Manufactura |language=es |publisher=[[Government of Puerto Rico]] |access-date=September 7, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131002150143/http://www2.pr.gov/GobiernoEmpresas/SectoresInversion/Pages/Manufactura.aspx |archive-date=October 2, 2013 }}</ref>

==Etymology==
Puerto Rico is Spanish for 'rich port'.<ref name="CIA World Factbook - Puerto Rico"/> [[Puerto Rican people|Puerto Ricans]] often call the island {{lang|es|Borinquen}}, a derivation of {{lang|tnq|Borikén}}, its indigenous [[Taíno]] name, which is popularly said to mean 'Land of the Valiant Lord'.<ref>{{cite book |last=Allatson |first=Paul |title=Key Terms in Latino/a Cultural and Literary Studies |page=47 |location=Malden, Mass. |publisher=Blackwell Publishing |year=2007 |isbn=978-1-4051-0250-6}}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.taino-tribe.org/terms1.htm#anchor250018 |title=Taino Indigenous Peoples of the Caribbean |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071013032642/http://www.taino-tribe.org/terms1.htm |archive-date=October 13, 2007 |encyclopedia=Clásicos de Puerto Rico |edition=2nd |editor=Cayetano Coll y Toste |publisher=Ediciones Latinoamericanas, S.A. |year=1972}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/advanceinantill00grosgoog |title=H. B. Grose, Advance in the Antilles: the new era in Cuba and Porto Rico, Presbyterian Home Missions, 1910 |publisher=Literature Dept., Presbyterian Home Missions |year=1910 |access-date=February 6, 2011 |last1=Grose |first1=Howard Benjamin}}</ref> The terms {{lang|es|boricua}}, {{lang|es|borinqueño}}, and {{lang|es|borincano}} are commonly used to identify someone of Puerto Rican heritage,<ref>[https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Boricua ''Boricua.'']  Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Accessed February 9, 2022. [https://web.archive.org/web/20220210030451/https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Boricua Archived.]</ref><ref>[https://dle.rae.es/borincano ''Borincano.''] Diccionario de la Real Academia Española. Accessed February 9, 2022.[https://web.archive.org/web/20220210030619/https://dle.rae.es/borincano Archived.]</ref> and derive from {{lang|tnq|Borikén}} and {{lang|tnq|Borinquen}} respectively.<ref>Julian Granberry and Gary Vescelius. ''Languages of the Pre-Columbian Antilles.'' The University of Alabama Press. 2004. p.92. {{ISBN|978-0-8173-8191-2}}</ref> The island is also popularly known in Spanish as {{lang|es|La Isla del Encanto}}, meaning "the island of enchantment".<ref>{{cite book |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rc7FAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA121 |chapter=¡Adelante Hermanas de la Raza!, Josefina Silva de Cintron and Puerto Rican Women's Feminismo. – The New York's World Fair: 1939–1940 |title=Exploring the Decolonial Imaginary: Four Transnational Lives |first=Patricia A. |last=Schechter |location=New York |publisher=MacMillan |year=2012 |isbn=978-1-137-01284-5}} Note: The phase "The Island of Enchantment" has been traced back to a travel guide by that title that [[Theodore Roosevelt Jr]]. offered in ''[[House & Garden (magazine)|House & Garden]]'' magazine in 1938.</ref>

Columbus named the island {{lang|es|San Juan Bautista}}, in honor of Saint [[John the Baptist]], while the capital city was named {{lang|es|Ciudad de Puerto Rico}} ("Rich Port City").<ref name="CIA World Factbook - Puerto Rico"/> Eventually traders and other maritime visitors came to refer to the entire island as Puerto Rico, while San Juan became the name used for the main trading/shipping port and the capital city.{{efn|Proyecto Salón Hogar (in Spanish) "{{lang|es|Los españoles le cambiaron el nombre de Borikén a San Juan Bautista y a la capital le llamaron Ciudad de Puerto Rico. Con los años, Ciudad de Puerto Rico pasó a ser San Juan, y San Juan Bautista pasó a ser Puerto Rico.}} ''The Spaniards changed the name of Borikén to San Juan Bautista and called the capital Ciudad de Puerto Rico. Over time, Ciudad de Puerto Rico came to be called San Juan, and San Juan Bautista came to be called Puerto Rico.''"<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.proyectosalonhogar.com/enciclopedia_ilustrada/HistoriaPR1.htm |title=Historia de Puerto Rico |publisher=Proyectosalonhogar.com |access-date=April 14, 2014 |archive-date=April 30, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140430045127/http://www.proyectosalonhogar.com/Enciclopedia_Ilustrada/HistoriaPR1.htm |url-status=live}}</ref>}}

The island's name was changed to ''Porto Rico'' by the United States after the [[Treaty of Paris of 1898]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Treaty of Peace Between the United States and Spain; December 10, 1898 |url=http://avalon.law.yale.edu/19th_century/sp1898.asp |website=The Avalon Project |publisher=[[Yale Law School]] |access-date=July 27, 2016 |archive-date=July 8, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120708063629/http://avalon.law.yale.edu/19th_century/sp1898.asp |url-status=live }}</ref> The anglicized name was used by the U.S. government and private enterprises. The name was changed back to ''Puerto Rico'' in 1931 by a joint resolution in Congress introduced by [[Félix Córdova Dávila]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Crafting an Identity |url=http://history.house.gov/Exhibitions-and-Publications/HAIC/Historical-Essays/Foreign-Domestic/Crafting-Identity/ |website=History, Art & Archives |publisher=Office of the Historian and the Clerk of the House's Office of Art and Archives |access-date=July 27, 2016 |archive-date=August 19, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160819122410/http://history.house.gov/Exhibitions-and-Publications/HAIC/Historical-Essays/Foreign-Domestic/Crafting-Identity/ |url-status=live }}</ref>{{efn|In 1932, the U.S. Congress officially back-corrected the former [[anglicization]] of ''Porto Rico'' into the Spanish name ''Puerto Rico''.<ref>{{cite book |author=Pedro A. Malavet |title=America's colony: the political and cultural conflict between the United States and Puerto Rico |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pKqVpqGVsJYC |year=2004 |publisher=NYU Press |isbn=978-0-8147-5680-5 |pages=[https://books.google.com/books?id=pKqVpqGVsJYC&pg=PA43 43], [https://books.google.com/books?id=pKqVpqGVsJYC&pg=PA181 181 note 76] |access-date=October 18, 2020 |archive-date=February 8, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240208215202/https://books.google.com/books?id=pKqVpqGVsJYC |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>To change the name of the island of ''Porto Rico'' to ''Puerto Rico'', S.J. Res 36, 72nd Congress, enacted 1932. ({{USStat|47|158}})</ref> It had been using the former spelling in its legislative and judicial records since it acquired the archipelago. Patricia Gherovici states that both ''Porto Rico'' and ''Puerto Rico'' were used interchangeably in the news media and documentation before, during, and after the U.S. conquest of the island in 1898. The ''Porto'' spelling, for instance, was used in the [[Treaty of Paris (1898)|Treaty of Paris]], but ''Puerto'' was used by ''[[The New York Times]]'' that same year. Nancy Morris clarifies that "a curious oversight in the drafting of the [[Foraker Act]] caused the name of the island to be officially misspelled".<ref>{{cite book |author=Patricia Gherovici |title=The Puerto Rican syndrome |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2jSsxVWxu2sC |year=2003 |publisher=Other Press, LLC |isbn=978-1-892746-75-7 |pages=[https://books.google.com/books?id=2jSsxVWxu2sC&pg=PA140 140–141] |access-date=October 18, 2020 |archive-date=February 8, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240208215157/https://books.google.com/books?id=2jSsxVWxu2sC |url-status=live }}</ref> However, Gervasio Luis Garcia traces the Anglicized spelling to a ''[[National Geographic (magazine)|National Geographic]]'' article from 1899, after which the spelling was kept by many agencies and entities because of the ethnic and linguistic pride of the English-speaking citizens of the American mainland.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Dw2ZjkgjchkC |title=Hispanic Americans in Congress, 1822–2012 |last=Historian |first=Office of the |date=January 1, 2013 |publisher=Government Printing Office |isbn=978-0-16-092068-4 |language=en |access-date=August 17, 2016 |archive-date=February 8, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240208215204/https://books.google.com/books?id=Dw2ZjkgjchkC |url-status=live }}</ref>}}<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/registerportori03ricogoog |title=Register of Porto Rico |last1=Secretary's |first1=Puerto Rico |last2=Office |first2=Puerto Rico Secretary's |date=January 1, 1903 |publisher=Office of the Secretary |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gWczAQAAIAAJ |title=Porto Rico: A Caribbean Isle |last1=Van Deusen |first1=Richard James |last2=Van Deusen |first2=Elizabeth Kneipple |date=1931 |publisher=Henry Holt |language=en |access-date=August 17, 2016 |archive-date=February 8, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240208215040/https://books.google.com/books?id=gWczAQAAIAAJ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jGhNAAAAYAAJ |title=Scientific survey of Porto Rico and the Virgin Islands |last=Sciences |first=New York Academy of |date=1922 |publisher=New York Academy of Sciences |language=en}}</ref>

The official name of the entity in Spanish is {{lang|es|Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico}} ("Free [[Associated State]] of Puerto Rico"), while its official English name is [[Commonwealth (U.S. insular area)#Commonwealth of Puerto Rico|Commonwealth of Puerto Rico]].<ref name="CIA World Factbook - Puerto Rico"/> The Spanish official name was suggested by its architect [[Luis Muñoz Marín]] and adopted by a constitutional assembly on July 25, 1952. Some authorities have called it a [[euphemism]] and have charged that the official name in English of "Commonwealth" constitutes a [[fig leaf]], i.e., associated with the covering up of an act that is actually embarrassing or distasteful with something of innocuous appearance.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=w5mB2mY-ac4C&pg=PT380 ''Latino/a Thought: Culture, Politics, and Society.''] Francisco H. Vazquez.  Page 380. Lanham, Md: Rowman Littlefield Publishers. 2009. Accessed May 25, 2012.</ref> Puerto Rico remains a [[territory of the United States]], exercising substantial internal self-government, but subordinated to the U.S. Constitution in areas such as foreign affairs or defense. For this reason, it is not considered to be a full-fledged associated state under either international or U.S. domestic law.<ref>[http://rozenbergquarterly.com/extended-statehood-in-the-caribbean-fifty-years-of-commonwealth-the-contradictions-of-free-associated-statehood-in-puerto-rico/ ''Extended Statehood in the Caribbean ~ Fifty Years of Commonwealth ~ The Contradictions Of Free Associated Statehood in Puerto Rico.''] Rozenberg Quarterly. Accessed August 15, 2020.</ref><ref>[http://www.bu.edu/law/workingpapers-archive/documents/lawsong_and_sloaner040809rev.pdf ''The Constitutionality of Decolonization by Associated Statehood: Puerto Rico's Legal Status Reconsidered.''] Gary Lawson and Robert D. Sloane. Boston University School of Law. Working Paper Number 09-11. August 3, 2009. [https://web.archive.org/web/20191018000656/http://www.bu.edu/law/workingpapers-archive/documents/lawsong_and_sloaner040809rev.pdf Archived] on October 18, 2019, at the Wayback Machine.</ref>

==History==
{{Main|History of Puerto Rico}}
{{Expand section|date=September 2024}}

=== Indigenous settlement and European conquest ===

[[File:Taino Village.JPG|thumb|left|A 20th-century reconstruction of an 8th-century [[Taíno]] village, located at the [[Tibes Indigenous Ceremonial Center|spot]] in which their remains were discovered in 1975, in the aftermath of [[Hurricane Eloise]]<ref>Carmelo Rosario Natal. ''Ponce En Su Historia Moderna: 1945–2002.''  Secretaría de Cultura y Turismo. Gobierno Municipal de Ponce. Ponce, Puerto Rico. 2003. p. 141.</ref>]]

The history of Puerto Rico began with the settlement of the [[Ortoiroid people]] before 430 BC. At the time of [[Christopher Columbus]]'s arrival in the [[New World]] in 1493, the dominant indigenous culture was that of the [[Taínos]]. The Taíno people's numbers went dangerously low during the later half of the 16th century because of new infectious diseases carried by Europeans, exploitation by Spanish settlers, and warfare.<ref name="Diseases carried by Europeans">{{cite web|url=https://www.science.org/content/article/how-europeans-brought-sickness-new-world-rev2|title=How Europeans Brought Sickness to the New World|website=www.sciencemag.org|date=June 3, 2015}}</ref>

Located in the northeastern Caribbean, Puerto Rico formed a key part of the Spanish Empire from the early years of the exploration, conquest and colonization of the [[New World]]. The island was a major military post during many wars between Spain and other European powers for control of the region in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries.
[[File:Puerto Rico departamentos 1886.jpg|right|thumb|upright=1.3|Map of the [[Department (country subdivision)|departments]] of Puerto Rico during Spanish provincial times (1886)]]
In 1593, Portuguese soldiers, sent from Lisbon by order of Phillip II, composed the first garrison of the [[Castillo San Felipe del Morro|San Felipe del Morro]] fortress in Puerto Rico. Some brought their wives, while others married Puerto Rican women, and today there are many Puerto Rican families with Portuguese last names. The smallest of the [[Greater Antilles]], Puerto Rico was a stepping-stone in the passage from Europe to Cuba, Mexico, Central America, and the northern territories of South America. Throughout most of the 19th century until the conclusion of the [[Spanish–American War]], Puerto Rico and Cuba were the last two Spanish colonies in the New World; they served as Spain's final outposts in a strategy to regain control of the American continents. Realizing that it was in danger of losing its two remaining Caribbean territories, the Spanish Crown revived the [[Royal Decree of Graces of 1815]]. The decree was printed in Spanish, English and French in order to attract Europeans, with the hope that the independence movements would lose their popularity and strength with the arrival of new settlers. Free land was offered to those who wanted to populate the islands on the condition that they swear their loyalty to the Spanish Crown and allegiance to the [[Catholic Church]].<ref name="Graces">{{cite web|url=http://www.ensayistas.org/antologia/XIXE/castelar/esclavitud/cedula.htm|title=Teoría, Crítica e Historia: La abolición de la esclavitud y el mundo hispano|website=Ensayistas}}</ref>

===U.S. era===
[[File:Mapa de Puerto Rico (1952).jpg|thumb|Map of Puerto Rico from 1952]]
In 1898, during the [[Spanish–American War]], Puerto Rico was invaded and subsequently became a possession of the U.S. The first years of the 20th century were marked by the struggle to obtain greater democratic rights from the U.S.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=González-Cruz |first=Michael |date=1998 |title=The U.S. Invasion of Puerto Rico: Occupation and Resistance to the Colonial State, 1898 to the Present |journal=Latin American Perspectives |volume=25 |issue=5 |pages=7–26 |doi=10.1177/0094582X9802500502 |jstor=2634086 |issn=0094-582X}}</ref>

The [[Foraker Act]] of 1900 established a civil government, ending [[List of governors of Puerto Rico#Military government of Porto Rico|rule by American generals]] and the [[United States Department of War#1898–1939|Department of War]].  A [[U.S. Supreme Court]] ruling, ''Ortega v. Lara'', {{Ussc|202|339|pin=342|1906}},{{efn|{{caselaw source|case=''Ortega v. Lara'', {{Ussc|202|339|pin=342|1906|el=no}}|cornell=https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/202/339|justia=https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/202/339/|openjurist=http://openjurist.org/202/us/339|findlaw=https://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-supreme-court/202/339.html}} }} involving the Foraker Act and referring to the island as "the acquired country", soon affirmed that the [[U.S. Constitution]] applied within its territory and that any domestic Puerto Rican laws which did not conflict with it remained in force.<ref name="DerechoPuertorriqueño">{{cite journal|last1=Roselló|first1=Pedro Luis Perea|date=April–June 1963|editor1-last=Santiago|editor1-first=Maria García|editor2-last=Vega|editor2-first=Pedro Malavey|editor3-last=González|editor3-first=José M. Novoa|editor4-last=Goyco|editor4-first=Edwin Toro|title=Res communes omnium|department=Doctrina|journal=Revista de Derecho Puertorriqueño|language=es|version=Printed in Spain: Imprenta vda. de Daniel Cochs—Cros. 23.—Barcelona|location=[[Ponce, Puerto Rico]]|publisher=[[Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico School of Law]]|volume=2|issue=8|pages=7–24|issn=0034-7930}}</ref>

The [[Jones-Shafroth Act|Jones Act]] of 1917 made Puerto Ricans [[United States citizenship|U.S. citizens]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://guides.loc.gov/latinx-civil-rights/jones-shafroth-act|title=A Latinx Resource Guide: Civil Rights Cases and Events in the United States|access-date=February 15, 2025|website=library of Congress}}</ref> The Jones Act paved the way for the drafting of [[Constitution of Puerto Rico|Puerto Rico's Constitution]] and its approval by Congress and Puerto Rican voters in 1952 Puerto Rico is one of five territories with less representation in the Federal government, along with the Federal District.{{Citation needed|date=February 2025}}

====21st century====
{{further|Proposed political status for Puerto Rico|President's Task Force on Puerto Rico's Status|}}
[[File:ISS017-E-18779 - View of Puerto Rico.jpg|thumb|Puerto Rico from space, 2008]]
In 2009, the [[Special Committee on Decolonization|United Nations Special Committee on Decolonization]] approved a draft resolution calling on the U.S. government to expedite a process that would allow the Puerto Rican people to exercise fully their inalienable right to self-determination and independence.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2009/gacol3193.doc.htm |title=Members Hear Petitioners Speak up for Independence, Statehood, Free Association |publisher=General Assembly of the United Nations |date=June 15, 2009 |access-date=August 11, 2017 |archive-date=April 9, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200409222101/https://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2009/gacol3193.doc.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> In November 2012, a two-question referendum took place, simultaneous with the general elections.<ref name="oslpr1">[http://www.oslpr.org/2009-2012/leyes/pdf/ley-283-28-Dic-2011.pdf ''Ley Numero 283 del 28 de diciembre de 2011.''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190412031116/http://www.oslpr.org/2009-2012/leyes/pdf/ley-283-28-Dic-2011.pdf |date=April 12, 2019 }} Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico. December 28, 2011. Retrieved January 10, 2012.</ref><ref>{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20111124013232/http://www.caribbeanbusinesspr.com/news03.php?nt_id=62931&ct_id=1 ''Fortuño calls for status vote next August.'']}} John Marino. Caribbean Business. Released on October 4, 2011. Retrieved December 8, 2011.</ref> The first question, voted on in August, asked voters whether they wanted to maintain the current status under the territorial clause of the U.S. Constitution. 54% voted against the status quo, effectively approving the second question to be voted on in November. The second question posed three alternate status options: statehood, independence, or [[Compact of Free Association|free association]].<ref>{{cite web |author=casiano communications |url=http://www.caribbeanbusinesspr.com/news03.php?nt_id=62931&ct_id=1 |title=Fortuño calls for status, legislative reform votes on 12 August 2012 |publisher=Caribbeanbusinesspr.com |date=October 4, 2011 |access-date=October 30, 2011 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111124013232/http://www.caribbeanbusinesspr.com/news03.php?nt_id=62931&ct_id=1 |archive-date=November 24, 2011 }}</ref> 61.16% voted for statehood, 33.34% for a sovereign free-associated state, and 5.49% for independence.<ref>{{cite news |title=Puerto Rico votes on whether to change relationship with US, elects governor and legislators |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/puerto-rico-votes-on-whether-to-change-relationship-with-us-elects-governor-and-legislators/2012/11/06/d87278ae-288b-11e2-aaa5-ac786110c486_story.html |agency=Associated Press |newspaper=Washington Post |access-date=November 6, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120114122818/http://www.hispanicmarketinfo.com/2011/12/23/census-2010-puerto-rico-dominicans-and-other-immigrants-a-growing-population/ |archive-date=January 14, 2012}}</ref>{{Failed verification|date=June 2021}}

In 2016, President [[Barack Obama]] signed into law ''H.R. 5278: [[PROMESA]]'', establishing a Control Board over the Puerto Rican government. This board will have a significant degree of federal control involved in its establishment and operations. In particular, the authority to establish the control board derives from the federal government's constitutional power to "make all needful rules and regulations" regarding U.S. territories; The president would appoint all seven voting members of the board; and the board would have broad sovereign powers to effectively overrule decisions by Puerto Rico's legislature, governor, and other public authorities.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://policy.house.gov/legislative/bills/hr-5278-puerto-rico-oversight-management-and-economic-stability-act-2016-promesa |title=H.R. 5278, Puerto Rico Oversight, Management and Economic Stability Act of 2016 (PROMESA) |date=June 6, 2016 |website=Policy.house.gov |access-date=July 14, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160819125905/https://policy.house.gov/legislative/bills/hr-5278-puerto-rico-oversight-management-and-economic-stability-act-2016-promesa |archive-date=August 19, 2016 }}</ref> There would be another referendum in 2017 in Puerto Rico, in favor of statehood although it was boycotted by some political opponents of it. (see [[2017 Puerto Rican status referendum]])
[[File:Puerto Rico Rainfall Totals from Hurricane Maria Updated 2022.jpg|thumb|Rainfall totals from Hurricane Maria]]
In 2017, Puerto Rico suffered back-to-back large hurricanes: the Category 5 [[Hurricane Irma]] (September 7, 2017) and the Category 4 [[Hurricane Maria]] (September 20, 2017).<ref name=rand>{{Cite web|url=https://www.rand.org/hsrd/hsoac/projects/puerto-rico-recovery/hurricanes-irma-and-maria.html|title=Hurricanes Irma and Maria: Impact and Aftermath|website=www.rand.org}}</ref> The storms caused an extreme amount of damage to the island, causing the following effects: all power was knocked out, 95% cell service, 43% of waste water treatment plants, 40 thousand land slides, 97% of roads blocked, 28% of health facilities damaged, leading to over 90% of the population applying for assistance after the storms.<ref name=rand/> See also [[Effects of Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico]]

It is thought that a combination of the debt crisis and two major hurricanes in the late 2010s, caused further departures from the island. Overall the population has decreased by about half a million in the 21st century, with many seeking better opportunities on the mainland.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/mass-exodus-puerto-rico-feared-after-historic-hurricane-debt-crisis-n804856 | title=Mass exodus from Puerto Rico feared after historic hurricane, debt crisis | website=[[NBC News]] | date=September 26, 2017 }}</ref>

Puerto Rico held its [[2020 Puerto Rican status referendum|statehood referendum]] during the November 3, 2020, general elections; the ballot asked one question: "Should Puerto Rico be admitted immediately into the Union [[51st state|as a State]]?" The results showed that 52 percent of Puerto Rico voters answered yes.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://elecciones2020.ceepur.org/Noche_del_Evento_92/index.html#en/default/PLEBISCITO_Resumen.xml |title= 2020 Puerto Rican status referendum |publisher= elecciones2020.ceepur.org |date= November 5, 2020 |access-date= November 6, 2020 |archive-date= November 3, 2020 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20201103191716/https://elecciones2020.ceepur.org/Noche_del_Evento_92/index.html#en/default/PLEBISCITO_Resumen.xml |url-status= live }}</ref> In the United States in the early 2020s, the [[Puerto Rico Status Act]] was being worked on by Congress, and H.R. 8393 passed the House in 2022—though it has not passed the Senate; this bill would support PR making a binding referendum. The bill does not decide PR's fate, it simply prepares the United States to respond to the outcome of the referendum.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://time.com/6242054/house-passes-bill-that-would-allow-puerto-rico-to-vote-on-its-statehood-or-independence/ | title=Puerto Rico Independence Bill Passes in the House | date=December 17, 2022 }}</ref> In the November 5, 2024, elections, there were three choices in a non-binding referendum which included Statehood, Independence, or Independence with Free Association on the ballot; Statehood won with 59%.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/jenniffer-gonzalez-of-puerto-ricos-pro-statehood-party-edges-ahead-in-gubernatorial-election | title=Jenniffer González of Puerto Rico's pro-statehood party edges ahead in gubernatorial election | website=[[PBS]] | date=November 6, 2024 }}</ref> In addition, on November 5, 2024, [[Jenniffer González-Colón]], who is pro-statehood, won the office of Governor of Puerto Rico in the 2024 general election with nearly 40% of the vote.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/puerto-rico-governor-jenniffer-gonzalez-colon-wins_n_671ffc6fe4b0a4f117c7df65/amp|title=Jenniffer González-Colón, A Pro-Statehood Trump Ally, Wins Puerto Rico Governor's Race|date=November 6, 2024|access-date=November 6, 2024|last=Kaufman|first=Alexander C.|website=[[HuffPost]]}}</ref>

==Geography==
{{Main|Geography of Puerto Rico}}
{{See also|Geology of Puerto Rico|List of islands of Puerto Rico}}
[[File:Patillas Puerto Rico.jpg|thumb|Beach and coastline at [[Patillas, Puerto Rico|Patillas]], in southeast Puerto Rico|alt=]]
Puerto Rico consists of the main island of Puerto Rico and various smaller islands, including [[Vieques, Puerto Rico|Vieques]], [[Culebra, Puerto Rico|Culebra]], [[Mona, Puerto Rico|Mona]], [[Desecheo Island|Desecheo]], and [[Caja de Muertos, Puerto Rico|Caja de Muertos]]. Of these five, only Culebra and Vieques are inhabited year-round. Mona, which has played a key role in maritime history, is uninhabited most of the year except for employees of the [[Department of Natural and Environmental Resources (Puerto Rico)|Puerto Rico Department of Natural Resources]].<ref>{{cite journal |title=Ciencia y economía del guano: La isla mona en puerto rico, siglo XIX |author1=Cortés Zavala |author2=María Teresa |author3=José Alfredo Uribe Salas |name-list-style=amp |journal=Memorias: Revista Digital de Historia y Arqueología Desde el Caribe |year=2014 |volume=11 |issue=22 |pages=81–106 |doi=10.14482/memor.22.5948|doi-access=free  | issn=1794-8886 }}</ref> There are many other even smaller [[islets]], like [[Monito Island|Monito]], located near Mona,<ref>{{Citation |last=Schärer-Umpierre |first=Michelle T. |title=Marine Managed Areas and Associated Fisheries in the US Caribbean |date=2014-01-01 |work=Advances in Marine Biology |volume=69 |pages=140 |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/chapter/bookseries/abs/pii/B9780128002148000049 |access-date=2025-11-13 |publisher=Academic Press |language=en-US |doi=10.1016/B978-0-12-800214-8.00004-9 |isbn=978-0-12-800214-8 |pmid=25358299 |display-authors=1 |last2=Mateos-Molina |first2=Daniel|url-access=subscription }}</ref> and [[Isla de Cabras]] and [[Isleta de San Juan|La Isleta de San Juan]], both located on the [[San Juan Bay]]. The latter is the only inhabited islet with communities like [[Old San Juan]] and [[Puerta de Tierra]], which are connected to the main island by bridges.<ref>{{cite journal |title=La ciudad contemporanea, una polis sin politica? |author=Helmer, Etienne |journal=Boletin Cientifico Sapiens Research |year=2011 |volume=1 |issue=2 |page=88}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |title=Edenes insostenibles: El campo de la ciudad en la intentona cultural de los cincuenta |author=Esterrich, Carmelo |journal=CENTRO: Journal of the Center for Puerto Rican Studies |year=2009 |volume=21 |issue=1 |page=180}}</ref>
[[File:NOAA Bathymetry Image of Puerto Rico (2020).png|thumb|NOAA Bathymetry Image of Puerto Rico (2020)<ref>{{Cite web|title=Bathymetric Data Viewer|url=https://maps.ngdc.noaa.gov/viewers/bathymetry/|access-date=February 23, 2021|website=maps.ngdc.noaa.gov|archive-date=July 9, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170709195021/https://maps.ngdc.noaa.gov/viewers/bathymetry/}}</ref>]]
The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico has an area of {{convert|3515|sqmi|km2|sp=us}}, of which {{convert|3459|sqmi|km2|abbr=on}} is land and {{convert|56|sqmi|km2|abbr=on}} is water.<ref name=ciafactbook>{{cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/puerto-rico/ |title=The World Factbook – Puerto Rico#Geography |publisher=Cia.gov |access-date=October 30, 2011 |archive-date=January 5, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210105163943/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/puerto-rico/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Puerto Rico is larger than [[Delaware]] and [[Rhode Island]] but smaller than [[Connecticut]]. The maximum length of the main island from east to west is {{convert|110|mi|km|abbr=on}}, and the maximum width from north to south is {{convert|40|mi|km|abbr=on}}.<ref name=topuertorico.com>{{cite web |url=http://www.topuertorico.org/descrip.shtml |title=Welcome to Puerto Rico! |publisher=topuertorico.org |access-date=December 30, 2007 |archive-date=December 24, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181224225019/http://www.topuertorico.org/descrip.shtml |url-status=live }}</ref> Puerto Rico is the smallest of the [[Greater Antilles]]. It is 80% of the size of [[Jamaica]],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/jamaica/ |title=The World Factbook – Jamaica |publisher=[[CIA]] |access-date=April 24, 2008 |archive-date=January 11, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210111023238/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/jamaica |url-status=live }}</ref> just over 18% of the size of [[Hispaniola]] and 8% of the size of Cuba, the largest of the Greater Antilles.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/cuba/ |title=The World Factbook – Cuba |publisher=CIA |access-date=April 24, 2008 |archive-date=December 2, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211202182827/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/cuba/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

The topography of the island is mostly mountainous with large flat areas in the northern and southern coasts. The main mountain range that crosses the island from east to west is called the [[Cordillera Central (Puerto Rico)|Cordillera Central]] (also known as the Central Mountain Range in English). The highest elevation in Puerto Rico, [[Cerro de Punta]] {{convert|4390|ft|m}},<ref name="ciafactbook"/> is located in this range. Another important peak is [[El Yunque, Puerto Rico|El Yunque]], one of the highest in the [[Sierra de Luquillo]] at the [[El Yunque National Forest]], with an elevation of {{convert|3494|ft|m|abbr=on}}.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gorp.com/parks-guide/travel-ta-caribbean-national-forest-hiking-fishing-puerto-rico-sidwcmdev_066593.html |title=Caribbean National Forest – El Yunque Trail # 15 |publisher=GORP.com |access-date=August 14, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100818050917/http://www.gorp.com/parks-guide/travel-ta-caribbean-national-forest-hiking-fishing-puerto-rico-sidwcmdev_066593.html |archive-date=August 18, 2010 }}</ref>[[File:Map of Highways, Primary, Secondary, Tertiary Routes in Puerto Rico.jpg|thumb|Map by USGS]]
Puerto Rico has 17 lakes, all man-made, and more than [[List of Puerto Rico rivers|50 rivers]], most of which originate in the Cordillera Central.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gobierno.pr/DRNA/ReservasNaturales/LagosRiosLagunas/Lagos/Lagos_I.htm |title=Los Lagos de Puerto Rico |access-date=June 29, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041225032628/http://www.gobierno.pr/DRNA/ReservasNaturales/LagosRiosLagunas/Lagos/Lagos_I.htm |archive-date=December 25, 2004 }} (archived from on June 29, 2007). {{in lang|es}}</ref> Rivers in the northern region of the island are typically longer and of higher [[Volumetric flow rate|water flow rates]] than those of the south, since the south receives less rain than the central and northern regions.

Puerto Rico is composed of [[Cretaceous]] to [[Eocene]] [[volcanic]] and [[plutonic]] rocks, overlain by younger [[Oligocene]] and more recent [[carbonate]]s and other [[sedimentary rocks]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3790/is_200605/ai_n17177064 |title=Late Cretaceous Siliceous Sponges From El Rayo Formation, Puerto Rico |author1=Andrzej Pisera |author2=Michael Martínez |author3=Hernan Santos |publisher=[[Journal of Paleontology]] |date=May 2006 |access-date=May 6, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090105065534/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3790/is_200605/ai_n17177064 |archive-date=January 5, 2009 }}</ref> Most of the [[caverns]] and [[karst]] topography on the island occurs in the northern region. The oldest rocks are approximately {{Nowrap|190 million}} years old ([[Jurassic]]) and are located at [[Sierra Bermeja]] in the southwest part of the island. They may represent part of the [[oceanic crust]] and are believed to come from the Pacific Ocean realm.

Puerto Rico lies at the boundary between the [[Caribbean Plate|Caribbean]] and [[North American Plate]]s and is being deformed by the [[tectonics|tectonic]] stresses caused by their interaction. These stresses may cause [[earthquakes]] and [[tsunami]]s. These [[seismic]] events, along with [[landslide]]s, represent some of the most dangerous [[geologic hazards]] in the island and in the northeastern Caribbean. The [[1918 San Fermín earthquake]] occurred on {{Nowrap|October 11}}, 1918 and had an estimated magnitude of 7.5 on the [[Richter magnitude scale|Richter scale]].<ref name="1918 quake">{{cite web |url=https://earthquake.usgs.gov/regional/world/puerto_rico/puerto_rico_history.php |title=Earthquake History of Puerto Rico |publisher=U.S. Geological Survey |access-date=September 11, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070714105156/https://earthquake.usgs.gov/regional/world/puerto_rico/puerto_rico_history.php |archive-date=July 14, 2007}}</ref> It originated off the coast of [[Aguadilla]], several kilometers off the northern coast, and was accompanied by a [[tsunami]]. It caused extensive property damage and widespread losses, damaging infrastructure, especially bridges. It resulted in an estimated 116 deaths and $4&nbsp;million in property damage. The failure of the government to move rapidly to provide for the general welfare contributed to political activism by opponents and eventually to the rise of the [[Puerto Rican Nationalist Party]]. On January 7, 2020,<ref>[https://www.usgs.gov/news/morning-update-puerto-rico-january-7-2020 ''Morning Update for Puerto Rico - January 7, 2020: On Jan. 7, a magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck the region at 4:24 am local time (08:24:26 UTC). Significant damage is possible. Over the past several weeks, hundreds of small earthquakes have occurred in the Puerto Rico region, beginning in earnest with a M 4.7 earthquake late on December 28 and a M 5.0 event a few hours.''] Puerto Rico Earthquakes. January 7, 2020. Accessed February 9, 2022. [https://web.archive.org/web/20220210022037/https://www.usgs.gov/news/morning-update-puerto-rico-january-7-2020 Archived.]</ref> the country experienced [[2019–20 Puerto Rico earthquakes|its largest earthquake]] since 1918,<ref>[https://reporter.lcms.org/2020/puerto-rico-hit-by-largest-earthquake-in-100-years/ ''Puerto Rico hit by largest earthquake in 100 years.''] Cheryl Magness. Reporter. January 8, 2020. Accessed February 9, 2022. [https://web.archive.org/web/20220210021015/https://reporter.lcms.org/2020/puerto-rico-hit-by-largest-earthquake-in-100-years/ Archived.]</ref> estimated at magnitude 6.4.<ref>[https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/6-5-quake-strikes-puerto-rico-amid-heavy-seismic-activity-n1111666 ''6.4-magnitude quake strikes Puerto Rico, killing at least 1 amid heavy seismic activity: "We've never been exposed to this kind of emergency in 102 years," Gov. Wanda Vázquez said as the island grapples with ongoing aftershocks and assesses the damage.''] Nicole Acevedo and Ben Kesslen. NBC News. January 7, 2020. Accessed February 7, 2022. [https://web.archive.org/web/20220210022858/https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/6-5-quake-strikes-puerto-rico-amid-heavy-seismic-activity-n1111666 Archived.]</ref> Economic losses were estimated to be more than $3.1 billion.<ref>[https://www.cnn.com/us/live-news/puerto-rico-earthquake-01-07-2020/index.html ''Analyst says earthquakes could cost Puerto Rico's economy up to $3.1 billion.''] Kate Trafecante. CNN. January 7, 2020. Accessed February 9, 2022. [https://web.archive.org/web/20220210015803/https://www.cnn.com/us/live-news/puerto-rico-earthquake-01-07-2020/index.html Archived.]</ref>

The [[Puerto Rico Trench]], the largest and deepest trench in the Atlantic, is located about {{convert|71|mi|km|abbr=on}} north of Puerto Rico at the boundary between the Caribbean and North American plates.<ref name="trench">{{cite web |author=Uri ten Brink |url=http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/03trench/welcome.html |title=Explorations: Puerto Rico Trench 2003 – Cruise Summary and Results |publisher=National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration |access-date=November 20, 2009 |archive-date=July 24, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130724090028/http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/03trench/welcome.html |url-status=live }}</ref> It is {{convert|170|mi|km|abbr=on}} long.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/03trench/welcome.html |title=NOAA Ocean Explorer: Puerto Rico Trench |publisher=Oceanexplorer.noaa.gov |access-date=August 14, 2010 |archive-date=July 24, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130724090028/http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/03trench/welcome.html |url-status=live }}</ref> At its deepest point, named the [[Milwaukee Deep]], it is almost {{convert|27600|ft|m|abbr=on}} deep.<ref name="trench" /> The [[Mona Canyon]], located in the [[Mona Passage]] between Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic, is another prominent oceanic landform with steep walls measuring between {{convert|1.25|and|2.17|mi|km}} in height from bottom to top.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Mondziel |first=Steven A. |year=2007 |title=Morphology, Structure, and Tectonic Evolution of the Mona Canyon, Puerto Rico |url=https://libres.uncg.edu/ir/uncw/f/mondziels2007-1.pdf |website=uncg.edu |publisher=University of North Carolina Wilmington |via=Journal of Marine Geology |access-date=August 20, 2023 |archive-date=August 20, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230820221315/https://libres.uncg.edu/ir/uncw/f/mondziels2007-1.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Climate===
{{Main|Climate of Puerto Rico|Climate change in Puerto Rico}}
[[File:Puerto Rico Köppen.png|thumb|upright=1.2|Köppen climate types in Puerto Rico indicating that the island primarily has rainforest and monsoon climate types]]
The climate of Puerto Rico in the [[Köppen climate classification]] is mostly [[tropical rainforest]]. Temperatures are warm to hot year round, averaging near {{convert|85|°F|°C|abbr=on}} in lower elevations and {{convert|70|°F|°C|abbr=on}} in the mountains. Easterly [[trade winds]] pass across the island year round. Puerto Rico has a [[Wet season|rainy season]], which stretches from April into November, and a [[dry season]] stretching from December to March. The mountains of the Cordillera Central create a [[rain shadow]] and are the main cause of the variations in the temperature and rainfall that occur over very short distances. The mountains can also cause wide variation in local wind speed and direction due to their sheltering and channeling effects, adding to the climatic variation. Daily temperature changes seasonally are quite small in the lowlands and coastal areas.

Between the dry and wet seasons, there is a temperature change of around {{convert|6|F-change|1}}. This change is due mainly to the warm waters of the tropical [[Atlantic Ocean]], which significantly modify cooler air moving in from the north and northwest. Coastal water temperatures during the year are about {{convert|75|°F|°C|abbr=on}} in February and {{convert|85|°F|°C|abbr=on}} in August. The highest temperature ever recorded was {{convert|110|F}} at [[Arecibo, Puerto Rico|Arecibo]],<ref name=":02">{{Cite news |last=Stillman |first=Dan |date=June 7, 2023 |title=Historic heat is roasting Puerto Rico, where it feels like 125 degrees |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2023/06/07/puerto-rico-heat-wave-caribbean/ |access-date=June 9, 2023 |archive-date=October 17, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231017040357/https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2023/06/07/puerto-rico-heat-wave-caribbean/ |url-status=live }}</ref> while the lowest temperature ever recorded was {{convert|40|F}} in the mountains at [[Adjuntas, Puerto Rico|Adjuntas]], [[Aibonito, Puerto Rico|Aibonito]], and [[Corozal, Puerto Rico|Corozal]].<ref name="NOAA-PR">{{cite web |url=http://nowdata.rcc-acis.org/SJU/pubACIS_results |title=NOWData – NOAA Online Weather Data |publisher=[[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration]] |access-date=October 27, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111009161414/http://nowdata.rcc-acis.org/SJU/pubACIS_results |archive-date=October 9, 2011 }}</ref> The average yearly precipitation is {{convert|66|in|0|abbr=on}}.<ref name="Daly2003">{{cite journal |last1=Daly |first1=Christopher |last2=Helmer |first2=Eileen H. |last3=Quiñonez |first3=Maya |year=2003 |title=Mapping the Climate of Puerto Rico, Vieques and Culebra |journal=International Journal of Climatology |volume=23 |issue=11 |pages=1359–81 |doi=10.1002/joc.937 |bibcode=2003IJCli..23.1359D|doi-access=free }}</ref> [[Climate change in Puerto Rico]] has had a large impact on the ecosystems and landscapes.<ref name="r145">{{cite web | title=Effects of Climate Change in Puerto Rico | website=Center for Media Engagement | date=June 13, 2024 | url=https://mediaengagement.org/blogs/effects-of-climate-change-in-puerto-rico/ | access-date=November 4, 2024}}</ref>

Puerto Rico experiences the [[Atlantic hurricane season]], similar to the rest of the Caribbean Sea and North Atlantic Ocean. On average, a quarter of its annual rainfall is contributed from [[tropical cyclone]]s, which are more prevalent during periods of [[La Niña]] than [[El Niño]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Rodgers |first1=Edward B. |last2=Adler |first2=Robert F. |last3=Pierce |first3=Harold F. |title=Contribution of Tropical Cyclones to the North Atlantic Climatological Rainfall as Observed from Satellites |journal=Journal of Applied Meteorology |date=November 2001 |volume=40 |issue=11 |pages=1785–1800 |doi=10.1175/1520-0450(2001)040<1785:COTCTT>2.0.CO;2|bibcode=2001JApMe..40.1785R |doi-access=free }}</ref> A cyclone of tropical storm strength passes near Puerto Rico, on average, every five years. A hurricane passes in the vicinity of the island, on average, every seven years. Since 1851, the [[1928 Okeechobee Hurricane|Lake Okeechobee Hurricane]] (also known as the San Felipe Segundo hurricane in Puerto Rico) of September 1928 is the only hurricane to make landfall as a Category 5 hurricane.<ref>Aurelio Mercado and Harry Justiniano. [http://coastalhazards.uprm.edu/ Coastal Hazards of Puerto Rico.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111006134919/http://coastalhazards.uprm.edu/ |date=October 6, 2011 }} Retrieved on January 23, 2008.</ref> In 2017, Puerto Rico was affected by Category 5 [[Hurricane Irma]] and Category 4 [[Hurricane Maria]],<ref name="rand2">[https://www.rand.org/hsrd/hsoac/projects/puerto-rico-recovery/hurricanes-irma-and-maria.html RAND - Hurricanes Irma and Maria: Impact and Aftermath], rand.org</ref> causing widespread and devastating [[Effects of Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico|impacts]], particularly to the electric grid.<ref name="rand2" />

===Biodiversity===
{{main|Fauna of Puerto Rico|Flora of Puerto Rico}}
Puerto Rico is home to three terrestrial ecoregions: [[Puerto Rican moist forests]], [[Puerto Rican dry forests]], and [[Greater Antilles mangroves]].<ref name="DinersteinOlson2017">{{cite journal|last1=Dinerstein|first1=Eric|last2=Olson|first2=David|last3=Joshi|first3=Anup|last4=Vynne|first4=Carly|last5=Burgess|first5=Neil D.|last6=Wikramanayake|first6=Eric|last7=Hahn|first7=Nathan|last8=Palminteri|first8=Suzanne|last9=Hedao|first9=Prashant|last10=Noss|first10=Reed|last11=Hansen|first11=Matt|last12=Locke|first12=Harvey|last13=Ellis|first13=Erle C|last14=Jones|first14=Benjamin|last15=Barber|first15=Charles Victor|last16=Hayes|first16=Randy|last17=Kormos|first17=Cyril|last18=Martin|first18=Vance|last19=Crist|first19=Eileen|last20=Sechrest|first20=Wes|last21=Price|first21=Lori|last22=Baillie|first22=Jonathan E. M.|last23=Weeden|first23=Don|last24=Suckling|first24=Kierán|last25=Davis|first25=Crystal|last26=Sizer|first26=Nigel|last27=Moore|first27=Rebecca|last28=Thau|first28=David|last29=Birch|first29=Tanya|last30=Potapov|first30=Peter|last31=Turubanova|first31=Svetlana|last32=Tyukavina|first32=Alexandra|last33=de Souza|first33=Nadia|last34=Pintea|first34=Lilian|last35=Brito|first35=José C.|last36=Llewellyn|first36=Othman A.|last37=Miller|first37=Anthony G.|last38=Patzelt|first38=Annette|last39=Ghazanfar|first39=Shahina A.|last40=Timberlake|first40=Jonathan|last41=Klöser|first41=Heinz|last42=Shennan-Farpón|first42=Yara|last43=Kindt|first43=Roeland|last44=Lillesø|first44=Jens-Peter Barnekow|last45=van Breugel|first45=Paulo|last46=Graudal|first46=Lars|last47=Voge|first47=Maianna|last48=Al-Shammari|first48=Khalaf F.|last49=Saleem|first49=Muhammad|display-authors=1|title=An Ecoregion-Based Approach to Protecting Half the Terrestrial Realm|journal=BioScience|volume=67|issue=6|year=2017|pages=534–545|issn=0006-3568|doi=10.1093/biosci/bix014|pmid=28608869|pmc=5451287|doi-access=free}}</ref> Puerto Rico has two biosphere reserves recognized by the [[UNESCO]] [[Man and the Biosphere Programme]]: Luquillo Biosphere Reserve represented by [[El Yunque National Forest]] and the [[Guánica State Forest|Guánica Biosphere Reserve]].
[[File:Common Coquí.jpg|thumb|left|alt=In this image there is a brown coquí. The species resembles a small frog.|[[Eleutherodactylus coqui|Common coquí]]]]

Species [[endemic (ecology)|endemic]] to the archipelago number 239 plants, 16 birds and 39 [[amphibian]]s/[[reptile]]s, recognized as of 1998. Most of these (234, 12 and 33 respectively) are found on the main island.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://islands.unep.ch/ISV.htm#459 |title=Island Directory |publisher=Islands.unep.ch |access-date=October 30, 2011 |archive-date=September 7, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060907000405/http://islands.unep.ch/ISV.htm#459 }}</ref> The most recognizable endemic species and a symbol of Puerto Rican pride is the ''[[coquí]]'', a small frog easily identified by the sound of its call, from which it gets its name. Most ''coquí'' species (13 of 17) live in the [[El Yunque National Forest]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Coquí in the Rainforest |url=https://www.discoverpuertorico.com/coqui |access-date=March 30, 2023 |website=Discover Puerto Rico |language=en |archive-date=March 30, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230330103426/https://www.discoverpuertorico.com/coqui |url-status=live }}</ref> the only [[Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests|tropical rainforest]] in the [[United States Forest Service|U.S. Forest Service]] system, located in the northeast of the island. It was previously known as the Caribbean National Forest. El Yunque is home to more than 240 plants, 26 of which are endemic to the island. It is also home to 50 bird species, including the critically endangered [[Puerto Rican amazon]].

In addition to El Yunque National Forest, the Puerto Rican moist forest ecoregion is represented by protected areas such as the [[Maricao State Forest|Maricao]] and [[Toro Negro State Forest|Toro Negro]] [[List of Puerto Rico state forests|state forests]]. These areas are home to endangered endemic species such as the Puerto Rican boa (''[[Puerto Rican boa|Chilabothrus inornatus]]''), the Puerto Rican sharp-shinned hawk (''[[Puerto Rican sharp-shinned hawk|Accipiter striatus venator]]''), the Puerto Rican broad-winged hawk (''[[Puerto Rican broad-winged hawk|Buteo platypterus brunnescens]]'') and the elfin woods warbler ([[Elfin woods warbler|Setophaga angelae]]). The [[Northern Karst]] country of Puerto Rico is also home to one of the remaining rainforest tracts in the island, with the [[Río Abajo State Forest]] being the first focus for the reintroduction of the highly endangered Puerto Rican parrot outside of the Sierra de Luquillo.<ref>{{cite web |title=Iguaca Aviary Techniques used in the Puerto Rican Parrot Recovery Program |url=https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fseprd699768.pdf |access-date=July 23, 2022 |website=US Fish & Wildlife Services |archive-date=December 8, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221208022640/https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fseprd699768.pdf }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |title=View of News of the Rio Abajo Aviary for Puerto Rican Parrot |url=https://jco.birdscaribbean.org/index.php/jco/article/view/1133/879 |access-date=July 23, 2022 |journal=Journal of Caribbean Ornithology |date=December 18, 1990 |volume=3 |issue=3 |page=4 |archive-date=August 20, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230820221314/https://jco.birdscaribbean.org/index.php/jco/article/view/1133/879 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In the southwest, the Guánica State Forest and Biosphere Reserve contain over 600 uncommon species of plants and animals, including 48 endangered species and 16 that are endemic to Puerto Rico, and is considered a prime example of the Puerto Rican dry forest ecoregion and the best-preserved dry forest in the Caribbean.<ref>Ewel, J.L. & J.L. Whitmore. 1973. The ecological life zones of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. USDA For. Serv. Res. Pap. ITF-18.</ref> Other protected dry forests in Puerto Rico can be formed within the [[Caribbean Islands National Wildlife Refuge Complex|Caribbean Islands National Wildlife Refuge complex]] at the [[Cabo Rojo National Wildlife Refuge|Cabo Rojo]], [[Desecheo National Wildlife Refuge|Desecheo]], [[Culebra National Wildlife Refuge|Culebra]] and [[Vieques National Wildlife Refuge]]s, and in the [[Caja de Muertos Nature Reserve|Caja de Muertos]] and [[Mona and Monito Islands Nature Reserve]]s.<ref name="Ewel">{{Cite book |last1=Ewel |first1=J. J. |url=https://www.srs.fs.usda.gov/pubs/rp/rp_itf018.pdf |title=The Ecological Life Zones of Puerto Rico and the U. S. Virgin Islands |last2=Whitmore |first2=J. L. |id=Forest Service Research Paper ITF-18 |publisher=USDA Forest Service Institute of Tropical Forestry |year=1973 |author-link=John Ewel |access-date=August 20, 2023 |archive-date=August 20, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230820221316/https://www.srs.fs.usda.gov/pubs/rp/rp_itf018.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> Examples of endemic species found in this ecoregion are the higo chumbo (''[[Harrisia portoricensis]]''), the Puerto Rican crested toad (''[[Puerto Rican crested toad|Peltophryne lemur]]''), and the Mona ground iguana (''[[Mona ground iguana|Cyclura stejnegeri]]''), the largest land animal native to Puerto Rico.<ref name="alberts">{{citation |last1=Alberts |first1=Allison |title=Testing the Utility of Headstarting as a Conservation Strategy for West Indian Iguanas |work=Iguanas: Biology and Conservation |page=210 |year=2004 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-23854-1 |last2=Lemm |first2=Jeffrey |last3=Grant |first3=Tandora |last4=Jackintell |first4=Lori}}</ref>

Puerto Rico has three of the seven year-long [[bioluminescent bay]]s in the Caribbean: [[Las Cabezas de San Juan (Puerto Rico)|Laguna Grande]] in [[Fajardo, Puerto Rico|Fajardo]], [[La Parguera Nature Reserve|La Parguera]] in [[Lajas, Puerto Rico|Lajas]] and [[Puerto Mosquito]] in [[Vieques, Puerto Rico|Vieques]]. These are unique bodies of water surrounded by [[mangrove]]s that are inhabited by the [[dinoflagellate]] ''[[Pyrodinium bahamense]]''.<ref name=":03">{{Cite journal |last1=Soler-Figueroa |first1=Brenda María |last2=Otero |first2=Ernesto |date=January 1, 2015 |title=The Influence of Rain Regimes and Nutrient Loading on the Abundance of Two Dinoflagellate Species in a Tropical Bioluminescent Bay, Bahía Fosforescente, La Parguera, Puerto Rico |journal=Estuaries and Coasts |language=en |volume=38 |issue=1 |pages=84–92 |doi=10.1007/s12237-014-9827-0 |bibcode=2015EstCo..38...84S |issn=1559-2731 |s2cid=85305359}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/bioluminescent-bay-puerto-rico-unique-places-around-the-world.html|title=Bioluminescent Bay, Puerto Rico - Unique Places around the World|website=WorldAtlas|access-date=February 15, 2020|archive-date=February 15, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200215211706/https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/bioluminescent-bay-puerto-rico-unique-places-around-the-world.html}}</ref> However, tourism, pollution, and hurricanes have highly threatened these unique ecosystems.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Yancey-Bragg|first=N'dea|title=After Hurricane Maria, Puerto Rico's rare bioluminescent bays may go dark|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2017/09/22/after-hurricane-maria-puerto-ricos-rare-bioluminescent-bays-may-go-dark/694833001/|access-date=June 29, 2020|website=USA TODAY|language=en-US|archive-date=February 27, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200227163632/https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2017/09/22/after-hurricane-maria-puerto-ricos-rare-bioluminescent-bays-may-go-dark/694833001/|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Government and politics==
{{Main|Government of Puerto Rico|Politics of Puerto Rico}}
{{Multiple image
| direction         = horizontal
| align             = right
| caption_align     = center
| total_width       = 260
| image1            = Official portrait of Resident Commissioner Jenniffer Gonzalez (4x5 cropped).jpg
| caption1          = [[Jenniffer González-Colón]]<br />[[Governor of Puerto Rico|Governor]]
| image2            = Alcaldesa Rosachely Rivera Santana.jpg
| caption2          = [[Rosachely Rivera]]<br />[[Secretary of State of Puerto Rico|Secretary of State]]
}}
Puerto Rico has a [[Republic|republican form of government]] based on the [[Republicanism in the United States|American model]], with [[separation of powers]] subject to the jurisdiction and sovereignty of the United States.<ref name=autogenerated1>{{cite web |url=http://www.oslpr.org/english/PDF/The%20Constitution%20of%20the%20Commonwealth%20of%20Puerto%20Rico.pdf |title=Constitution of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Article&nbsp;I, Section 2 |access-date=August 14, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091229150849/http://www.oslpr.org/english/pdf/the%20constitution%20of%20the%20commonwealth%20of%20puerto%20rico.pdf |archive-date=December 29, 2009 }}</ref><ref name=ussd>{{cite web |url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/s/inr/rls/10543.htm |title=U.S. Department of State. Dependencies and Areas of Special Sovereignty |publisher=State.gov |access-date=August 14, 2010 |archive-date=June 21, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220621161149/https://2009-2017.state.gov/s/inr/rls/10543.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> All governmental powers are delegated by the [[United States Congress]], with the head of state being the [[president of the United States]]. As an [[Unincorporated territories of the United States|unincorporated territory]], Puerto Rico lacks full protection under the U.S. Constitution.<ref name="U.S. Department of State">{{cite web |url=https://fam.state.gov/FAM/07FAM/07FAM1120.html |title=U.S. Department of State. Foreign Affairs Manual: Volume 7 – Consular Affairs (7 FAM 1120), 'Acquisition of U.S. Nationality in U.S. Territories and Possessions', pp. 1–3. |format=PDF |access-date=December 13, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222081013/https://fam.state.gov/FAM/07FAM/07FAM1120.html |archive-date=December 22, 2015 }}</ref>

The government of Puerto Rico is composed of three branches. The executive is headed by the [[governor of Puerto Rico|governor]], currently [[Jenniffer González-Colón]]. The [[Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico|legislative branch]] consists of the [[bicameral]] [[Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico|Legislative Assembly]], made up of a [[Senate of Puerto Rico|Senate]] as its upper chamber and a [[House of Representatives of Puerto Rico|House of Representatives]] as its lower chamber; the Senate is headed by a [[President of the Senate of Puerto Rico|president]], currently [[José Luis Dalmau]], while the House is headed by the [[Speaker of the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico|speaker of the House]], currently [[Tatito Hernández]]. The governor and legislators are elected by popular vote every four years, with [[Puerto Rican general election, 2024|the last election held in November 2024]]. The [[judiciary of Puerto Rico|judicial branch]] is headed by the [[Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico|chief justice of the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico]], currently [[Maite Oronoz Rodríguez]]. Members of the judiciary are appointed by the governor with the [[advice and consent]] of the Senate.

Puerto Rico is represented in the U.S. Congress by a nonvoting delegate to the House of Representatives, the [[Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico|resident commissioner]], currently [[Pablo Hernández Rivera]]. Current congressional rules have removed the commissioner's power to vote in the [[Committee of the Whole (United States House of Representatives)|Committee of the Whole]], but the commissioner can vote in committee.<ref name="rhg">[http://clerk.house.gov/legislative/house-rules.pdf Rules of the House of Representatives. Rule III] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151005220012/http://clerk.house.gov/legislative/house-rules.pdf/ |date=October 5, 2015 }}.</ref>

Puerto Rican elections are governed by the [[Federal Election Commission]] and the [[State Elections Commission of Puerto Rico]].<ref>{{cite web|date=July 25, 2018|title=Help America Vote Act (HAVA) 2018 ELECTION SECURITY GRANT|url=https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/sites/default/files/documents/5676842/Puerto-Rico-State-Elections-Commission-Help.pdf|access-date=October 30, 2011|publisher=Puerto Rico State Elections Commission|archive-date=July 29, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210729065604/https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/sites/default/files/documents/5676842/Puerto-Rico-State-Elections-Commission-Help.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.fec.gov/pubrec/2008pdates.pdf |title=2008 Presidential Primary Dates and Candidates Filling Datelines for Ballot Access |access-date=October 30, 2011 |archive-date=October 28, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111028170649/http://www.fec.gov/pubrec/2008pdates.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> Residents of Puerto Rico, including other U.S. citizens, cannot vote in U.S. presidential elections, but can vote in [[United States presidential primary|primaries]]. Puerto Ricans who become residents of a [[U.S. state]] or [[Washington, D.C.]] can vote in presidential elections.

Puerto Rico has [[Puerto Rico senatorial districts|eight senatorial districts]], [[Puerto Rico representative districts|40 representative districts]], and [[Municipalities of Puerto Rico|78 municipalities]]; there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the U.S. government. Municipalities are subdivided into [[Barrios of Puerto Rico|barrio]]s. Each municipality has a [[Mayors of Puerto Rico|mayor]] and a municipal legislature elected for a four-year term. The municipality of [[San Juan, Puerto Rico|San Juan]] is the oldest, founded in 1521;<ref name="linktopr.com">{{cite web|title=Consulados. ''Link to Puerto Rico''|url=http://www.linktopr.com/consulados.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040411192635/http://www.linktopr.com/consulados.html|archive-date=April 11, 2004|access-date=February 3, 2009}}</ref> the next earliest settlements are [[San Germán]] in 1570, [[Coamo]] in 1579, [[Arecibo]] in 1614, [[Aguada, Puerto Rico|Aguada]] in 1692 and [[Ponce, Puerto Rico|Ponce]] in 1692. Increased settlement in the 18th century saw 30 more communities established, following 34 in the 19th century. Six were founded in the 20th century, the most recent being [[Florida, Puerto Rico|Florida]] in 1971.<ref name="fundacion">{{cite web |url=http://www.linktopr.com/fundacion.html |title=LinktoPR.com – Fundación de los Pueblos |access-date=April 21, 2004 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040421093959/http://www.linktopr.com/fundacion.html |archive-date=April 21, 2004 }}</ref>

===Political parties and elections===
{{main|Political party strength in Puerto Rico}}
[[File:Political-party-strength-in-puerto-rico-2012.png|thumb|right|The difference between the incumbent party, the PPD, and its opponent, the PNP, was a mere 0.6% in the last election. This difference is common as the political landscape experiences political cycles between both parties, with the PPD ruling all branches of government for 36 of the past 64 years. The PNP, on the other hand, has ruled both the executive and legislative branch concurrently for 16 years. The other 12 years experienced a [[Divided government in the United States|divided government]].]]
Since 1952, Puerto Rico has had three main political parties: the [[Popular Democratic Party (Puerto Rico)|Popular Democratic Party]] (PPD in Spanish), the [[New Progressive Party (Puerto Rico)|New Progressive Party]] (PNP in Spanish) and the [[Puerto Rican Independence Party]] (PIP). The three parties stand for different political status. The PPD, for example, seeks [[status quo movement in Puerto Rico|to maintain the island's status with the U.S. as a commonwealth]], while the PNP seeks [[Puerto Rico statehood movement|to make Puerto Rico a U.S. state]]. Meanwhile, the PIP seeks [[independence movement in Puerto Rico|to make Puerto Rico a sovereign nation]] free from U.S. authority. In terms of party strength, the PPD and PNP usually hold about 47% of the vote each while the PIP holds about 5%.

After 2007, other parties emerged on the island. The first, the [[Puerto Ricans for Puerto Rico Party]] was registered that same year. The party claims that it seeks to address the islands' problems from a status-neutral platform. But it ceased to remain as a registered party when it failed to obtain the required number of votes in the 2008 general election. Four years later, the 2012 election saw the emergence of the ''[[Movimiento Unión Soberanista]]'' (English: Sovereign Union Movement) and the ''[[Partido del Pueblo Trabajador]]'' (English: Working People's Party) but none obtained more than 1% of the vote.

Other non-registered parties include the [[Puerto Rican Nationalist Party]], the [[Socialist Workers Movement (Puerto Rico)|Socialist Workers Movement]], and the [[Hostosian National Independence Movement]].

===Political status===
{{Main|Political status of Puerto Rico|Proposed political status for Puerto Rico}}
The nature of Puerto Rico's political relationship with the U.S. is the subject of [[Political status of Puerto Rico#Controversies|ongoing debate]] in Puerto Rico, the U.S. Congress, and the [[United Nations]].<ref name="sdc">{{cite press release |title=Special committee on decolonization approves text calling on United States to expedite Puerto Rican self-determination process |date=June 13, 2006 |publisher=Department of Public Information, United Nations General Assembly |url=https://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2006/gacol3138.doc.htm |access-date=October 1, 2007 |archive-date=April 9, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200409222103/https://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2006/gacol3138.doc.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> Specifically, the basic question is whether Puerto Rico should remain an unincorporated territory of the U.S., become a U.S. state, or become an independent country.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://fas.org/sgp/crs/row/RL32933.pdf |title=Political Status of Puerto Rico: Background, Options, and Issues in the 109th Congress |date=May 25, 2005 |author=Keith Bea |publisher=Congressional Research Service |access-date=October 1, 2007 |archive-date=September 28, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190928232129/https://fas.org/sgp/crs/row/RL32933.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[File:PR Capitol, south side.JPG|thumb|The [[Capitol of Puerto Rico]], home of the Legislative Assembly in Puerto Rico|alt=|left]]

Constitutionally, Puerto Rico is subject to the [[plenary powers]] of the U.S. Congress under the [[territorial clause]] of [[Article Four of the United States Constitution|Article IV of the U.S. Constitution]].<ref>U.S. Const. art. IV, § 3, cl. 2 ("The Congress shall have Power to dispose of and make all needful Rules and Regulations respecting the Territory or other Property belonging to the United States&nbsp;...").</ref> [[U.S. federal law|Laws enacted at the federal level in the U.S.]] apply to Puerto Rico as well, regardless of its political status. Their residents [[Federal voting rights in Puerto Rico|do not have voting representation in the U.S. Congress]]. Puerto Rico lacks "the full sovereignty of an independent nation", for example, the power to manage its "external relations with other nations", which is held by the U.S. federal government. The U.S. Supreme Court has indicated that once the U.S. Constitution has been extended to an area (by Congress or the courts), its coverage is irrevocable. To hold that the political branches may switch the Constitution on or off at will would lead to a regime in which they, not this Court, say "what the law is".<ref>[[Downes v. Bidwell]], 182 U.S. 244, 261 (1901), commenting on an earlier Supreme Court decision, Loughborough v. Blake, 18 U.S. (5 Wheat.) 317 (1820); Rasmussen v. United States, 197 U.S. 516, 529–530, 536 (1905)(concurring opinions of Justices Harlan and Brown), that once the Constitution has been extended to an area, its coverage is irrevocable; [[Boumediene v. Bush]] – That where the Constitution has been once formally extended by Congress to territories, neither Congress nor the territorial legislature can enact laws inconsistent therewith. The Constitution grants Congress and the President the power to acquire, dispose of, and govern territory, not the power to decide when and where its terms apply.</ref>

Puerto Ricans "were collectively made U.S. citizens" in 1917 as a result of the [[Jones–Shafroth Act]].<ref>''The Louisiana Purchase and American Expansion: 1803–1898''. By Sanford Levinson and Bartholomew H. Sparrow. New York: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. 2005. pp. 166, 178. "U.S. citizenship was extended to residents of Puerto Rico by virtue of the Jones Act, chap. 190, 39 Stat. 951 (1971)(codified at 48 U.S.C. § 731 (1987)")</ref> U.S. citizens residing in Puerto Rico cannot vote in U.S. presidential elections, though both major parties, Republican and Democratic, hold primary elections in Puerto Rico to choose delegates to vote on the parties' presidential candidates. Since Puerto Rico is an unincorporated territory and not a U.S. state, the U.S. Constitution does not fully [[enfranchise]] U.S. citizens residing in Puerto Rico.<ref name="U.S. Department of State"/><ref name="Constitutional Topic: Citizenship">{{cite web |url=http://www.usconstitution.net/consttop_citi.html |title=Constitutional Topic: Citizenship |publisher=U.S. Constitution Online |access-date=June 6, 2009 |archive-date=December 11, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081211130139/http://www.usconstitution.net/consttop_citi.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

Only [[fundamental right]]s under the American federal constitution and adjudications are applied to Puerto Ricans. Various other U.S. Supreme Court decisions have held which rights apply in Puerto Rico and which ones do not. Puerto Ricans have a long history of service in the U.S. Armed Forces and, since 1917, they have been included in the U.S. [[compulsory draft]] when it has been in effect.

Though the Commonwealth government has its own tax laws, residents of Puerto Rico, contrary to a popular misconception, do pay U.S. federal taxes: customs taxes (which are subsequently returned to the Puerto Rico Treasury), import/export taxes, federal commodity taxes, social security taxes, etc. Residents pay federal [[payroll tax]]es, such as [[Social Security (United States)|Social Security]] and [[Medicare (United States)|Medicare]], as well as Commonwealth of Puerto Rico income taxes. All federal employees, those who do business with the federal government, Puerto Rico-based corporations that intend to send funds to the U.S., and some others, such as Puerto Rican residents that are members of the U.S. military, and Puerto Rico residents who earned income from sources outside Puerto Rico also pay federal income taxes. In addition, because the cutoff point for income taxation is lower than that of the U.S. IRS code, and because the per-capita income in Puerto Rico is much lower than the average per-capita income on the mainland, more Puerto Rico residents pay income taxes to the local taxation authority than if the IRS code were applied to the island. This occurs because "the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico government has a wider set of responsibilities than do U.S. State and local governments."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://stanford.wellsphere.com/healthcare-industry-policy-article/puerto-rico/267827 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100401034052/http://stanford.wellsphere.com/healthcare-industry-policy-article/puerto-rico/267827 |archive-date=April 1, 2010 |title=Puerto Ricans pay federal commodity taxes |publisher=Stanford.wellsphere.com |access-date=October 30, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc903.html |title=Internal Revenue Service. ', Topic 903 – Federal Employment Tax in Puerto Rico' |publisher=Irs.gov |date=December 18, 2009 |access-date=August 14, 2010 |archive-date=July 3, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170703133155/https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc903.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=reuters2009-09-24>{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE58N5X320090924 |title=Reuters, 'Puerto Rico hopes to gain from U.S. healthcare reform', 24&nbsp;September 2009 |work=Reuters |date=September 24, 2009 |access-date=August 14, 2010 |archive-date=November 30, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201130062125/https://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE58N5X320090924 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Schaefer |first=Brett |url=http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2009/03/dc-voting-rights-no-representation-no-taxation |title=The Heritage Foundation, 11&nbsp;March 2009. "D.C. Voting Rights: No Representation? No Taxation!", By Robert A. Book, PhD |publisher=Heritage.org |access-date=October 16, 2010 |archive-date=April 29, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120429113102/http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2009/03/dc-voting-rights-no-representation-no-taxation |url-status=unfit }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mcvpr.com/CM/CurrentEvents/CEOsummitarticle.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110515142411/http://www.mcvpr.com/CM/CurrentEvents/CEOsummitarticle.pdf |archive-date=May 15, 2011 |title=Puerto Rico Manufacturers Association, CEO Summit, Federal and Local Incentives: Where we are, Where We Want to be. Amaya Iraolagoitia, Partner, Tax Dept. |access-date=August 14, 2010 }}</ref><ref name=jct>{{cite web |url=http://www.jct.gov/x-24-06.pdf |title=Joint Committee on Taxation. ''An Overview of the Special Tax Rules Related to Puerto Rico and an Analysis of the Tax and Economic Policy Implications of Recent Legislative Options'' |access-date=August 14, 2010 |archive-date=September 3, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090903121058/http://www.jct.gov/x-24-06.pdf }}</ref>{{#Tag:Ref|Members of the military must pay federal income tax<ref name=reuters2009-09-24 /><ref name=jct />}}

In 2009, Puerto Rico paid {{Nowrap|$3.742 billion}} into the [[U.S. Treasury]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-soi/09db05co.xls |title=Table 5. Internal Revenue Gross Collections, by Type of Tax and State, Fiscal year 2009 |publisher=[[Internal Revenue Service]] |format=XLS |access-date=August 11, 2017 |archive-date=July 9, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170709062753/https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-soi/09db05co.xls |url-status=live }}</ref> Residents of Puerto Rico pay into Social Security, and are thus eligible for Social Security benefits upon retirement. They are excluded from the [[Supplemental Security Income]], and the island receives a smaller fraction of the [[Medicaid]] funding it would receive if it were a U.S. state.<ref>[https://www.reuters.com/article/us-healthcare-puertorico-idUSTRE58N5X320090924 ''Puerto Rico hopes to gain from U.S. healthcare reform.''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151016022450/http://www.reuters.com/article/2009/09/24/us-healthcare-puertorico-idUSTRE58N5X320090924 |date=October 16, 2015 }} Reuters. September 24, 2009. Retrieved July 19, 2012.</ref> Also, Medicare providers receive less-than-full state-like reimbursements for services rendered to beneficiaries in Puerto Rico, even though the latter paid fully into the system.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.prfaa.com/news/?p=252 |title=News & Media |publisher=PRFAA |date=July 6, 2009 |access-date=October 30, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511054048/http://www.prfaa.com/news/?p=252 |archive-date=May 11, 2011 }}</ref>

Puerto Rico's authority to enact a criminal code derives from Congress and not from local sovereignty as with the states. Thus, individuals committing a crime can only be tried in federal or territorial court, otherwise it would constitute double jeopardy and is constitutionally impermissible.<ref name="Martínez Torres" />

In 1992, President [[George H. W. Bush]] issued a memorandum to heads of executive departments and agencies establishing the current administrative relationship between the federal government and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. This memorandum directs all federal departments, agencies, and officials to treat Puerto Rico administratively as if it were a state, insofar as doing so would not disrupt federal programs or operations.

Many federal executive branch agencies have significant presence in Puerto Rico, just as in any state, including the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]], [[Federal Emergency Management Agency]], [[Transportation Security Administration]], [[Social Security Administration]], and others. While Puerto Rico has its own [[judiciary of Puerto Rico|Commonwealth judicial system]] similar to that of a U.S. state, there is also a U.S. federal district court in Puerto Rico, and Puerto Ricans have served as judges in that Court and in other federal courts on the U.S. mainland regardless of their residency status at the time of their appointment. [[Sonia Sotomayor]], a [[Nuyorican|New Yorker of Puerto Rican descent]], serves as an [[Associate Justice|associate justice]] of the U.S. Supreme Court. Puerto Ricans have also been frequently appointed to high-level federal positions, including serving as [[U.S. ambassadors]] to other nations.

===Administrative divisions===
{{Main|Municipalities of Puerto Rico}}
[[File:USA Puerto Rico labeled.svg|thumb|A map of Puerto Rico showing its 78 municipalities; the islands of Vieques and Culebra have their own municipal governments.|alt=]]
Unlike the vast majority of U.S. states, Puerto Rico has no first-order administrative divisions akin to [[County (United States)|counties]], but has 78 [[Municipality|municipalities]] or [[Municipio|''municipios'']] as the secondary unit of administration; for [[United States Census Bureau|U.S. Census]] purposes, the municipalities are considered [[County (United States)#County equivalents|county equivalents]]. Municipalities are subdivided into ''[[barrio]]s''. Each municipality has a [[mayor]] and a municipal legislature elected for four-year terms, per the [[Autonomous Municipalities Act of 1991]].

===Foreign and intergovernmental relations===
{{Main|Foreign and intergovernmental relations of Puerto Rico}}
Puerto Rico is subject to the [[Commerce Clause|Commerce]] and [[Territorial Clause]] of the U.S. Constitution and is thus restricted on how it can engage with other nations, sharing the opportunities and limitations that state governments have albeit not being one. As is the case with state governments, it has established several trade agreements with other nations, particularly with Latin American countries such as Colombia and Panamá.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.elnuevodia.com/colombiaypuertoricosedanlamano-1556164.html |title=Colombia y Puerto Rico se dan la mano |date=July 20, 2013 |access-date=August 11, 2013 |language=es |newspaper=[[El Nuevo Día]] |archive-date=August 24, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130824132404/http://www.elnuevodia.com/colombiaypuertoricosedanlamano-1556164.html }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.icesi.edu.co/blogs/paises/2013/07/23/puerto-rico/ |title=Relaciones comerciales entre Colombia y Puerto Rico |date=July 23, 2013 |access-date=August 11, 2013 |language=es |publisher=[[Universidad ICESI]] |archive-date=October 2, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131002064317/http://www.icesi.edu.co/blogs/paises/2013/07/23/puerto-rico/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

It has also established trade promotion offices in many foreign countries, all Spanish-speaking, and within the U.S. itself, which now include Spain, the Dominican Republic, [[Panama]], [[Colombia]], [[Washington, D.C.]], New York City and Florida, and has included in the past offices in [[Chile]], [[Costa Rica]], and Mexico. Such agreements require permission from the U.S. Department of State; most are simply allowed by existing laws or trade treaties between the U.S. and other nations which supersede trade agreements pursued by Puerto Rico and different U.S. states. Puerto Rico hosts [[Consul (representative)|consulates]] from 41 countries, mainly from the [[Americas]] and Europe, with most located in San Juan.<ref name="linktopr.com"/>

At the local level, Puerto Rico established by law that the international relations which states and territories are allowed to engage must be handled by the [[Department of State of Puerto Rico]], an [[executive departments of the government of Puerto Rico|executive department]], headed by the [[Secretary of State of Puerto Rico|secretary of state of Puerto Rico]], who also serves as the unincorporated territory's lieutenant governor. It is also charged to liaise with general [[consul (representative)|consuls]] and [[honorary consul]]s based in Puerto Rico. The [[Puerto Rico Federal Affairs Administration]], along with the [[Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico|Office of the Resident Commissioner]], manages all its intergovernmental affairs before entities of or in the U.S. (including the federal government of the U.S., local and state governments of the U.S., and public or private entities in the U.S.).{{citation needed|date=June 2024}}

Both entities frequently assist the Department of State of Puerto Rico in engaging with Washington, D.C.-based ambassadors and federal agencies that handle Puerto Rico's foreign affairs, such as the U.S. Department of State, the [[Agency for International Development]], and others. The current secretary of state is [[Larry Seilhamer Rodríguez]] from the New Progressive Party, while the current [[List of Directors of the Puerto Rico Federal Affairs Administration|director of the Puerto Rico Federal Affairs Administration]] is [[Jennifer M. Stopiran]] also from the NPP and a member of the Republican Party of the U.S.{{citation needed|date=June 2024}}

The [[Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico|resident commissioner of Puerto Rico]], the [[delegate (United States Congress)|delegate]] elected by Puerto Ricans to represent them before the federal government, including the U.S. Congress, sits in the U.S. House of Representatives, serves and votes on congressional committees, and functions in every respect as a legislator except being denied a vote on the final disposition of legislation on the House floor. The current resident commissioner is [[Jenniffer González|Jenniffer González-Colón]], a member of the New Progressive Party and the Republican Party, elected in 2016. She received more votes than any other official elected in Puerto Rico that year.<ref name="wines19">{{cite news |last=Wines |first=Michael |title=She's Puerto Rico's Only Link to Washington. She Could Be Its Future Governor. |newspaper=New York Times |date=July 26, 2019 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/26/us/Jenniffer-Gonzalez-Colon-puerto-rico.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190726173211/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/26/us/Jenniffer-Gonzalez-Colon-puerto-rico.html |archive-date=July 26, 2019 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |quote=She noted that her campaign to become resident commissioner garnered more votes in 2016 than any other candidate for office in the unincorporated territory.}}</ref>

Many Puerto Ricans have served as U.S. ambassadors to different nations and international organizations, such as the [[Organization of American States]], mostly but not exclusively in Latin America. For example, Maricarmen Aponte, a Puerto Rican and now an acting assistant secretary of state, previously served as [[List of ambassadors of the United States to El Salvador|U.S. ambassador to El Salvador]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/r/pa/ei/biog/148343.htm |title=Mari Carmen Aponte |website=State.gov |access-date=May 21, 2019 |archive-date=May 21, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180521205719/https://2009-2017.state.gov/r/pa/ei/biog/148343.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Military===
{{Main|Military of Puerto Rico}}
[[File:Federal lands in Puerto Rico and VI.JPG|upright=2.00|thumb|U.S. military installations and other federal lands in Puerto Rico (including the [[U.S. Virgin Islands]]) throughout the 20th century|alt=]]
As it is an unincorporated U.S. territory, the defense of Puerto Rico is provided by the U.S. as part of the [[Treaty of Paris (1898)|Treaty of Paris]] with the president of the U.S. as its [[commander-in-chief]]. Puerto Rico has its own [[Puerto Rico National Guard|National Guard]], and its own [[state defense force]], the [[Puerto Rico State Guard]], which by local law is under the authority of the Puerto Rico National Guard.

The [[commander-in-chief]] of both local forces is the [[governor of Puerto Rico]] who delegates his authority to the [[Puerto Rico Adjutant General|Puerto Rico adjutant general]], currently [[Major General]] [[José J. Reyes]]. The Adjutant General, in turn, delegates the authority over the State Guard to another officer but retains the authority over the Puerto Rico National Guard as a whole.
U.S. military installations in Puerto Rico were part of the [[United States Atlantic Command|U.S. Atlantic Command]] (LANTCOM after 1993 USACOM), which had authority over all U.S. military operations that took place throughout the Atlantic. Puerto Rico had been seen as crucial in supporting LANTCOM's mission until 1999, when U.S. Atlantic Command was renamed and given a new mission as [[U.S. Joint Forces Command]]. Puerto Rico is currently under the responsibility of [[U.S. Northern Command]].

Both the Naval Forces Caribbean (NFC) and the Fleet Air Caribbean (FAIR) were formerly based at the Roosevelt Roads Naval Station. The NFC had authority over all U.S. Naval activity in the waters of the Caribbean while FAIR had authority over all U.S. military flights and air operations over the Caribbean. With the closing of the Roosevelt Roads and Vieques Island training facilities, the U.S. Navy has basically exited from Puerto Rico, except for the ships that steam by, and the only significant military presence in the island is the [[U.S. Army]] at [[Fort Buchanan, Puerto Rico|Ft Buchanan]], the [[Puerto Rican Army]] and Air National Guards, and the [[U.S. Coast Guard]]. Protests over the noise of bombing practice forced the closure of the naval base. This resulted in a loss of 6,000 jobs and an annual decrease in local income of $300&nbsp;million.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/03/national/after-closing-of-navy-base-hard-times-in-puerto-rico.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171003005620/http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/03/national/after-closing-of-navy-base-hard-times-in-puerto-rico.html |archive-date=October 3, 2017 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=After Closing of Navy Base, Hard Times in Puerto Rico |date=April 3, 2005 |work=The New York Times| access-date=October 31, 2017}}</ref>

A branch of the U.S. [[Army National Guard]] is stationed in Puerto Rico – known as the [[Puerto Rico Army National Guard]] – which performs missions equivalent to those of the Army National Guards of different U.S. states, including ground defense, disaster relief, and control of civil unrest. The local National Guard also incorporates a branch of the U.S. [[Air National Guard]] – known as the [[Puerto Rico Air National Guard]] – which performs missions equivalent to those of the Air National Guards of each one of the U.S. states.

[[File:USS Maryland (SSBN-738) 1997.jpg|thumb|{{sclass|Ohio|submarine|0}} [[ballistic missile submarine]] USS ''Maryland'', [[Roosevelt Roads Naval Station]], 1997|alt=]]

At different times in the 20th century, the U.S. had about 25 military or naval installations in Puerto Rico.<ref name="WQS">OSD, Washington Headquarters Services, Directorate for Information Operations and Reports (DIOR); "Atlas/Data Abstract for the United States and Selected Areas – Fiscal Year 1997;" Department of Defense; 1998. Note: The count of 25 military installations included the branch component of the Roosevelt Roads Naval facility on the island of Vieques, as distinct from the Roosevelt Roads Naval station in Cieba</ref> The largest of these installations were the former [[Roosevelt Roads Naval Station]] in [[Ceiba, Puerto Rico|Ceiba]], the Atlantic Fleet Weapons Training Facility (AFWTF) on [[Vieques]], the National Guard training facility at [[Camp Santiago]] in [[Salinas, Puerto Rico|Salinas]], [[Fort Allen, Puerto Rico|Fort Allen]] in [[Juana Diaz]], the Army's [[Fort Buchanan, Puerto Rico|Fort Buchanan]] in San Juan, the former U.S. Air Force's Ramey Air Force Base in Aguadilla, and the Puerto Rico Air National Guard's [[Muñiz Air National Guard Base]] in [[San Juan, Puerto Rico|San Juan]].<ref name="CD">Meléndez, Edwin; Meléndez, Edgardo; Colonial Dilemma; [[South End Press]]; Boston; 1993</ref>

The former U.S. Navy facilities at Roosevelt Roads, Vieques, and Sabana Seca have been deactivated and partially turned over to the local government. Other than [[U.S. Coast Guard]] and Puerto Rico National Guard facilities, there are only two remaining military installations in Puerto Rico: the U.S. Army's small Ft. Buchanan (supporting local veterans and reserve units) and the PRANG (Puerto Rico Air National Guard) Muñiz Air Base (the C-130 Fleet). In recent years, the U.S. Congress has considered their deactivations, but these have been opposed by diverse public and private entities in Puerto Rico – such as retired military who rely on Ft. Buchanan for the services available there.

Puerto Ricans have participated in many U.S. military conflicts, including the [[American Revolution]], when volunteers from Puerto Rico, Cuba, and Mexico fought the [[Kingdom of Great Britain|British]] in 1779 under the command of General [[Bernardo de Gálvez]] (1746–1786).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://mlis.state.md.us/1997rs/billfile/sj0002.htm |title=Participation of Hispanics in the American Revolution |work=SJR2 |author=Maryland General Assembly |date=April 8, 1997 |access-date=August 9, 2012 |archive-date=November 5, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111105051722/http://mlis.state.md.us/1997rs/billfile/sj0002.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> They continue to be disproportionately represented in present-day conflicts in [[Iraq]] and [[Afghanistan]].<ref>{{cite web |author=Danny Nieves |url=http://www.valerosos.com/anouncements.html |title=Special Announcements |publisher=Valerosos.com |access-date=April 18, 2014 |archive-date=July 13, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140713064457/http://www.valerosos.com/anouncements.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The most notable example is the [[65th Infantry Regiment]] of the U.S. Army, nicknamed ''The Borinqueneers,'' from the original Taíno name of the island (Borinquen). The all-[[Puerto Rican people|Puerto Rican]] regiment participated in [[World War I]], [[World War II]], the [[Korean War]], and the [[war on terror]]; in 2014, it was awarded the [[Congressional Gold Medal]] for its heroism during the Korean War.

A significant number of Puerto Ricans serve in the U.S. Armed Forces, largely as [[National Guard of the United States|National Guard]] members and civilian employees. The size of the overall military-related community is estimated to be 100,000, including retired personnel.<ref name="CD"/> Fort Buchanan has about 4,000 military and civilian personnel. In addition, approximately 17,000 people are members of the Puerto Rico Army and Air National Guards, or the U.S. Reserve forces.<ref name="OSD">Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense, Reserve Affairs; "Official Guard and Reserve Manpower Strengths and Statistics – Summary End Fiscal Year 1996;" 1996</ref>

===Law===
{{Main|Constitution of Puerto Rico|Law of Puerto Rico}}
The insular legal system is a blend of [[Civil law (legal system)|civil law]] and the [[common law]] systems.

Puerto Rico is the only current U.S. jurisdiction whose legal system operates primarily in a language other than American English: namely, [[Spanish language|Spanish]]. Because the [[U.S. federal government]] operates primarily in English, all Puerto Rican attorneys must be bilingual in order to litigate in English in [[U.S. federal courts]], and litigate federal preemption issues in Puerto Rican courts.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hunter |first=Britt |title=Research Guides: Commonwealth Caribbean Law Research Guide: Puerto Rico |url=https://guides.law.fsu.edu/caribbean/puertorico |access-date=January 19, 2024 |website=guides.law.fsu.edu |language=en |archive-date=January 19, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240119165910/https://guides.law.fsu.edu/caribbean/puertorico |url-status=live }}</ref>{{Original research inline|date=March 2021}}

[[Title 48 of the United States Code]] outlines the role of the U.S. Code to U.S. territories and insular areas such as Puerto Rico. After the U.S. government assumed control of Puerto Rico in 1901, it initiated legal reforms resulting in the adoption of codes of criminal law, criminal procedure, and civil procedure modeled after those then in effect in [[California]]. Although Puerto Rico has since followed the federal example of transferring criminal and civil procedure from [[statutory law]] to rules promulgated by the judiciary, several portions of its criminal law still reflect the influence of the [[California Penal Code]].

The judicial branch is headed by the [[Chief Justice|chief justice]] of the [[Puerto Rico Supreme Court]], which is the only appellate court required by the Constitution. All other courts are created by the [[Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Wilson|first=Steven H.|title=The U.S. Justice System An Encyclopedia |publisher=ABC-CLIO|year=2021|isbn=978-1-59884-305-7}}</ref> There is also a [[United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico|Federal District Court for Puerto Rico]], and someone accused of a criminal act at the federal level may not be accused for the same act in a Commonwealth court, and vice versa, since Puerto Rico as an unincorporated territory lacks sovereignty separate from Congress as a state does.<ref name="Martínez Torres">{{cite web |url=http://www.ramajudicial.pr/ts/2015/2015tspr25.pdf |title=Opinión del Tribunal emitida por el Juez Asociado señor Martínez Torres |publisher=El Tribunal Supremo de Puerto Rico |work=Legal Document |date=March 20, 2015 |access-date=February 7, 2016 |author=Martínez Torres, Juez (Judge) |archive-date=January 22, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160122145414/http://www.ramajudicial.pr/ts/2015/2015tspr25.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> The U.S. Supreme Court held in 2016 that such a parallel accusation would constitute [[double jeopardy]].<ref>''[[Puerto Rico v. Sanchez Valle]]'', {{ussc|579|59|2016}}.</ref>

====Crime====
{{Main|Crime in Puerto Rico|Illegal drugs in Puerto Rico}}
The homicide rate of 19.2 per 100,000 inhabitants was significantly higher than any U.S. state in 2014.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/2014/crime-in-the-u.s.-2014/tables/table-5/table_5_crime_in_the_united_states_by_state_2014.xls|title=Table 5|website=FBI}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2012/jul/22/gun-homicides-ownership-world-list |title=Gun homicides and gun ownership listed by country |first=Mona |last=Chalabi |date=July 22, 2012 |newspaper=[[The Guardian]]}}</ref> Most homicide victims are gang members and drug traffickers with about 80% of homicides in Puerto Rico being drug related.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=345039&CategoryId=14092 |title=Latin American Herald Tribune – 80% of Puerto Rico Murders Called Drug-Related |website=Laht.com |access-date=November 22, 2016 |archive-date=November 23, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161123055804/http://www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=345039&CategoryId=14092 }}</ref>

In 1992, the FBI made armed [[carjacking]] a federal crime and rates decreased per statistics,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/07/31/us/after-carjacking-surge-puerto-rico-is-wary-behind-the-wheel.html|title=After Carjacking Surge, Puerto Rico Is Wary Behind the Wheel|first=Mireya|last=Navarro|date=July 31, 1994|access-date=June 23, 2019|newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref> but as of 2019, the problem continued in municipalities like Guaynabo and others.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.metro.pr/pr/noticias/2018/02/08/sacan-familia-auto-carjacking-guaynabo.html|title=Sacan familia de auto para hacer carjacking en Guaynabo|first=Metro Puerto|last=Rico|website=Metro|date=February 8, 2018 |language=es|access-date=June 23, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.telemundopr.com/noticias/destacados/Video-Carjacking-en-centro-comercial-de-Guaynabo-415767433.html|title=Video: Carjacking en centro comercial de Guaynabo|website=Telemundo PR|date=March 9, 2017 |language=es|access-date=June 23, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.elvocero.com/ley-y-orden/investigan-carjacking-en-guaynabo/article_10c65766-3100-11e8-a045-d7c8b1099ad8.html|title=Investigan carjacking en Guaynabo|author=Nicole Candelaria |newspaper=El Vocero de Puerto Rico|date=March 26, 2018 |language=es|access-date=June 23, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.primerahora.com/noticias/policia-tribunales/nota/mujervictimadecarjackingapuntadepistolaenguaynabo-1322156/|title=Mujer víctima de carjacking a punta de pistola en Guaynabo|date=January 19, 2019|website=Primera Hora|language=es|access-date=June 23, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.fbi.gov/sanjuan/press-releases/2014/arrests-of-elvin-manuel-otero-tarzia-sebastian-angelo-saldana-kevin-rivera-ruiz-and-a-male-juvenile|title=Arrests of Elvin Manuel Otero Tarzia, Sebastian Angelo Saldana, Kevin Rivera Ruiz, and a Male Juvenile|website=FBI|access-date=June 23, 2019}}</ref> From January 1, 2019, to March 14, 2019, thirty carjackings had occurred on the island.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.notiuno.com/noticias/seguridad-y-justicia/alarmante-la-cifra-de-carjackings-en-la-isla/article_8aca3e14-4604-11e9-abb1-83bb825a5e77.html|title=Alarmante la cifra de "carjackings" en la Isla|publisher=Redacción Digital|website=UNO Radio Group|date=March 14, 2019 |access-date=June 23, 2019}}</ref>

==Economy==
{{Main|Economy of Puerto Rico|Puerto Rico government-debt crisis}}
[[File:GDP_per_capita_development_in_Puerto_Rico.svg|thumb|300px|right|Real [[Gross domestic product|GDP]] per capita development of Puerto Rico]]
Puerto Rico is classified as a [[high income economy]] by the [[World Bank]] and [[International Monetary Fund]].<ref name="Advanced economies" /> It is considered the most competitive economy in [[Latin America]] by the [[World Economic Forum]] and ranks highly on the [[Human Development Index]]. According to [[World Bank]], [[gross national income]] per capita in Puerto Rico in 2020 was $21,740.<ref>{{Cite web|title=GNI per capita, Atlas method (current US$) - Puerto Rico {{!}} Data|url=https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GNP.PCAP.CD?locations=PR|access-date=December 12, 2021|website=data.worldbank.org|archive-date=December 12, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211212054854/https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GNP.PCAP.CD?locations=PR|url-status=live}}</ref> Puerto Rico's economy is mainly driven by [[Manufacturing in Puerto Rico|manufacturing]] (primarily pharmaceuticals, textiles, petrochemicals and electronics) followed by services (primarily finance, insurance, [[real estate in Puerto Rico|real estate]] and [[tourism in Puerto Rico|tourism]]); agriculture represents less than 1% of GNP.<ref>{{cite web|title=PUERTO RICO FACT SHEET|url=http://www.gdb-pur.com/economy/documents/PREconomicFactSheet-March2016.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170525013719/http://www.gdb-pur.com/economy/documents/PREconomicFactSheet-March2016.pdf|archive-date=May 25, 2017|access-date=August 26, 2017|website=Gdb-pur.com}}</ref>{{efn|pr.gov (in Spanish) "La manufactura es el sector principal de la economía de Puerto Rico."<ref name="manufacturing-by-pr.gov"/>}}{{efn|pr.gov (in Spanish) "Algunas de las industrias más destacadas dentro del sector de la manufactura son: las farmacéuticas, los textiles, los petroquímicos, las computadoras, la electrónica y las compañías dedicadas a la manufactura de instrumentos médicos y científicos, entre otros."<ref name="manufacturing-by-pr.gov" />}} In recent years, it has also become a popular destination for MICE ([[meetings, incentives, conferencing, exhibitions]]), with a modern [[Isla Verde, Puerto Rico|convention center district]] overlooking the [[Port of San Juan]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.businessdestinations.com/destinations/puerto-ricos-tourism-industry-continues-to-expand/ |title=Puerto Rico's tourism industry continues to expand |work=Business Destinations |access-date=April 27, 2017 |archive-date=April 28, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170428053343/http://www.businessdestinations.com/destinations/puerto-ricos-tourism-industry-continues-to-expand/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Responsibility for San Juan [[port]] inspections lies with [[Plant Protection and Quarantine|PPQ]].<ref name="Interceptions" /> So high is the volume of [[cargo]] traffic that between 1984{{endash}}2000 the San Juan PPQ station recorded 7.74% of all [[pest surveillance|interceptions]], #4 in the country, #2 for insects and #3 for [[agricultural pathogen|pathogens]].<ref name="Interceptions" /> Most species are originally from [[South America]] or elsewhere in the [[Caribbean]] due to PR's position as an intermediary on the way to the mainland.<ref name="Interceptions" /> This is one of the worst locations for [[cut flowers]] and other plant parts {{endash}} both in terms of number of problems and diversity of species {{endash}} for insects in plant parts in [[baggage]], and for pathogens in plant parts in baggage and cargo.<ref name="Interceptions" /> Pathogen interceptions were dramatically (17%) higher 1999{{endash}}2000 than in 1985{{endash}}1986.<ref name="Interceptions">{{Unbulleted list citebundle
      |{{*}} {{cite journal | date=2006 | publisher=[[Springer Publishing|Springer]] | first5=David | pages=611–630 | title=Interceptions of nonindigenous plant pests at US ports of entry and border crossings over a 17-year period | first1=Deborah G. | last1=McCullough | first2=Timothy T. | last2=Work | first3=Joseph F. | last3=Cavey | first4=Andrew M. | last4=Liebhold | last5=Marshall | journal=[[Biological Invasions]] | volume=8 | issue=4 | doi=10.1007/s10530-005-1798-4 | bibcode=2006BiInv...8..611M | s2cid=23684940}}

      |{{*}} {{cite journal | year=2009 | issue=1 | volume=46 | publisher=[[Wiley Publishing]] ([[British Ecological Society]]) | journal=[[Journal of Applied Ecology]] | issn=0021-8901 | last=Hulme | first=Philip E. | title=Trade, transport and trouble: managing invasive species pathways in an era of globalization | doi=10.1111/j.1365-2664.2008.01600.x | pages=10–18 | bibcode=2009JApEc..46...10H | s2cid=1620024| doi-access=free }}
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   }}</ref>

[[geography of Puerto Rico|Puerto Rico's geography]] and [[political status of Puerto Rico|political status]] are both determining factors for its economic prosperity, primarily due to its relatively small size; [[Natural resource economics|lack of natural resources]] and subsequent dependence on [[import]]s; and vulnerability to U.S. [[foreign policy]] and trading restrictions, particularly concerning [[transportation in Puerto Rico|its shipping industry]].

Puerto Rico experienced a recession from 2006 to 2011, interrupted by four quarters of economic growth, and entered into recession again in 2013, following growing fiscal imbalance and the expiration of the IRS Section 936 corporate incentives that the [[Internal Revenue Code|U.S. Internal Revenue Code]] had applied to Puerto Rico. This IRS section was critical to the economy, as it established [[tax exemption]]s for U.S. corporations that settled in Puerto Rico and allowed their insular subsidiaries to send their earnings to the parent corporation at any time, without paying federal tax on corporate income. Puerto Rico has been able to maintain a relatively low inflation in the past decade while maintaining a [[purchasing power parity]] per capita higher than 80% of the rest of the world.<ref>[[Alan Heston]], [[Robert Summers (economist)|Robert Summers]] and Bettina Aten, [https://web.archive.org/web/20120822040945/http://pwt.econ.upenn.edu/php_site/pwt71/pwt71_form.php Penn World Table Version 7.1], Center for International Comparisons of Production, Income and Prices at the [[University of Pennsylvania]], July 2012. Accessed on August 19, 2012. Note: GDP per capita data are "PPP Converted GDP Per Capita, average GEKS-CPDW, at current prices (in I$)", labeled as variable "cgdp2".</ref>
[[File:Puerto-rico-gdp-by-sector.png|thumb|upright=1.6|Puerto Rico's [[Gross domestic product|GDP]] by [[economic sector]]]]
Academically, most of Puerto Rico's economic woes stem from federal regulations that expired, have been repealed, or no longer apply to Puerto Rico; its inability to become self-sufficient and self-sustainable throughout history;{{efn|Torrech San Inocencio (2011; in Spanish) "Con los más de $1,500 millones anuales que recibimos en asistencia federal para alimentos podríamos desarrollar una industria alimentaria autosuficiente en Puerto Rico."<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.elnuevodia.com/voz-titulo-1137663.html |title=La autosuficiencia alimentaria |first=Rafael |last=Torrcech San Inocencio |date=December 7, 2011 |access-date=September 19, 2013 |language=es |newspaper=[[El Nuevo Día]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131106153646/http://www.elnuevodia.com/voz-titulo-1137663.html |archive-date=November 6, 2013 }}</ref>}} its highly politicized public policy which tends to change [[political party strength in Puerto Rico|whenever a political party gains power]];{{efn|Millán Rodriguez (2013; in Spanish) "Los representantes del Pueblo en la Junta de Gobierno de la Autoridad de Energía Eléctrica [...] denunciaron ayer que la propuesta del Gobernador para hacer cambios en la composición del organismo institucionaliza la intervención político partidista en la corporación pública y la convierte en una agencia del Ejecutivo.."<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.vocero.com/denuncian-politizacion-de-junta-aee/ |title=Denuncian politización de Junta AEE |first=Yamilet |last=Millán Rodríguez |newspaper=[[El Vocero]] |date=April 4, 2013 |access-date=September 19, 2013 |language=es |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131104002045/http://www.vocero.com/denuncian-politizacion-de-junta-aee/ |archive-date=November 4, 2013 }}</ref>}} as well as [[government of Puerto Rico|its highly inefficient local government]]{{efn|Vera Rosa (2013; in Spanish) "Aunque Puerto Rico mueve entre el sector público y privado $15 billones en el área de salud, las deficiencias en el sistema todavía no alcanzan un nivel de eficiencia óptimo."<ref name="el-vocero-inefficient-health-2013">{{cite news |url=http://www.vocero.com/ineficiencia-arropa-a-los-recursos-economicos-de-salud/ |title=Ineficiencia arropa a los recursos económicos de salud |date=May 17, 2013 |access-date=September 19, 2013 |language=es |newspaper=[[El Vocero]] |first=Ileanexis |last=Vera Rosado |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131104000540/http://www.vocero.com/ineficiencia-arropa-a-los-recursos-economicos-de-salud/ |archive-date=November 4, 2013 }}</ref>}}{{efn|Vera Rosado (2013; in Spanish) "Para mejorar la calidad de servicio, que se impacta principalmente por deficiencias administrativas y no por falta de dinero[...]"<ref name="el-vocero-inefficient-health-2013" />}} which has accrued a [[public debt of Puerto Rico|public debt]] equal to 68% of its [[gross domestic product]] throughout time.{{efn|González (2012; in Spanish) "[...] al analizarse la deuda pública de la Isla contra el Producto Interno Bruto (PIB), se ubicaría en una relación deuda/PIB de 68% aproximadamente."<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.elnuevodia.com/debemosmasdeloqueproducimos-1278143.html |title=Debemos más de lo que producimos |first=Jenisabel |last=González |date=June 13, 2012 |access-date=September 19, 2013 |language=es |newspaper=[[El Nuevo Día]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131106153626/http://www.elnuevodia.com/debemosmasdeloqueproducimos-1278143.html |archive-date=November 6, 2013 }}</ref>}}{{efn|Bauzá (2013; in Spanish) "La realidad de nuestra situación económica y fiscal es resultado de años de falta de acción. Al Gobierno le faltó creatividad, innovación y rapidez en la creación de un nuevo modelo económico que sustentara nuestra economía. Tras la eliminación de la Sección 936, debimos ser proactivos, y no lo fuimos."<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.elnuevodia.com/garciapadillainsisteenqueheredounpaisencantos-1657317.html |title=García Padilla insiste en que heredó un país "en cantos" |first=Nydia |last=Bauzá |newspaper=[[El Nuevo Día]] |date=December 2, 2013 |access-date=December 2, 2013 |language=es |archive-date=December 4, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131204214520/http://www.elnuevodia.com/garciapadillainsisteenqueheredounpaisencantos-1657317.html }}</ref>}} Puerto Rico currently has a public debt of $72.204&nbsp;billion (equivalent to 103% of GNP), and a government deficit of $2.5&nbsp;billion.<ref>{{cite web|author1=World Bank Indicators|author2=World Bank|title=World Bank Indicators 2012: Puerto Rico|url=http://data.worldbank.org/country/puerto-rico|access-date=February 5, 2012|archive-date=February 15, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200215065629/https://data.worldbank.org/country/puerto-rico|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="wef-gcr-2013">{{cite web|last=Schwab|first=Klaus|year=2013|title=The Global Competitiveness Report 2013–2014|url=http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_GlobalCompetitivenessReport_2013-14.pdf|access-date=September 7, 2013|publisher=[[World Economic Forum]]|archive-date=September 20, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180920154137/http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_GlobalCompetitivenessReport_2013-14.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

By American standards, Puerto Rico is underdeveloped: It is poorer than Mississippi, the poorest state of the U.S., with 41% of its population below the [[poverty threshold|poverty line]].{{efn|Quintero (2013; in Spanish) "Los indicadores de una economía débil son muchos, y la economía en Puerto Rico está sumamente debilitada, según lo evidencian la tasa de desempleo (13.5%), los altos niveles de pobreza (41.7%), los altos niveles de quiebra y la pérdida poblacional."<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.noticel.com/noticia/148055/las-estadisticas-hablan-puerto-rico-camino-a-ser-el-detroit-del-caribe.html |title=Las estadísticas hablan: Puerto Rico camino a ser el "Detroit del Caribe" |first=Laura |last=Quintero |date=September 14, 2013 |access-date=January 22, 2014 |language=es |newspaper=[[NotiCel]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140201150906/http://www.noticel.com/noticia/148055/las-estadisticas-hablan-puerto-rico-camino-a-ser-el-detroit-del-caribe.html |archive-date=February 1, 2014 }}</ref>}} However, it has the highest [[Gross domestic product|GDP]] per capita in Latin America. Puerto Rico's main trading partners are the United States, [[Republic of Ireland|Ireland]], and Japan, with most products coming from [[East Asia]], mainly China, [[Hong Kong]], and [[Taiwan]]. Puerto Rico's dependency on oil for [[transportation in Puerto Rico|transportation]] and electricity generation, as well as its dependency on food imports and raw materials, makes Puerto Rico volatile and highly reactive to changes in [[global economy|the world economy]] and [[climate]].

=== Tourism ===
{{Main|Tourism in Puerto Rico}}
[[File:Beach in Coto, Isabela, Puerto Rico.jpg|thumb|Beach in Coto, [[Isabela, Puerto Rico|Isabela]]]]
Tourism in Puerto Rico is also an important part of the economy. In 2017, [[Hurricane Maria]] caused severe damage to the island and its infrastructure, disrupting tourism for many months. The damage was estimated at $100&nbsp;billion. An April 2019 report indicated that by that time, only a few hotels were still closed, that life for tourists in and around the capital had, for the most part, returned to normal.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/news/2019/04/02/puerto-rico-breaks-tourism-record-while-rebuilding-hurricane-maria/3346139002/ |title=Nearly two years after Hurricane Maria devastation, Puerto Rico welcomes record number of tourists |date=April 2, 2019 |publisher=USA Today |access-date=November 27, 2019 |quote=Brief power outages still hit occasionally as the government prepares to privatize an aging and poorly maintained grid that was destroyed by the hurricane, and water shortages have hit parts of Puerto Rico's north coast since 30 percent of the island is experiencing a moderate drought that is affecting 791,000 of its 3.2 million inhabitants. |archive-date=November 27, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191127164315/https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/news/2019/04/02/puerto-rico-breaks-tourism-record-while-rebuilding-hurricane-maria/3346139002/ |url-status=live }}</ref> By October 2019, nearly all of the popular amenities for tourists, in the major destinations such as San Juan, Ponce and Arecibo, were in operation on the island and tourism was rebounding. This was important for the economy, since tourism provides up to 10% of Puerto Rico's GDP, according to Discover Puerto Rico.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.viahero.com/travel-to-puerto-rico/puerto-rico-tourism-update |title=Nearly two years after Hurricane Maria devastation, Puerto Rico welcomes record number of tourists |date=April 2, 2019 |publisher=ViaHero |access-date=October 16, 2019 |quote=Almost all of Puerto Rico's hotels are open for business. The beaches are ready for swimming and sunbathing, and even remote places to visit like El Yunque rainforest are receiving visitors. |archive-date=November 27, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191127164436/https://www.viahero.com/travel-to-puerto-rico/puerto-rico-tourism-update |url-status=live }}</ref>

A tourism campaign was launched by Discover Puerto Rico in 2018 intended to highlight the island's culture and history, branding it distinct, and different from other Caribbean destinations. In 2019, Discover Puerto Rico planned to continue that campaign.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://skift.com/2019/04/24/culture-is-central-in-puerto-ricos-new-marketing-campaign/ |title=Culture Is Central in Puerto Rico's New Marketing Campaign |date=April 24, 2019 |publisher=Skift |access-date=November 27, 2019 |archive-date=November 27, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191127164352/https://skift.com/2019/04/24/culture-is-central-in-puerto-ricos-new-marketing-campaign/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Fiscal debt ===
In early 2017, the [[Puerto Rican government-debt crisis]] posed serious problems for the government which was saddled with outstanding bond debt that had climbed to $70 billion.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/latestnews/2017/01/18/Puerto-Rico-oversight-board-favors-more-time-restructuring-talks |title=Puerto Rico oversight board favors more time for restructuring talks |author=Nick Brown |agency=Reuters |date=January 18, 2017 |work=The Fiscal Times |access-date=February 16, 2017 |archive-date=February 17, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170217145557/http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/latestnews/2017/01/18/Puerto-Rico-oversight-board-favors-more-time-restructuring-talks |url-status=live }}</ref> The debt had been increasing during a decade-long recession.<ref name="auto">{{cite news|url=http://www.starherald.com/news/nation_world/puerto-rico-gets-more-time-to-propose-fiscal-plan/article_b805f0e6-f333-5d33-8d94-d29a610d820a.html|title=Puerto Rico Gets More Time|date=January 29, 2017|newspaper=Star Herald|access-date=February 16, 2017|agency=Associated Press|location=Scottsbluff, ME}}{{dead link|date=May 2017|bot=InternetArchiveBot|fix-attempted=yes}}</ref>

The Commonwealth had been defaulting on many debts, including bonds, since 2015. With debt payments due, the governor was facing the risk of a government shutdown and failure to fund the managed health care system.<ref>{{cite news |last=Platt |first=Eric |date=January 19, 2017 |title=New Puerto Rico governor seeks amicable debt crisis resolution |url=https://www.ft.com/content/d9551584-de66-11e6-86ac-f253db7791c6 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221210/https://www.ft.com/content/d9551584-de66-11e6-86ac-f253db7791c6 |archive-date=December 10, 2022 |url-access=subscription |newspaper=Financial Times |location=New York |access-date=February 17, 2017}}</ref><ref name="Watson">{{cite web |url=https://www.treasury.gov/connect/blog/Pages/Secretary-Lew-Sends-Letter-to-115th-Congress-on-Puerto-Rico.aspx |title=Secretary Lew Sends Letter to 115th Congress on Puerto Rico |last=Watson |first=Dan |date=January 17, 2017 |website=Department of the Treasury |access-date=February 16, 2017 |archive-date=February 17, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170217062856/https://www.treasury.gov/connect/blog/Pages/Secretary-Lew-Sends-Letter-to-115th-Congress-on-Puerto-Rico.aspx |url-status=live }}</ref> "Without action before April, Puerto Rico's ability to execute contracts for Fiscal Year 2018 with its managed care organizations will be threatened, thereby putting at risk beginning July 1, 2017 the health care of up to 900,000 impoverished U.S. citizens living in Puerto Rico", according to a letter sent to Congress by the Secretary of the Treasury and the Secretary of Health and Human Services. They also said that "Congress must enact measures recommended by both Republicans and Democrats that fix Puerto Rico's inequitable health care financing structure and promote sustained economic growth."<ref name="Watson"/>

Initially, the oversight board created under [[PROMESA]] called for Puerto Rico's governor [[Ricardo Rosselló]] to deliver a fiscal turnaround plan by January 28. Just before that deadline, the control board gave the Commonwealth government until February 28 to present a fiscal plan (including negotiations with creditors for restructuring debt) to solve the problems. A moratorium on lawsuits by debtors was extended to May 31.<ref name="auto"/> It is essential for Puerto Rico to reach restructuring deals to avoid a bankruptcy-like process under PROMESA.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/latestnews/2017/01/18/Puerto-Rico-oversight-board-favors-more-time-restructuring-talks |title=Puerto Rico oversight board favors more time for restructuring talks |author=Nick Brown |agency=Reuters |date=January 18, 2017 |work=The Fiscal Times |access-date=February 16, 2017 |quote=The bipartisan, seven-member oversight board was created under the federal Puerto Rico rescue law known as PROMESA, passed by the U.S. Congress last year. It is charged with helping the island manage its finances and navigate its way out of the economic jam, including by negotiating restructuring deals with creditors. |archive-date=February 17, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170217145557/http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/latestnews/2017/01/18/Puerto-Rico-oversight-board-favors-more-time-restructuring-talks |url-status=live }}</ref> An internal survey conducted by the Puerto Rican Economists Association revealed that the majority of Puerto Rican economists reject the policy recommendations of the Board and the Rosselló government, with more than 80% of economists arguing in favor of auditing the debt.<ref>{{cite news |title=Economistas se Oponen a las Reformas para 'estimular la economía' |newspaper=El Nuevo Día |date=February 20, 2017}}</ref>

In early August 2017, the island's financial oversight board (created by PROMESA) planned to institute two days off without pay per month for government employees, down from the original plan of four days per month; the latter had been expected to achieve $218&nbsp;million in savings. Governor Rossello rejected this plan as unjustified and unnecessary. Pension reforms were also discussed including a proposal for a 10% reduction in benefits to begin addressing the $50&nbsp;billion in unfunded pension liabilities.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2017/08/04/reuters-america-puerto-rico-to-furlough-workers-proposes-pension-plan-reform.html |title=Puerto Rico to furlough workers, proposes pension plan reform |first=Daniel |last=Bases |date=August 4, 2017 |website=Cnbc.com |access-date=August 26, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170806222116/https://www.cnbc.com/2017/08/04/reuters-america-puerto-rico-to-furlough-workers-proposes-pension-plan-reform.html |archive-date=August 6, 2017 }}</ref>

===Public finances===
{{main|Puerto Rico government-debt crisis|Budget of the Government of Puerto Rico|public debt of Puerto Rico}}

Puerto Rico has an [[operating budget]] of about U.S.$9.8&nbsp;billion with expenses at about $10.4&nbsp;billion, creating a structural deficit of $775&nbsp;million (about 7.9% of the budget).<ref name="el-vocero-la-estadidad-es-uniforme">{{cite news |url=http://elvocero.com/la-estadidad-es-una-unica-uniforme-e-irreversible/ |title=La Estadidad es una, única, uniforme e irreversible |first=José |last=Castrodad |newspaper=[[El Vocero]] |date=April 7, 2014 |access-date=April 8, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140409052840/http://elvocero.com/la-estadidad-es-una-unica-uniforme-e-irreversible/ |archive-date=April 9, 2014 }}</ref> The practice of approving budgets with a structural deficit has been done for {{years ago|2000}} consecutive years starting in 2000. Throughout those years, including present time, all budgets contemplated issuing bonds to cover these projected deficits rather than making structural adjustments. This practice increased Puerto Rico's cumulative debt, as the government had already been issuing bonds [[Puerto Rico government budget balance|to balance its actual budget]] for four decades beginning in 1973.{{efn|Walsh (2013) "In each of the last six years, Puerto Rico sold hundreds of millions of dollars of new bonds just to meet payments on its older, outstanding bonds – a red flag. It also sold $2.5&nbsp;billion worth of bonds to raise cash for its troubled pension system – a risky practice – and it sold still more long-term bonds to cover its yearly budget deficits."<ref>{{cite news |url=https://dealbook.nytimes.com/2013/10/07/worsening-debt-crisis-threatens-puerto-rico/ |title=Worsening Debt Crisis Threatens Puerto Rico |first=Mary |last=Walsh |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=October 7, 2013 |access-date=October 8, 2013 |archive-date=November 2, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131102003355/http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2013/10/07/worsening-debt-crisis-threatens-puerto-rico/ |url-status=live }}</ref>}}<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.elnuevodia.com/comopuertoricollegoatenercreditochatarra-1704621.html |title=¿Cómo Puerto Rico llegó a tener crédito chatarra? |newspaper=[[El Nuevo Día]] |date=February 4, 2014 |access-date=March 2, 2014 |language=es |archive-date=March 2, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140302003237/http://www.elnuevodia.com/comopuertoricollegoatenercreditochatarra-1704621.html }}</ref>

[[File:Budget-of-the-government-of-puerto-rico-2012-percentage.png|thumb|upright=1.8|The 2012 Budget of the government of Puerto Rico]]

Projected deficits added substantial burdens to an already indebted nation which accrued [[Public debt of Puerto Rico|a public debt]] of $71B or about 70% of Puerto Rico's gross domestic product. This sparked [[Puerto Rico government-debt crisis|an ongoing government-debt crisis]] after Puerto Rico's general obligation bonds were downgraded to speculative non-investment grade ("junk status") by three credit-rating agencies. In terms of financial control, almost 9.6%—or about $1.5&nbsp;billion—of Puerto Rico's central government budget expenses for FY2014 is expected to be spent on debt service.{{efn|PRGDB "Financial Information and Operating Data Report to 18 October 2013" p. 142<ref name="gdb-report-2013">{{cite web |url=http://www.gdb-pur.com/spa/documents/commonwealthreport.pdf |title=Financial Information and Operating Data Report to October 18, 2013 |publisher=[[Puerto Rico Government Development Bank]] |date=October 18, 2013 |access-date=March 4, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140422202646/http://www.gdb-pur.com/spa/documents/commonwealthreport.pdf |archive-date=April 22, 2014 }}</ref>}} Harsher budget cuts are expected as Puerto Rico must now repay larger chunks of debts in the coming years.{{update inline|date=July 2016}}

For practical reasons the budget is divided into two aspects: a "general budget" which comprises the assignments funded exclusively by the [[Department of Treasury of Puerto Rico]], and the "consolidated budget" which comprises the assignments funded by the general budget, by [[List of government-owned corporations of Puerto Rico|Puerto Rico's government-owned corporations]], by revenue expected from loans, by the sale of government bonds, by subsidies extended by the [[federal government of the United States]], and by other funds.

Both budgets contrast each other drastically, with the consolidated budget being usually thrice the size of the general budget; currently $29B and $9.0B respectively. Almost one out of every four dollars in the consolidated budget comes from U.S. federal subsidies while government-owned corporations compose more than 31% of the consolidated budget.

The critical aspects come from the sale of bonds, which comprise 7% of the consolidated budget – a ratio that increased annually due to the government's inability to prepare a balanced budget in addition to being incapable of generating enough income to cover all its expenses. In particular, the government-owned corporations add a heavy burden to the overall budget and public debt, as none is self-sufficient. For example, in FY2011 the government-owned corporations reported aggregated losses of more than $1.3B with the [[Puerto Rico Highways and Transportation Authority]] (PRHTA) reporting losses of $409M, the [[Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority]] (PREPA; the government monopoly that controls all electricity on the island) reporting losses of $272M, while the [[Puerto Rico Aqueducts and Sewers Authority]] (PRASA; the government monopoly that controls all water utilities on the island) reported losses of $112M.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://grupocne.org/2013/01/31/san-juan-2023-o-la-decadencia-de-un-pais/ |title=San Juan 2023 o la decadencia de un País |work=Centro Para Una Nueva Economía |publisher=Center for a New Economy |date=January 31, 2013 |access-date=April 28, 2014 |archive-date=April 29, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140429045551/http://grupocne.org/2013/01/31/san-juan-2023-o-la-decadencia-de-un-pais/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Losses by government-owned corporations have been defrayed through the issuance of bonds compounding more than 40% of Puerto Rico's entire public debt today.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www2.pr.gov/presupuestos/presupuesto2011-2012/Resumen%20del%20Presupuesto/Servicio%20de%20la%20Deuda.pdf |title=SERVICIO DE LA DEUDA |website=".pr.gov |access-date=26 August 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170525014050/http://www2.pr.gov/presupuestos/presupuesto2011-2012/Resumen%20del%20Presupuesto/Servicio%20de%20la%20Deuda.pdf |archive-date=25 May 2017 }}</ref> Holistically, from FY2000–FY2010 Puerto Rico's debt grew at a [[compound annual growth rate]] (CAGR) of 9% while GDP remained stagnant.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://gdbpr.com/spa/investors_resources/documents/2011-07-12-DeudaPublicaDic2010-GS.pdf |title=Reporte General sobre Deuda Pública |website=".pr.gov |access-date=August 26, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170525013905/http://gdbpr.com/spa/investors_resources/documents/2011-07-12-DeudaPublicaDic2010-GS.pdf |archive-date=May 25, 2017 }}</ref> This has not always provided a long-term solution. In early July 2017 for example, the PREPA power authority was effectively bankrupt after defaulting in a plan to restructure $9&nbsp;billion in bond debt; the agency planned to seek Court protection.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/02/business/puerto-ricos-electric-power-authority-effectively-files-for-bankruptcy.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170703030726/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/02/business/puerto-ricos-electric-power-authority-effectively-files-for-bankruptcy.html |archive-date=July 3, 2017 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Puerto Rico's Power Authority Effectively Files for Bankruptcy |first=Mary Williams |last=Walsh |date=July 2, 2017 |access-date=August 26, 2017 |website=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref>

===Cost of living===
[[File:Map-of-jones-act-carrier-routes-for-puerto-rico.png|thumb|upright=1.6|A map of the [[Merchant Marine Act of 1920|Jones Act]] merchant marine shipping routes for Puerto Rico|alt=|left]]
The [[cost of living]] in Puerto Rico is high and has increased over the past decade.{{efn|MRGI (2008) "Many female migrants leave their families behind due to the risk of illegal travel and the high cost of living in Puerto Rico."<ref name="refworld.org"/>}}<ref>[https://archive.today/20140618035840/http://www.militaryinstallations.dod.mil/pls/psgprod/f?p=132:CONTENT:618940367579001::NO::P4_INST_ID,P4_INST_TYPE:4150,INSTALLATION "Fort Buchanan, Puerto Rico"]. ''Military Installations''. Department of Defense. Retrieved June 17, 2014.</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/29/puerto-ricos-cost-of-livi_n_4013350.html |title=Puerto Rico's Cost of Living Skyrockets |publisher=Huffingtonpost.com |date=September 29, 2013 |access-date=April 14, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140313113741/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/29/puerto-ricos-cost-of-livi_n_4013350.html |archive-date=March 13, 2014 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/09/us/economy-and-crime-spur-new-puerto-rican-exodus.html |work=The New York Times |first=Lizette |last=Alvarez |title=Economy and Crime Spur New Puerto Rican Exodus |date=February 8, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.elnuevodia.com/sigueenaumentoelcostodevidaenpuertorico-1585599.html |title=Home – El Nuevo Día |publisher=Elnuevodia.com |date=August 31, 2013 |access-date=April 14, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140208121032/http://www.elnuevodia.com/sigueenaumentoelcostodevidaenpuertorico-1585599.html |archive-date=February 8, 2014 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.primerahora.com/noticias/gobierno-politica/nota/midaconcluyealtocostodevidaeslapreocupacionmayordelboricua-399279/ |title=MIDA concluye alto costo de vida es la preocupación mayor del boricua |publisher=Primerahora.com |date=February 13, 2013 |access-date=April 14, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Dougherty |first=Conor |url=https://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB118705864479596908 |title=Puerto Rico's Economic Slump Weighs Hard on Consumers |publisher=Online.wsj.com |date=August 14, 2007 |access-date=April 14, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Coto |first=Danica |url=http://nbclatino.com/2013/09/29/life-in-puerto-rico-becomes-costlier-amid-crisis/ |title=Life in Puerto Rico becomes costlier amid crisis |publisher=Nbclatino.com |date=September 29, 2013 |access-date=April 14, 2014 |archive-date=April 13, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140413160122/http://nbclatino.com/2013/09/29/life-in-puerto-rico-becomes-costlier-amid-crisis/ }}</ref>

Statistics used for cost of living sometimes do not take into account certain costs, such as the high cost of electricity, which has hovered in the 24¢ to 30¢ range per kilowatt-hour, two to three times the national average, increased travel costs for longer flights, additional shipping fees, and the loss of promotional participation opportunities for customers "outside the continental United States". While some online stores do offer free shipping on orders to Puerto Rico, many merchants exclude Hawaii, Alaska, Puerto Rico and other U.S. territories.

The household median income is stated as $19,350 and the mean income as $30,463 in the U.S. Census Bureau's 2015 update. The report also indicates that 45.5% of individuals are below the poverty level.<ref name="census1">{{cite web |url=https://www.census.gov |title=Puerto Rico 2012–2016 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=2016 |website=US Census |publisher=Department of Commerce |access-date=September 25, 2017 }}</ref> In 2011, median home value in Puerto Rico ranged from U.S.$100,000 to U.S.$214,000, while the national median home value was $119,600.{{efn|FRBNY (2011) "...home values vary considerably across municipios: for the metro area overall, the median value of owner-occupied homes was estimated at $126,000 (based on data for 2007–09), but these medians ranged from $214,000 in Guaynabo to around $100,000 in some of the outlying municipios. The median value in the San Juan municipio was estimated at $170,000."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.newyorkfed.org/regional/profile_puertorico.html |title=Puerto Rico |publisher=[[Federal Reserve Bank of New York]] |date=August 2011 |access-date=September 6, 2013}}</ref>}}

[[File:Flying into San Juan-Puerto Rico.jpg|thumb|Flying into San Juan]]

One of the most cited contributors to the high cost of living in Puerto Rico is the [[Merchant Marine Act of 1920]], also known as the [[Merchant Marine Act of 1920|Jones Act]], which prevents foreign-flagged ships from carrying cargo between two American ports, a practice known as [[cabotage]].<ref name="erg-trade">{{cite web |url=http://graduados.uprrp.edu/planificacion/facultad/elias-gutierrez/ERGTRADE.pdf |title=Impact of the Coastwise Trade Laws on the Transportation System of the United States of America |first=Elías |last=Gutierrez |access-date=September 6, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131002122312/http://graduados.uprrp.edu/planificacion/facultad/elias-gutierrez/ERGTRADE.pdf |archive-date=October 2, 2013 }}</ref> Because of the Jones Act, foreign ships inbound with goods from [[Central America|Central]] and [[South America]], [[Western Europe]], and [[Africa]] cannot stop in Puerto Rico, offload Puerto Rico-bound goods, load mainland-bound Puerto Rico-manufactured goods, and continue to U.S. ports. Instead, they must proceed directly to U.S. ports, where distributors [[break bulk cargo|break bulk]] and send Puerto Rico-bound manufactured goods to Puerto Rico across the ocean by U.S.-flagged ships.<ref name="erg-trade" /> The [[government of Puerto Rico|local government of Puerto Rico]] has requested several times to the U.S. Congress to exclude Puerto Rico from the Jones Act restrictions without success.{{efn|Santiago (2021) "Local detractors of the Jones Act [...] for many years have unsuccessfully tried to have Puerto Rico excluded from the law's provisions[...]"<ref>{{cite news |title=Jones Act requirement comes under new light |first=Jaime |last=Santiago |newspaper=[[Caribbean Business]] |url=http://www.caribbeanbusinesspr.com/prnt_ed/news02.php?nw_id=7877&ct_id=0 |date=November 29, 2012 |access-date=September 6, 2013 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140308221156/http://www.caribbeanbusinesspr.com/prnt_ed/news02.php?nw_id=7877&ct_id=0 |archive-date=March 8, 2014 }}</ref>}}

In 2013 the [[Government Accountability Office]] published a report which concluded that "repealing or amending the Jones Act cabotage law might cut Puerto Rico shipping costs" and that "shippers believed that opening the trade to non-U.S.-flag competition could lower costs".{{efn|name=joc-gao-report-repeal-quote|JOC (2013) "Repealing or amending the Jones Act cabotage law might cut Puerto Rico shipping costs"<ref name="joc-gao-report"/>}}{{efn|name=joc-gao-report-lower-costs-quote|JOC (2013) "The GAO report said its interviews with shippers indicated they [...] believed that opening the trade to non-U.S.-flag competition could lower costs."<ref name="joc-gao-report" />}} Ultimately, the report concluded that "[the] effects of modifying the application of the Jones Act for Puerto Rico are highly uncertain" for both Puerto Rico and the U.S., particularly for the [[United States Merchant Marine|U.S. shipping industry]] and the military preparedness of the U.S.<ref name="joc-gao-report">{{cite news |url=http://www.joc.com/regulation-policy/transportation-regulations/united-states/gao%27s-jones-act-report-inconclusive_20130320.html |title=GAO's Jones Act Report Is Inconclusive |newspaper=[[The Journal of Commerce]] |date=March 20, 2013 |access-date=September 6, 2013}}{{dead link|date=May 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref name="gao-report-pdf">{{cite web |url=http://www.gao.gov/assets/660/653046.pdf |title=GAO-13-260, Puerto Rico: Characteristics of the Island's Maritime Trade and Potential Effects of Modifying the Jones Act |publisher=[[Government Accountability Office|United States Government Accountability Office]] |date=March 2013}}</ref> A 2018 study by economists at Boston-based Reeve & Associates and Puerto Rico-based Estudios Tecnicos has concluded that the [[Merchant Marine Act of 1920|1920 Jones Act]] has no impact on either retail prices or the cost of living on Puerto Rico.<ref>{{cite report|url=https://3snn221qaymolkgbj4a0vpey-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Report_Impact-of-the-Jones-Act-on-Puerto-Rico_FINAL2.pdf|title=Impact of the U.S. Jones Act on Puerto Rico|date=June 2018|author1=Reeve & Associates|author2=Estudios Técnicos, Inc.|access-date=August 27, 2018|archive-date=January 21, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210121210412/https://3snn221qaymolkgbj4a0vpey-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Report_Impact-of-the-Jones-Act-on-Puerto-Rico_FINAL2.pdf}}</ref>

=== Transportation ===
{{Main|Transportation in Puerto Rico}}
[[File:Puerto Rico Interstates.svg|thumb|upright=1.6|left|[[List of highways in Puerto Rico|Puerto Rico interstate highways]]]]
Cities and towns in Puerto Rico are interconnected by a system of roads, [[freeway]]s, [[limited-access road|expressways]], and [[highway]]s maintained by the Highways and Transportation Authority under the jurisdiction of the [[U.S. Department of Transportation]], and patrolled by the [[Puerto Rico Police Department]]. The island's [[San Juan metropolitan area]] is served by a [[Autoridad Metropolitana de Autobuses|public bus transit system]] and a [[rapid transit|metro system]] called {{lang|es|[[Tren Urbano]]}} ('Urban Train'). Other forms of Puerto Rican public transport include seaborne ferries that serve Puerto Rico's archipelago as well as {{lang|es|carros públicos}} ([[Share taxi|private mini buses]]).

Puerto Rico has three [[international airport]]s, the [[Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport]] in [[Carolina, Puerto Rico|Carolina]], [[Mercedita International Airport]] in Ponce, and the [[Rafael Hernández International Airport]] in Aguadilla, and 27 local airports. The Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport is the largest aerial transportation hub in the Caribbean.<ref name=PRPA2008-07-28>{{cite web |url=http://www.prpa.gobierno.pr/APMain.aspx |title=Aeropuertos Internacionales y Regionales (Spanish) |publisher=Puerto Rico Ports Authority |access-date=February 6, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091007181239/http://www.prpa.gobierno.pr/apmain.aspx |archive-date=October 7, 2009 }}</ref>

[[File:Tren Urbano in Bayamón (Puerto Rico).jpg|thumb|A {{lang|es|[[Tren Urbano]]}} train at Bayamón Station]]

Puerto Rico has nine [[port]]s in different cities across the main island. The [[San Juan Port]] is the largest in Puerto Rico, and the busiest port in the Caribbean and the 10th busiest in the United States in terms of commercial activity and cargo movement, respectively.<ref name=PRPA2008-07-28 /> The second largest port is the [[Port of the Americas]] in Ponce, currently under expansion to increase cargo capacity to {{Nowrap|1.5 million}} twenty-foot containers ([[Twenty-foot equivalent unit|TEUs]]) per year.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.portoftheamericas.com/about.project/overview.htm |title=About the Project – Overview |publisher=Port of the Americas Authority |access-date=July 28, 2008}}</ref>

=== Utilities ===
==== Electricity ====
{{Main|Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority}}
The [[Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority]] (PREPA, {{langx|es|Autoridad de Energía Eléctrica, AEE}})—is an [[electric power company]] and the [[List of government-owned corporations of Puerto Rico|government-owned corporation of Puerto Rico]] responsible for [[electricity generation]], [[electric power transmission|power transmission]], and [[electric power distribution|power distribution]] in Puerto Rico.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.presupuesto.gobierno.pr/PresupuestosAnteriores/af2008_2009/Tomo_II/suppdocs/baselegal/169/169.pdf |title=Ley de la Autoridad de Energía Eléctrica de Puerto Rico |website=Presupuesto.gobierno.pr |access-date=August 26, 2017 |archive-date=September 24, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924081627/http://www.presupuesto.gobierno.pr/PresupuestosAnteriores/af2008_2009/Tomo_II/suppdocs/baselegal/169/169.pdf }}</ref> PREPA was, by law, the only entity authorized to conduct such business in Puerto Rico, effectively making it a [[government monopoly]] until 2018. The Authority is ruled by a governing board appointed by the governor with the [[advice and consent]] of the [[Senate of Puerto Rico]], and is run by an executive director.

On July 20, 2018, Puerto Rico Law 120-2018 ({{lang|es|Ley para Transformar el Sistema Eléctrico de Puerto Rico}}) was signed. This law authorized PREPA to sell infrastructure and services to other providers. As a result, a contract was signed on June 22, 2020, making [[LUMA Energy]] the new operator of the energy distribution and transmission infrastructure, as well as other areas of PREPA's operations, in effect partially privatizing the Puerto Rican power grid. The takeover was set for June 1, 2021, amidst protests and uncertainty from the point of view of the general public and the former-PREPA workers and [[Trade union|union members]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Pagán|first=José Karlo|date=May 18, 2021|title=Empleados de la AEE se manifiestan contra LUMA en el Tribunal federal y en la sede de la Junta|trans-title=AEE Employees Protest Against LUMA at the Federal Courthouse and Fiscal Oversight Management Board Headquarters|url=https://www.primerahora.com/noticias/puerto-rico/notas/empleados-de-la-aee-se-manifiestan-contra-luma-en-el-tribunal-federal-y-en-la-sede-de-la-junta/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210610184853/https://www.primerahora.com/noticias/puerto-rico/notas/empleados-de-la-aee-se-manifiestan-contra-luma-en-el-tribunal-federal-y-en-la-sede-de-la-junta/|archive-date=June 10, 2021|access-date=June 10, 2021|website=[[Primera Hora (Puerto Rico)|Primera Hora]]|language=es}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Rivera Clemente|first=Yaritza|date=June 4, 2021|title=Se organizan más protestas para exigir la salida de LUMA|trans-title=More Protests Are Organized to Demand LUMA's Departure|url=https://www.elvocero.com/gobierno/se-organizan-m-s-protestas-para-exigir-la-salida-de-luma/article_c3fa4e7c-c4f1-11eb-84b5-838499c5c700.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210610185832/https://www.elvocero.com/gobierno/se-organizan-m-s-protestas-para-exigir-la-salida-de-luma/article_c3fa4e7c-c4f1-11eb-84b5-838499c5c700.html|archive-date=June 10, 2021|access-date=June 10, 2021|website=[[El Vocero]]|language=es}}</ref>

==== Water and sewage ====
{{Main|Puerto Rico Aqueducts and Sewers Authority}}
Similarly, the [[Puerto Rico Aqueducts and Sewers Authority]] (PRASA, {{langx|es|Autoridad de Acueductos y Alcantarillados, AAA}})—is a water company and the government-owned corporation responsible for [[water quality]], [[water resource management|management]], and [[water supply|supply]] in Puerto Rico.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Inicio - Acueductospr|url=https://acueductospr.com/web/guest|access-date=May 17, 2021|website=acueductospr.com|archive-date=May 17, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210517064319/https://acueductospr.com/web/guest}}</ref> It is the only entity authorized to conduct such business in Puerto Rico, effectively making it a government monopoly. Its existence is designated by Law No. 40 of May 1, 1945, including the corresponding amendments.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Asamblea Legislativa de Puerto Rico|author-link=Puerto Rico Legislative Assembly|date=October 2, 2020|title=Ley de Acueductos y Alcantarillados de Puerto Rico|url=https://bvirtualogp.pr.gov/ogp/Bvirtual/leyesreferencia/PDF/Agua/40-1945.pdf|access-date=May 17, 2021|website=Biblioteca Virtual del Gobierno de Puerto Rico}}</ref>

=== Telecommunications ===
{{Main|Communications in Puerto Rico}}
[[Telecommunications in Puerto Rico]] includes radio, television, fixed and mobile telephones, and the Internet. Broadcasting in Puerto Rico is regulated by the [[Federal Communications Commission|U.S. Federal Communications Commission]] (FCC).<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-17140680 "Puerto Rico profile"], ''BBC News'', May 23, 2013. Retrieved January 8, 2014.</ref> {{As of|2007}}, there were 30 TV stations, 125 radio stations and roughly 1&nbsp;million TV sets on the island. Cable TV subscription services are available, and the U.S. Armed Forces Radio and Television Service also broadcast on the island.<ref name="CIAWFB-PuertoRico-2013">[https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/puerto-rico/ "Communications: Puerto Rico"], ''World Factbook'', U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, December 9, 2013. Retrieved January 8, 2014.</ref> Puerto Rico also has its own [[Amateur radio|amateur radio prefixes]], which differ from those of the contiguous United States in that there are two letter before the number. The most well-known prefix is KP4, but others separated for use on the [[archipelago]] (including Desecheo and Mona) are: KP3/KP4/NP3/NP4/WP3/WP4 (Puerto Rico, [[Vieques, Puerto Rico|Vieques]] and [[Culebra, Puerto Rico|Culebra]]) and KP5/NP5/WP5 ([[Desecheo Island]]).<ref>{{Cite web|date=September 28, 2016|title=Amateur Call Sign Systems|url=https://www.fcc.gov/wireless/bureau-divisions/mobility-division/amateur-radio-service/amateur-call-sign-systems|access-date=May 17, 2021|website=Federal Communications Commission|language=en|archive-date=August 16, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170816160338/https://www.fcc.gov/wireless/bureau-divisions/mobility-division/amateur-radio-service/amateur-call-sign-systems}}</ref> Amateur radio operators (also known as ham radio operators) are a well-known group in the island and can obtain special vehicle license plates with their callsign on them.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Ley de Vehículos y Tránsito de Puerto Rico del 2000|url=https://www.lexjuris.com/lexlex/lextransito/lextransitocap02.htm|access-date=May 17, 2021|website=www.lexjuris.com}}</ref> They have been a key element in disaster relief.<ref>{{Cite web|last1=Murphy|first1=Paul P.|last2=Krupa|first2=Michelle|date=September 27, 2017|title=Ham radio operators are saving Puerto Rico one transmission at a time|url=https://edition.cnn.com/2017/09/27/us/puerto-rico-maria-ham-radio-operators-trnd/index.html|access-date=May 17, 2021|website=[[CNN]]}}</ref>

==Demographics==
{{US Census population
<!--|1765=44883
|1775=70250-->
|1800=155426
<!--|1815=220892
|1832=350051
|1846=447914-->
|1860=583308
<!--|1877=731648
|1887=798565-->
|1900=953243
|1910=1118012
|1920=1299809
|1930=1543913
|1940=1869255
|1950=2210703
|1960=2349544
|1970=2712033
|1980=3196520
|1990=3522037
|2000=3808610
|2010=3725789
|2020=3285874
|estyear=
|estimate=
|align-fn=center
|footnote=1765–2020 (*1899 shown as 1900)<ref name="Census2020-Tab2"/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://welcome.topuertorico.org/reference/pophistory.shtml |title=Population History, 1765–2010 |publisher=Welcome to Puerto Rico! |access-date=September 7, 2014 |archive-date=April 17, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210417091032/https://welcome.topuertorico.org/reference/pophistory.shtml |url-status=live }}</ref>}}
{{Main|Demographics of Puerto Rico|Cultural diversity in Puerto Rico}}
The [[Demographics of Puerto Rico|population of Puerto Rico]] reflects influences from initial [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Amerindian settlement]], [[Spanish Empire|European colonization]], [[slavery]], economic migration, and the archipelago's status as unincorporated territory of the United States. [[Puerto Ricans]] are characterized by a high degree of ethnic and cultural diversity, as well as a long history of intermarriage and [[acculturation]] among different demographics; racial and ethnic identity is subsequently complex and often nebulous, shaped by the broader attitudes and policies of the Spanish colonial period, 20th century [[Racial politics in the United States|American racial politics]], and modern trends in cultural and identity in the 21st century United States.<ref name="apnews.com">{{Cite web |date=October 15, 2021 |title=Puerto Rico ponders race amid surprising census results |url=https://apnews.com/article/race-and-ethnicity-racial-injustice-census-2020-puerto-rico-e2cb57f6e4ea5f6eb0ebdacd9ed266e5 |access-date=October 22, 2024 |website=AP News |language=en}}</ref>

According to the most recent [[2020 United States census]], Puerto Rico had 3,285,874 residents, an 11.8% decrease since [[2010 United States census|2010]].<ref name="Census2020-Tab2" /> The commonwealth's population peaked in 2000, when it was 3,808,610, before declining (for the first time in census history) to 3,725,789 in 2010.<ref name="Wall">{{cite web |date=December 14, 2012 |title=Wall Street eyes PR population loss |url=http://www.caribbeanbusinesspr.com/news/wall-street-eyes-pr-population-loss-79553.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131105165520/http://www.caribbeanbusinesspr.com/news/wall-street-eyes-pr-population-loss-79553.html |archive-date=November 5, 2013 |access-date=December 14, 2012 |url-status=usurped |work=Caribbean Business}}</ref> Emigration due to economic difficulties and natural disasters, coupled with a low birth rate, have resulted in continued population decline into the 21st century.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Cheatham |first1=Amelia |last2=Roy |first2=Diana |date=September 29, 2022 |title=Puerto Rico: A U.S. Territory in Crisis |url=https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/puerto-rico-us-territory-crisis |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231103042405/https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/puerto-rico-us-territory-crisis |archive-date=November 3, 2023 |access-date=March 27, 2023 |work=Council on Foreign Relations}}</ref>

===Population distribution===
{{Main|List of cities in Puerto Rico}}
The most populous municipality is the capital, [[San Juan, Puerto Rico|San Juan]], with 342,259 people based on the [[2020 United States census|2020 Census]].<ref>{{Cite web |publisher=United States Census Bureau |title=Puerto Rico Population Declined 11.8% From 2010 to 2020 |url=https://www.census.gov/library/stories/state-by-state/puerto-rico-population-change-between-census-decade.html |access-date=November 29, 2022 |website=Census.gov |archive-date=December 1, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211201231936/https://www.census.gov/library/stories/state-by-state/puerto-rico-population-change-between-census-decade.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Other major cities include [[Bayamón, Puerto Rico|Bayamón]], [[Carolina, Puerto Rico|Carolina]], [[Ponce, Puerto Rico|Ponce]], and [[Caguas, Puerto Rico|Caguas]]. Of the ten most populous cities on the island, eight are located within what is considered [[San Juan-Caguas-Guaynabo metropolitan area|San Juan's metropolitan area]], while the other two are located in the south ([[Ponce metropolitan area|Ponce]]) and west ([[Mayagüez metropolitan area|Mayagüez]]) of the island.
{{clear}}

{{Largest cities
|country     = Puerto Rico
|stat_ref    = 2020 Census<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/library/stories/state-by-state/puerto-rico-population-change-between-census-decade.html|title=Puerto Rico Population Declined 11.8% from 2010 to 2020|access-date=November 29, 2022|archive-date=December 1, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211201231936/https://www.census.gov/library/stories/state-by-state/puerto-rico-population-change-between-census-decade.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
|list_by_pop = List of cities in Puerto Rico
|div_name    = Metropolitan Statistical Area
|div_link    = Metropolitan Statistical Area<!-- the template will automatically create a link for "div_name of country" (e.g. Provinces of Chile), if this doesn't work you can use this field -->
|city_1 = San Juan, Puerto Rico{{!}}San Juan | div_1 = San Juan–Caguas–Guaynabo metropolitan area{{!}}San Juan-Caguas-Guaynabo | pop_1 = 342,259
|city_2 = Bayamón | div_2 = San Juan–Caguas–Guaynabo metropolitan area{{!}}San Juan-Caguas-Guaynabo | pop_2 = 185,187
| city_3 = Carolina, Puerto Rico{{!}}Carolina | div_3 = San Juan–Caguas–Guaynabo metropolitan area{{!}}San Juan-Caguas-Guaynabo | pop_3 = 154,815
| city_4 = Ponce, Puerto Rico{{!}}Ponce | div_4 = Ponce metropolitan area{{!}}Ponce | pop_4 = 137,491
| city_5 = Caguas | div_5 = San Juan–Caguas–Guaynabo metropolitan area{{!}}San Juan-Caguas-Guaynabo | pop_5 = 127,244
| city_6 = Guaynabo | div_6 = San Juan–Caguas–Guaynabo metropolitan area{{!}}San Juan-Caguas-Guaynabo | pop_6 = 89,780
| city_7 = Arecibo | div_7 = San Juan–Caguas–Guaynabo metropolitan area{{!}}San Juan-Caguas-Guaynabo | pop_7 = 87,754
| city_8 = Toa Baja | div_8 = San Juan–Caguas–Guaynabo metropolitan area{{!}}San Juan-Caguas-Guaynabo | pop_8 = 75,293
| city_9 = Mayagüez | div_9 = Mayagüez metropolitan area{{!}}Mayagüez | pop_9 = 73,077
| city_10 = Trujillo Alto | div_10 = San Juan–Caguas–Guaynabo metropolitan area{{!}}San Juan-Caguas-Guaynabo | pop_10 = 67,740
}}
{{clear}}

===Population makeup===
{{Main|Puerto Ricans}}
{{Pie chart
|thumb = right
|caption = Racial groups in Puerto Rico ([[2020 United States census|2020 census]])<ref name="White Population 2020">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/library/visualizations/interactive/race-and-ethnicity-in-the-united-state-2010-and-2020-census.html|title=Race and Ethnicity in the United States|date=August 12, 2021 |publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]] |access-date=August 17, 2021}}</ref>
|label1 = [[Multiracial people|Mixed]]
|value1 = 49.78
|color1 = #AA7E54
|label2 = [[White Puerto Ricans|Whites]]
|value2 = 17.06
|color2 = #FBC5A7
|label3 = [[Black Puerto Ricans|Blacks]]
|value3 = 6.96
|color3 = #62402F
|label4 = [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Indigenous]]
|value4 = 0.54
|color4 = #BE7343
|label5 = [[Asian Puerto Ricans|East Asians]]
|value5 = 0.12
|color5 = #E8BF88
|label6 = [[Pacific Islander]]s
|value6 = 0.02
|color6 = #D5A079
|label7 = Others
|value7 = 25.51
|color7 = Lightgray
}}

As of 2020, [[Hispanic or Latino]]s made up 98.9 percent of the population, of which 95.5 percent were [[Puerto Ricans|Puerto Rican]] and 3.4% were Hispanic of non-Puerto Rican origins; only 1.1 percent of the population was non-Hispanic.<ref>{{cite web |author=((U.S. Census Bureau)) |date=2020 |title=Profile of general population and housing characteristics |url=https://data.census.gov/table/DECENNIALDP2020.DP1?text=Decennial+census&t=Race+and+Ethnicity&g=040XX00US72 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231004045500/https://data.census.gov/table/DECENNIALDP2020.DP1?text=Decennial+census&t=Race+and+Ethnicity&g=040XX00US72 |archive-date=October 4, 2023 |access-date=November 5, 2023 |work=Decennial Census, DEC Demographic Profile, Table DP1, 2020 |type=data table}}</ref> Fewer than one-fifth of people (17.1 percent) identified as "White", a decline of almost 80 percent; by contrast, nearly half of Puerto Ricans (49.8 percent) reported being [[Multiracial Americans|multiracial]]—compared to just 3 percent in 2010[[Multiracial Americans|—]]<nowiki/>while roughly one-quarter chose "some other race alone" (25.5 percent).<ref name="apnews.com"/>

Censuses of Puerto Rico were completed by Spain in 1765, 1775, 1800, 1815, 1832, 1846 and 1857, yet some of the data remained untabulated and were considered reliable in a 1943 report by [[Irene Barnes Taeuber]], an American demographer at the [[Office of Population Research]] at [[Princeton University]].<ref name="Taeuber">{{cite book |last=Taeuber |first=Irene B. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rvHgRN6N_aMC&pg=PA147 |title=General Censuses and Vital Statistics in the Americas |publisher=United States Bureau of the Census |year=1943 |isbn=978-0-87917-036-3 |page=147 |access-date=March 24, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230324133921/https://books.google.com/books?id=rvHgRN6N_aMC&pg=PA147 |archive-date=March 24, 2023 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Continuous European immigration and high [[natural increase]] helped the population of Puerto Rico grow from 155,426 in 1800 to almost a million by the end of the 19th century. A census conducted by royal decree on September 30, 1858, gave the following totals of the Puerto Rican population at that time: 341,015 were [[free people of color|free colored]]; 300,430 were [[white people|white]]; and 41,736 were [[slaves]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Van Middeldyk |first=R. A |title=The History of Puerto Rico |url=http://www.fullbooks.com/The-History-of-Puerto-Rico.html |access-date=May 29, 2008 |chapter=Part 4 |chapter-url=http://www.fullbooks.com/The-History-of-Puerto-Rico4.html |isbn=978-0-405-06241-4 |year=1975 |publisher=Arno Press |archive-date=May 7, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080507104158/http://www.fullbooks.com/The-History-of-Puerto-Rico.html |url-status=live }}</ref> A census in 1887 found a population of around 800,000, of which 320,000 were black.<ref name="Trove">{{cite news | title=Puerto Rico | newspaper=Kalgoorlie Western Argus (WA : 1896 - 1916) | date=April 28, 1898 | url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article32192140 | access-date=October 29, 2019 | archive-date=July 28, 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200728043247/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/32192140 | url-status=live }}</ref>

[[File:Puerto Rico single age population pyramid 2020.png|thumb|[[Demographics of Puerto Rico|Population age pyramid]] of Puerto Rico in 2020]]
During the 19th century, hundreds of families arrived in Puerto Rico, primarily from the [[Canary Islands]] and [[Andalusia]], but also from other parts of Spain such as [[Catalonia]], [[Asturias]], [[Galicia (Spain)|Galicia]] and the [[Balearic Islands]]; they were later joined by numerous Spanish loyalists from Spain's former colonies in South America. There were also smaller numbers of settlers from outside Spain, including from [[Corsica]], [[France]], [[Lebanon]], [[Portugal]], [[Irish immigration to Puerto Rico|Ireland]], [[Scotland]], [[German immigration to Puerto Rico|Germany]] and [[Italian people|Italy]]; this immigration from non-Hispanic countries was largely the result of the ''Real Cédula de Gracias de 1815'' ([[Royal Decree of Graces of 1815]]), which provided European Catholics with land allotments in the sparsely inhabited interior of the island, provided they paid taxes and continued to support the Catholic Church.

Between 1960 and 1990, the census questionnaire in Puerto Rico did not ask about race or ethnicity. The [[2000 United States census]] included a racial self-identification question in Puerto Rico, according to which most Puerto Ricans identified as white and Latino and few identified as black or some other race.

Although less than one percent of the population identifies as Indigenous, a large proportion of Puerto Ricans have Native ancestry: A 2003 study by the [[University of Puerto Rico]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Juan C. Martínez-Cruzado {{!}} Caribbean Research Institute {{!}} The University of Winnipeg |url=https://www.uwinnipeg.ca/caribbeanri/faculty-pages/juan-carlos.html |access-date=October 22, 2024 |website=www.uwinnipeg.ca |language=en}}</ref> which took genetic samples from 800 randomly selected subjects throughout the island, found that 61.1 percent of those surveyed had [[mitochondrial DNA]] of Indigenous origin; additionally, 26.4 percent had African markers and 12.5 percent showed European descent.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |last1=Magazine |first1=Smithsonian |last2=Poole |first2=Robert M. |title=Who Were the Taíno, the Original Inhabitants of Columbus' Island Colonies? |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/who-were-taino-original-inhabitants-columbus-island-73824867/?fbclid=IwY2xjawGEt29leHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHbPFu5hv-S1be2B2uK8Js3M-aZf78-h5IFiSAoNYndL-l56CCFQiF-Y-Sg_aem_FsjMZkOAjA0o8Yqt6S70Kw |access-date=October 22, 2024 |website=Smithsonian Magazine |language=en}}</ref> The study reportedly resulted in a resurgence of Indigenous and Taíno identity among Puerto Ricans; in the 2010 census, 19,839 respondents identified as "[[American Indian and Alaska Native|American Indian or Alaskan Native]]", an increase of almost 49 percent from 2000 count.<ref name=":3" />

===Immigration and emigration===
{| style="float:center;" class="wikitable"
|-
| colspan="7" style="text-align: center;" | Racial groups
|-
! Year !! Population !! White !! Mixed (mainly biracial white European and black African) !! Black !! Asian !! Other
|-
| 2000
| 3,808,610
| 80.5% (3,064,862)
| 11.0% (418,426)
| 8.0% (302,933)
| 0.2% (7,960)
| 0.4% (14,429)
|-
| 2010
| 3,725,789
| 75.8% (2,824,148)
| 11.1% (413,563)
| 12.4% (461,998)
| 0.2% (7,452)
| 0.6% (22,355)
|-
| 2020
| 3,285,874
| 17.1% (560,592)
| 49.8% (1,636,365)
| 7.0% (230,011)
| 0.1% (3,285)
| 25.5% (837,897)
|}

The vast majority of recent immigrants, both legal and illegal, come from [[Latin America]], over half come from the [[Dominican Republic immigration to Puerto Rico|Dominican Republic]]. Dominicans represent 53% of non-Puerto Rican Hispanics, about 1.8% of Puerto Rico's population.<ref name="refworld.org">{{cite web |url=http://www.refworld.org/docid/49749cc7c.html |title=World Directory of Minorities and Indigenous Peoples – Puerto Rico: Dominicans |publisher=[[Minority Rights Group International]] |year=2008 |access-date=September 6, 2013 |archive-date=September 17, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130917070025/http://www.refworld.org/docid/49749cc7c.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Some illegal immigrants, particularly from Haiti, Dominican Republic,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://latinousa.org/2014/03/28/border-puerto-ricos-seas/ |title=The Other Border: Puerto Rico's Seas |work=Latino USA |date=March 28, 2014 |access-date=October 12, 2014 |archive-date=July 24, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150724041327/http://latinousa.org/2014/03/28/border-puerto-ricos-seas/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.havenscenter.org/files/Dominican%20Migration%20to%20Puerto%20Rico.pdf |title=Portadilla de Revista<!-- Bot generated title --> |access-date=January 17, 2019 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170525013730/http://www.havenscenter.org/files/Dominican%20Migration%20to%20Puerto%20Rico.pdf |archive-date=May 25, 2017 }}</ref> and Cuba{{citation needed|date=December 2023}}, use Puerto Rico as a temporary stop-over point to get to the U.S. mainland. Other major sources of recent immigrants include Cuba, [[Colombia]], Mexico, [[Venezuela]], [[Haiti]], [[Honduras]], [[Panama]], [[Ecuador]], Spain, and [[Jamaica]].<ref name="factfinder.census.gov">[https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=ACS_14_5YR_B05006PR&prodType=table PLACE OF BIRTH FOR THE FOREIGN-BORN POPULATION IN PUERTO RICO] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180719105515/https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=ACS_14_5YR_B05006PR&prodType=table |date=July 19, 2018 }} Universe: Foreign-born population in Puerto Rico excluding population born at sea. 2010–2014 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.insightcrime.org/news-briefs/dominican-people-smugglers-trafficked-cubans-to-puerto-rico |title=Dominican People Smugglers Trafficked Cubans to Puerto Rico |author=James Bargent |date=March 27, 2017 |access-date=October 12, 2014 |archive-date=October 21, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141021022301/http://www.insightcrime.org/news-briefs/dominican-people-smugglers-trafficked-cubans-to-puerto-rico |url-status=live }}</ref> Additionally, there are many non-Puerto Rican U.S. citizens settling in Puerto Rico from the U.S. mainland, majority of which are [[Non-Hispanic Whites|White Americans]] and a smaller number are [[African Americans|Black Americans]]. In fact, non-Hispanic people represent 1.1% and majority of them are from the U.S. mainland. Smaller numbers of U.S. citizens come from the [[U.S. Virgin Islands]]. There are also large numbers of [[Nuyorican]]s and other [[stateside Puerto Ricans]] coming back, as many Puerto Ricans engage in 'circular migration'.<ref>{{cite news |title=Puerto Rico's population swap: The middle class for millionaires |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-32344131 |access-date=June 3, 2015 |work=BBC |date=May 5, 2015 |archive-date=June 23, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150623111651/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-32344131 |url-status=live }}</ref> Small numbers of non-Puerto Rican Hispanics in Puerto Rico are actually American-born migrants from the mainland U.S. and not recent immigrants. Most recent immigrants settle in and around the San Juan metropolitan area.

[[Emigration]] is a major part of contemporary Puerto Rican history. Starting soon after [[World War&nbsp;II]], poverty, cheap airfares, and promotion by the island government caused waves of Puerto Ricans to move to the U.S. mainland, particularly to the [[Northeastern United States|northeastern states]] and nearby [[Florida]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=ACS_13_1YR_S0201&prodType=table |archive-url=https://archive.today/20200212210049/http://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=ACS_13_1YR_S0201&prodType=table |archive-date=February 12, 2020 |title=American FactFinder – Results |author=Data Access and Dissemination Systems (DADS) |access-date=April 5, 2020 }}</ref> This trend continued even as Puerto Rico's economy improved and its birth rate declined. Puerto Ricans continue to follow a pattern of "[[circular migration]]", with some migrants returning to the island. In recent years, the population has declined markedly, falling nearly 1% in 2012 and an additional 1% (36,000 people) in 2013 due to a falling birthrate and emigration.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/09/us/economy-and-crime-spur-new-puerto-rican-exodus.html |title=Economy and Crime Spur New Puerto Rican Exodus |date=February 9, 2014 |work=The New York Times |access-date=February 12, 2017 |archive-date=June 27, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170627005409/https://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/09/us/economy-and-crime-spur-new-puerto-rican-exodus.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The impact of hurricanes [[Hurricane Maria|Maria]] and [[Hurricane Irma|Irma]] in 2017, combined with the unincorporated territory's worsening economy, led to its greatest population decline since the U.S. acquired the archipelago.

According to the [[2020 U.S. census]], the number of Puerto Ricans living outside of Puerto Rico in the U.S. is almost twice as many as those living in Puerto Rico.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2023/09/2020-census-dhc-a-hispanic-population.html |title=Eight Hispanic Groups Each Had a Million or More Population in 2020 |last1=Peña |first1=Jessica |last2=Lowe |first2=Ricardo Henrique Jr. |work=United States Census Bureau |date=September 23, 2023 |access-date=July 11, 2024 }}</ref>  As those who leave tend to be better educated than those who remain, this accentuates the drain on Puerto Rico's economy.

Based on July 1, 2019, estimate by the [[U.S. Census Bureau]], the population of the Commonwealth had declined by 532,095 people since the 2010 Census data had been tabulated.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/pr|title=QuickFacts Puerto Rico|work=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=April 20, 2019|archive-date=March 30, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210330054937/https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/PR|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Languages===
{{Main|Puerto Rican Spanish|English language in Puerto Rico}}

The [[official language]]s<ref>"Official Language", ''Concise Oxford Companion to the English Language'', Ed. Tom McArthur, Oxford University Press, 1998.</ref> of the executive branch of government of Puerto Rico<ref>Pueblo v. Tribunal Superior, 92 D.P.R. 596 (1965). Translation taken from the English text, 92 P.R.R. 580 (1965), pp. 588–89. See also LOPEZ-BARALT NEGRON, "Pueblo v. Tribunal Superior: Espanol: Idioma del proceso judicial", 36 Revista Juridica de la Universidad de Puerto Rico. 396 (1967), and VIENTOS-GASTON, "Informe del Procurador General sobre el idioma", 36 Rev. Col. Ab. (P.R.) 843 (1975).</ref> are Spanish and English. In 2015, the Puerto Rican legislature declared Spanish to be the first official language and English the second official language.<ref name="auto1"/> Spanish is, and has been, the only official language of the entire Commonwealth judiciary system, despite a 1902 English-only language law.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20120426041859/http://muniz-arguelles.com/resources/The%2Bstatus%2Bof%2Blanguages%2Bin%2BPuerto%2BRico.pdf ''The Status of Languages in Puerto Rico.''] Muniz-Arguelles, Luis. University of Puerto Rico. c.&nbsp;1988. Page 466. Retrieved December 4, 2012.</ref> However, all official business of the [[U.S. District Court]] for the District of Puerto Rico is conducted in English. English is the primary language of less than 10% of the population. Spanish is the dominant language of business, education and daily life on the island, spoken by nearly 95% of the population.<ref name="factfinder.census.gov2">{{cite web |url=http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/ADPTable?_bm=y&-geo_id=04000US72&-context=adp&-ds_name=ACS_2007_1YR_G00_&-tree_id=307&-_lang=en&-_caller=geoselect&-format= |title=U.S. Census Annual Population Estimates 2007 |publisher=Factfinder.census.gov |access-date=April 18, 2014 |archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20170524214928/https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/searchresults.xhtml?refresh=t |archive-date=May 24, 2017 }}</ref>

Out of people aged five and older, 94.3% speak only Spanish at home, 5.5% speak English, and 0.2% speak other languages.<ref name=":0">{{cite web |url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?tid=ACSDP5Y2019.DP02PR&g=0400000US72&hidePreview=true |title=Puerto Rico 2015-2019 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=2019 |website=US Census |publisher=Department of Commerce |access-date=July 7, 2021 |archive-date=July 9, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709184353/https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?tid=ACSDP5Y2019.DP02PR&g=0400000US72&hidePreview=true |url-status=live }}</ref> A [[Pew Research Center|Pew Research]] survey indicated an adult literacy rate of 90.4% in 2012 based on data from the [[United Nations]].<ref name="auto3">{{cite web |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=January 2017 |title=Demography – Puerto Rico |url=http://www.globalreligiousfutures.org/countries/puerto-rico#/?affiliations_religion_id=0&affiliations_year=2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190511221913/http://www.globalreligiousfutures.org/countries/puerto-rico#/?affiliations_religion_id=0&affiliations_year=2010 |archive-date=May 11, 2019 |access-date=February 18, 2017 |website=Pew Research |publisher=Pew Research, DC}}</ref>

In Puerto Rico, public school instruction is conducted almost entirely in Spanish. There have been pilot programs in about a dozen of the over 1,400 public schools aimed at conducting instruction in English only. Objections from teaching staff are common, perhaps because many of them are not fully fluent in English.<ref>[https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/08/puerto-rico-governor-fortuno-bilingual_n_1501225.html ''Puerto Rico Governor Luis Fortuño Proposes Plan For Island's Public Schools To Teach In English Instead Of Spanish.''] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120831055841/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/08/puerto-rico-governor-fortuno-bilingual_n_1501225.html |date=August 31, 2012 }} Danica Coto. Huffington Latino Voices. 05/08/12 (May 8, 2012). Retrieved December 4, 2012.</ref> English is taught as a second language and is a compulsory subject from elementary levels to high school. The languages of the deaf community are [[American Sign Language]] and its local variant, [[Puerto Rican Sign Language]].

The [[Puerto Rican Spanish|Spanish language of Puerto Rico]] has evolved into a variety with
many idiosyncrasies in vocabulary and syntax that differentiate it from Spanish spoken elsewhere. Puerto Rican Spanish utilizes many [[Taíno language|Taíno]] words as well as English words. The largest influence on the Spanish spoken in Puerto Rico is [[Canarian Spanish|that of the Canary Islands]]. Taíno [[loanword]]s are most often used in the context of vegetation, natural phenomena, and native musical instruments. Similarly, words attributed to primarily [[Niger–Congo languages|West African languages]] were adopted in the contexts of foods, music, and dances, particularly in coastal towns with concentrations of descendants of Sub-Saharan Africans.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.languageeducationpolicy.org/lepbyworldregion/caribbeanpuertorico.html |title=Language Education Policy in Puerto Rico |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=2013 |website=Language Education Policy Studies |publisher=International Association for Language Education Policy Studies |access-date=February 21, 2017 |archive-date=February 22, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170222112048/http://www.languageeducationpolicy.org/lepbyworldregion/caribbeanpuertorico.html |url-status=usurped }}</ref>

===Religion===
{{Pie chart
|thumb = right
|caption = Religious affiliation in Puerto Rico (2014)<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/03/29/key-findings-about-puerto-rico/ |title=Key findings about Puerto Rico |date=March 29, 2017 |access-date=September 12, 2017 |archive-date=March 27, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230327063019/https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/03/29/key-findings-about-puerto-rico/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pewforum.org/2014/11/13/religion-in-latin-america/#religious-affiliations-of-latin-americans-and-u-s-hispanics |title=Religion in Latin America |date=November 13, 2014 |access-date=September 12, 2017 |archive-date=March 30, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220330015000/https://www.pewforum.org/2014/11/13/religion-in-latin-america/#religious-affiliations-of-latin-americans-and-u-s-hispanics |url-status=live }}</ref>
|label1 = [[Catholic Church|Catholicism]]
|value1 = 56
|color1 = Blue
|label2 = [[Protestantism]]
|value2 = 33
|color2 = DeepSkyBlue
|label3 = Other
|value3 = 3
|color3 = Red
|label4 = [[Irreligious]]
|value4 = 8
|color4 = Black
}}
[[Christianity]] is the dominant religion in Puerto Rico. [[Catholic Church in Puerto Rico|Catholicism]] was brought by Spanish colonists and gradually became the prevailing faith. The first [[dioceses]] in the Americas, including [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Juan de Puerto Rico|that of Puerto Rico]], were authorized by [[Pope Julius&nbsp;II]] in 1511.<ref>{{CathEncy|wstitle=Porto Rico}}</ref> In 1512, priests were established for the parochial churches. By 1759, there was a priest for each church.<ref name="Puerto Rico Office of Historian 1949">{{cite book | author=Puerto Rico. Office of Historian | title=Tesauro de datos historicos: indice compendioso de la literatura histórica de Puerto Rico, incluyendo algunos datos inéditos, periodísticos y cartográficos | publisher=Impr. del Gobierno de Puerto Rico | issue=v. 2 | year=1949 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IVRnAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA306 | language=es | access-date=January 4, 2020 | page=306 | archive-date=January 11, 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240111012634/https://books.google.com/books?id=IVRnAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA306#v=onepage&q&f=false | url-status=live }}</ref> One Pope, [[John Paul&nbsp;II]], visited Puerto Rico in October 1984. All [[Municipalities of Puerto Rico|municipalities]] in Puerto Rico have at least one Catholic church, most of which are located at the town center, or [[plaza]].

[[Protestantism in Puerto Rico|Protestantism]], which was suppressed under the Spanish Catholic regime, reemerged under U.S. rule, making contemporary Puerto Rico more interconfessional than in previous centuries, although Catholicism continues to be the dominant religion. The first Protestant church, [[Iglesia de la Santísima Trinidad]], was established in Ponce by the [[Anglican]] [[Diocese of Antigua]] in 1872.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://episcopalpr.org/sobre_nosotros/sobre_nosotros.html |title=Sobre Nosotros |publisher=Episcopalpr.org |access-date=February 6, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100317153425/http://www.episcopalpr.org/sobre_nosotros/sobre_nosotros.html |archive-date=March 17, 2010 }}</ref> It was the first non-Catholic church in the entire [[Spanish Empire]] in [[the Americas]].<ref>Luis Fortuño Janeiro. ''Album Histórico de Ponce (1692–1963).'' Page 165. Ponce, Puerto Rico: Imprenta Fortuño. 1963.</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.preb.com/articulos/aleman2.htm |title=La presencia Germanica en Puerto Rico |publisher=Preb.com |access-date=February 6, 2011 |archive-date=July 17, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180717075107/http://www.preb.com/articulos/aleman2.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

Sources differ on the [[Christian denomination|denominational]] breakdown of the population. Pollster Pablo Ramos stated in 1998 that the population was 38 percent Catholic, 28 percent Pentecostal, and 18 percent independent churches; the total number of Protestants collectively added up to almost two million people, or 46 percent of the population. Another researcher gave a more conservative assessment of the proportion of Protestants in 1997, finding a Protestant population of approximately 33 to 38 percent, the majority of whom are [[Pentecostal]]; however, it estimated that Puerto Rico would become 75 percent evangelical by 2022.<ref>Ana Adams: "Brincando el Charco..." in ''Power, Politics and Pentecostals in Latin America'', Edward Cleary, ed., 1997. p.&nbsp;164</ref>

A 2014 [[Pew Research Center|Pew Research]] report found that only 56% of Puerto Ricans were Catholic, while 33% were Protestant and 8% were unaffiliated;<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pewforum.org/2014/11/13/religion-in-latin-america/ |title=Religion in Latin America |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=November 13, 2014 |website=Pew Research |publisher=Pew Research Center |access-date=February 21, 2017 |archive-date=March 30, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220330015000/https://www.pewforum.org/2014/11/13/religion-in-latin-america/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="auto3" /> these figures are shared by the [[CIA World Factbook]], which further notes that Protestants are "largely Pentecostal", while other religions make up 2 percent and atheists only one percent.<ref>{{Citation |title=Puerto Rico |date=October 16, 2024 |work=The World Factbook |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/puerto-rico/ |access-date=October 23, 2024 |publisher=Central Intelligence Agency |language=en}}</ref> Pew Research from the year before, which surveyed Puerto Ricans living in the mainland United States, found that only about 45% of Puerto Rican adults identified themselves as Catholic, 29% as Protestant and 20% as unaffiliated with a religion.<ref>{{cite web |last=López |first=Gustavo |date=September 15, 2015 |title=Hispanics of Puerto Rican Origin in the United States, 2013 |url=http://www.pewhispanic.org/2015/09/15/hispanics-of-puerto-rican-origin-in-the-united-states-2013/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181010153809/http://www.pewhispanic.org/2015/09/15/hispanics-of-puerto-rican-origin-in-the-united-states-2013/ |archive-date=October 10, 2018 |access-date=February 17, 2017 |website=Pew Research |publisher=Pew Research Center, DC |quote=Puerto Ricans in this statistical profile are people who self-identified as Hispanics of Puerto Rican origin; this means either they themselves were born in Puerto Rico1 or they were born in the 50 U.S. states, the District of Columbia or elsewhere, but trace their family ancestry to Puerto Rico.}}</ref> By contrast, an [[Associated Press]] article in March 2014 stated that "more than 70 percent" of Puerto Ricans identified as Catholic.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.foxnews.com/world/catholic-church-and-puerto-rico-officials-at-odds-in-widening-sex-abuse-investigation |title=Catholic Church and Puerto Rico officials at odds in widening sex abuse investigation |agency=Associated Press |date=March 12, 2014 |website=Fox News |access-date=February 17, 2017 |archive-date=February 18, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170218145958/http://www.foxnews.com/world/2014/03/12/catholic-church-and-puerto-rico-officials-at-odds-in-widening-sex-abuse.html |url-status=live }}</ref> [[File:Catedral de San Juan Bautista a.jpg|thumb|[[Catedral Metropolitana Basílica de San Juan Bautista|Cathedral of San Juan]], built between 1535 and 1802|alt=]]
There is a small [[Eastern Orthodox]] community, centered mostly around two [[Eastern Orthodox Church]]es in the territory: the [[Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia|Russian Orthodox]] [[Missionary|mission]] of Saint John Climacus in [[San Germán, Puerto Rico|San German]] and the Saint George [[Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch|Antiochian Orthodox Church]] in [[Carolina, Puerto Rico|Carolina]]; both have services in English and Spanish.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://misionsanjuanclimaco.org/ |title=¡Bienvenidos! |publisher=Misión Ortodoxa San Juan Clímaco |language=es |access-date=August 9, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://iglesia-ortodoxa-patriarcado-de-antioquia.business.site/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230911012457/https://iglesia-ortodoxa-patriarcado-de-antioquia.business.site/|archive-date=September 11, 2023 |title=Iglesia Ortodoxa Patriarcado de Antioquia }}</ref> There is a small [[Syriac Orthodox Church|Syriac]] Orthodox church in [[Aguada, Puerto Rico|Aguada]] and an [[Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church]] in [[Utuado, Puerto Rico]], which represents the only [[Oriental Orthodox Churches|Oriental Orthodox]] denominations in the Island. The Roman Catholic Church has a [[Greek Catholic Church]] in Trujillo Alto as well, Orthodox Christians accounted for one percent of the population in 2010.<ref>{{cite web |title=Welcome |url=http://parish.orthodoxtheologicalinstitute.org/Dormition_of_the_Theotokos/Welcome.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110304223521/http://parish.orthodoxtheologicalinstitute.org/Dormition_of_the_Theotokos/Welcome.html |archive-date=March 4, 2011 |access-date=November 25, 2012 |publisher=Parish.orthodoxtheologicalinstitute.org}}</ref> In 2017, the first [[Eastern Catholic Church]] was established in Puerto Rico.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Orthodox Church PR |url=https://www.orthodoxchurchpr.org/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201107101903/https://www.orthodoxchurchpr.org/ |archive-date=November 7, 2020 |access-date=November 1, 2020 |website=www.orthodoxchurchpr.org}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Barillas |first=Martin |date=September 10, 2017 |title=Puerto Rico Welcomes First-Ever Eastern Catholic Parish |url=https://parma.org/news/puerto-rico-welcomes-first-ever-eastern-catholic-parish |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230406163941/https://parma.org/news/puerto-rico-welcomes-first-ever-eastern-catholic-parish |archive-date=April 6, 2023 |access-date=November 1, 2020 |work=Horizons}}</ref>  In 2023, [[the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]] dedicated a [[Temple (LDS Church)|temple]] in [[San Juan Puerto Rico Temple|San Juan]],<ref>{{cite web |title=San Juan Puerto Rico Temple {{!}} ChurchofJesusChristTemples.org |url=https://churchofjesuschristtemples.org/san-juan-puerto-rico-temple/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230403182924/https://churchofjesuschristtemples.org/san-juan-puerto-rico-temple/ |archive-date=April 3, 2023 |access-date=May 4, 2023 |website=Temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints}}</ref> and reported having a membership of approximately 23,000 in the commonwealth.<ref>{{cite web |title=Statistics and Church Facts {{!}} Total Church Membership |url=https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/facts-and-statistics/country/puerto-rico |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230517132219/https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/facts-and-statistics/country/puerto-rico |archive-date=May 17, 2023 |access-date=May 4, 2023 |website=newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org |language=en}}</ref> In 2015, the 25,832 [[Jehovah's Witnesses]] represented about 0.70% of the population, with 324 congregations.<ref>''2016 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses'', pp. 184–85</ref>

Puerto Rico has the largest Jewish community in the Caribbean, at roughly 3,000,<ref>{{cite news |title=The Jewish Palate: The Jews of Puerto Rico |url=https://www.jpost.com/Food-Index/The-Jewish-Palate-The-Jews-of-Puerto-Rico |author=Dennis Wasko |date=July 11, 2011 |access-date=February 18, 2017 |newspaper=The Jerusalem Post |archive-date=December 23, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161223130050/http://www.jpost.com/Food-Index/The-Jewish-Palate-The-Jews-of-Puerto-Rico |url-status=live }}</ref> and is the only Caribbean island where [[Conservative Jews|Conservative]], [[Reform Jews|Reform]] and [[Orthodox Jews|Orthodox Jewish]] movements are all represented.<ref name="LN">{{cite web |url=http://www.luxner.com/cgi-bin/view_article.cgi?articleID=1237 |title=Luxner News |publisher=Luxner.com |date=August 3, 2004 |access-date=February 6, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051107203700/http://www.luxner.com/cgi-bin/view_article.cgi?articleID=1237 |archive-date=November 7, 2005 }}</ref>  The island's first [[synagogue]], ''Sha'are Zedeck,'' was established in 1952 by [[American Jews]].<ref name="EG">''Eduardo Giorgetti Y Su Mundo: La Aparente Paradoja De Un Millonario Genio Empresarial Y Su Noble Humanismo''; by [[Delma S. Arrigoitia]]; Publisher: Ediciones Puerto; {{ISBN|978-0-942347-52-4}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.prairieschooltraveler.com/html/world/pr/Korber.html |title=Korber House |publisher=Prairieschooltraveler.com |access-date=February 6, 2011 |archive-date=May 11, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511203424/http://www.prairieschooltraveler.com/html/world/pr/Korber.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 2007, there were about 5,000 Muslims in Puerto Rico, representing about 0.13% of the population.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.iiie.net/index.php?q=node/65 |title=Number of Muslims and Percentage in Puero Rico |publisher=Institute of Islamic Information and Education |date=February 8, 2006 |access-date=October 30, 2011 |archive-date=September 27, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927003145/http://www.iiie.net/index.php?q=node/65 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.religiousintelligence.co.uk/country/?CountryID=29 |title=Percent Puerto Rican population that are Muslims |access-date=February 14, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927194154/http://www.religiousintelligence.co.uk/country/?CountryID=29 |archive-date=September 27, 2007 }} Retrieved {{Nowrap|June 8}}, 2009.</ref> Eight [[mosque]]s are located throughout the island, with most Muslims living in [[Río Piedras]] and [[Caguas]]; most Muslims are of Palestinian and Jordanian descent.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pupr.edu/msa/mosques.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111002214355/http://www.pupr.edu/msa/mosques.html |archive-date=October 2, 2011 |title=Muslim mosques in Pto. Rico |publisher=Pupr.edu |access-date=October 30, 2011 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/198706/muslims.in.the.caribbean.htm |title=Muslims concentrated in Rio Piedras |publisher=Saudiaramcoworld.com |access-date=February 6, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120505090834/http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/198706/muslims.in.the.caribbean.htm |archive-date=May 5, 2012 }}</ref> There is also a [[Baháʼí Faith|Baháʼí]] community.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://bahaipr.org/index.php/en/|title=Home|website=Bahá'ís of Puerto Rico|access-date=May 8, 2018|archive-date=July 7, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200707012751/https://bahaipr.org/index.php/en/}}</ref>

Buddhism in Puerto Rico is represented with [[Nichiren Buddhism|Nichiren]], [[Zen]] and [[Tibetan Buddhism]], with the [[Khenchen Palden Sherab Rinpoche|New York Padmasambhava Buddhist Center]] for example having a branch in San Juan.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.buddhanet.net/l_tibet.htm |title=BuddhaNet |publisher=Buddhanet.net |access-date=February 6, 2011 |archive-date=March 12, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110312005910/http://www.buddhanet.net/l_tibet.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> There are several atheist activist and educational organizations, and an atheistic parody religion called the [[Pastafarian]] Church of Puerto Rico.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.facebook.com/IglesiaPastafarianaPuertoRico |title=Iglesia Pastafariana de Puerto Rico |publisher=Facebook |access-date=June 29, 2018 |archive-date=July 28, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200728043318/https://www.facebook.com/IglesiaPastafarianaPuertoRico |url-status=live }}</ref> An [[International Society for Krishna Consciousness|ISKCON]] temple in Gurabo is devoted to [[Krishna]], with two preaching centers in the San Juan metropolitan area.

[[Taíno people|Taíno religious practices]] have been rediscovered and reinvented to some degree by a handful of advocates.<ref>[https://globalpressjournal.com/americas/puerto-rico/puerto-rican-indigenous-communities-seek-recognition-return-ancestral-lands/en/ ''Puerto Rican Indigenous Communities Seek Recognition, Return of Their Ancestral Lands: The Jíbaro and Taíno indigenous communities are not recognized by the Puerto Rican government. But two organizations dedicated to preserving their respective history and traditions are working to gain recognition as indigenous groups, as well as unrestricted access to their ancestral lands.''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201023151251/https://globalpressjournal.com/americas/puerto-rico/puerto-rican-indigenous-communities-seek-recognition-return-ancestral-lands/en/|date=October 23, 2020}} Coraly Cruz Mejias. Global Press Journal. Washington, DC. October 14, 2019. Accessed October 23, 2020.</ref> Similarly, some aspects of African religious traditions have persisted, as African slaves maintained various ethnic African religious practices associated with different peoples; in particular, the [[Yoruba religion|Yoruba]] beliefs of [[Santería]] or [[Ifá]], and the [[Kongo people|Kongo]]-derived [[Palo Mayombe]]. Some Indigenous and African practices and beliefs are [[Syncretism|syncretized]] with Christianity. In 1940, [[Juanita García Peraza]] founded the [[Mita Congregation]], the first religion of Puerto Rican origin.<ref>{{cite web |title=Latin American issues Vol. 3 |url=http://webpub.allegheny.edu/group/LAS/LatinAmIssues/Articles/Vol13/LAI_vol_13_section_I.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101202221418/http://webpub.allegheny.edu/group/LAS/LatinAmIssues/Articles/Vol13/LAI_vol_13_section_I.html |archive-date=December 2, 2010 |access-date=February 6, 2011 |publisher=Webpub.allegheny.edu}}</ref>

===Education===
{{Main|Education in Puerto Rico}}
The first school in Puerto Rico was the {{lang|es|Escuela de Gramática}} (Grammar School). It was established by Bishop [[Alonso Manso]] in 1513, in the area where the [[Catedral Metropolitana Basílica de San Juan Bautista|Cathedral of San Juan]] was to be constructed. The school was free of charge and the courses taught were [[Latin|Latin language]], literature, history, science, art, philosophy and theology.<ref>Nicolas Kanellos, "Hispanic Firsts", Visible Ink Press ({{ISBN|0-7876-0519-0}}), p. 40.</ref>

Education in Puerto Rico is divided in three levels—Primary (elementary school grades 1–6), Secondary (intermediate and high school grades 7–12), and Higher Level (undergraduate and graduate studies). As of 2002, the literacy rate of the Puerto Rican population was 94.1%; by gender, it was 93.9% for males and 94.4% for females.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/puerto-rico/ |title=CIA FactBook |publisher=Cia.gov |access-date=February 6, 2011}}</ref> According to the 2000 Census, 60.0% of the population attained a high school degree or higher level of education, and 18.3% has a bachelor's degree or higher.

Instruction at the primary school level is compulsory between the ages of 5 and 18. {{As of|2010}}, there are 1539 public schools and 806 private schools.<ref>{{cite web |title=Perfil del Sistema Educativo – Año Escolar 2010–2011 |url=http://www.estadisticas.gobierno.pr/iepr/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=JmyeNRFU1ZI%3d&tabid=186 |website=estadisticas.gobierno.pr |access-date=January 8, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304091542/http://www.estadisticas.gobierno.pr/iepr/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=JmyeNRFU1ZI%3D&tabid=186 |archive-date=March 4, 2016 }}</ref>

The largest and oldest university system is the public [[University of Puerto Rico]] (UPR) with 11 campuses. The largest private university systems on the island are the {{lang|es|[[Sistema Universitario Ana G. Mendez]]|italic=no}} which operates the {{lang|es|[[University of Turabo|Universidad del Turabo]]|italic=no}}, [[Metropolitan University (Puerto Rico)|Metropolitan University]] and {{lang|es|[[Universidad del Este]]|italic=no}}. Other private universities include the multi-campus [[Inter American University of Puerto Rico|Inter American University]], the [[Catholic University of Puerto Rico|Pontifical Catholic University]], {{lang|es|[[Polytechnic University of Puerto Rico|Universidad Politécnica de Puerto Rico]]|italic=no}}, and the {{lang|es|[[University of the Sacred Heart (Puerto Rico)|Universidad del Sagrado Corazón]]|italic=no}}. Puerto Rico has four schools of Medicine and three [[American Bar Association|ABA]]-approved Law Schools.

===Health===
[[File:Old Dr. Pila Hospital in Barrio Primero, Ponce, Puerto Rico (IMG 2923).jpg|thumb|200px|Old Hospital Doctor Pila in Barrio Primero, [[Ponce, Puerto Rico|Ponce]] city]]
In 2017, there were 69 hospitals in Puerto Rico.<ref>{{cite news |first=Oren |last=Dorell |title=Puerto Rico's health system 'on life support' after blow |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2017/10/05/puerto-rico-health-system-life-support-two-weeks-after-hurricane-maria/734130001/ |newspaper=[[USA Today]] |location=[[Melbourne, Florida]] |pages=1B, 2B |date=October 5, 2017 |access-date=October 6, 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210814141555/https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2017/10/05/puerto-rico-health-system-life-support-two-weeks-after-hurricane-maria/734130001/ |archive-date=August 14, 2021}}</ref> As of 2021, average life expectancy is approximately 82.1 years according to the CIA World Factbook, an improvement from 78.7 years in 2010.<ref>{{cite web |title=The World Factbook: Central America: Puerto Rico |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/puerto-rico/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210105163943/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/puerto-rico/ |archive-date=January 5, 2021 |access-date=December 28, 2019 |website=Central Intelligence Agency}}</ref>

{{lang|es|Reforma de Salud de Puerto Rico}} ([[Puerto Rico Health Reform]]) – locally referred to as {{lang|es|La Reforma}} ('The Reform') – is a government-run program which provides medical and health care services to the indigent and [[impoverished]], by means of contracting private [[health insurance]] companies, rather than employing government-owned hospitals and emergency centers. The Reform is administered by the Puerto Rico Health Insurance Administration.<ref name="Form_10K">[https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1171662/000095014406002885/g00487e10vk.htm Triple-S Management Corporation Annual Report (Form 10-K)] for the fiscal year ended on December 31, 2005, pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, accessed on November 4, 2006.</ref>
{{clear}}

==Culture==
{{Main|Culture of Puerto Rico}}
Modern Puerto Rican culture is a unique mix of cultural antecedents: including European (predominantly Spanish, [[Corsican immigration to Puerto Rico|Italian]], [[French immigration to Puerto Rico|French]], [[German immigration to Puerto Rico|German]] and [[Irish immigration to Puerto Rico|Irish]]), African, and, more recently, some North American and many South Americans. Many Cubans and Dominicans have relocated to the island in the past few decades.

From the Spanish, Puerto Rico received the Spanish language, the [[Catholic]] religion and the vast majority of their cultural and moral values and traditions. The United States added English-language influence, the university system and the adoption of some holidays and practices. On March 12, 1903, the [[University of Puerto Rico]] was officially founded, branching out from the "Escuela Normal Industrial", a smaller organization that was founded in Fajardo three years earlier.

Much of Puerto Rican culture centers on the influence of music and has been shaped by other cultures combining with local and traditional rhythms. Early in the history of Puerto Rican music, the influences of Spanish and African traditions were most noticeable. The cultural movements across the Caribbean and North America have played a vital role in the more recent musical influences which have reached Puerto Rico.<ref>Giovannetti, Jorge L. "Popular Music and Culture in Puerto Rico: Jamaican and Rap Music as Cross-Cultural Symbols", in ''Musical Migrations: Transnationalism and Cultural Hybridity in the Americas'', ed. Frances R. Aparicio and Cándida F. Jáquez, 81–98.</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.puertoricanmusictv.com/ |title=Puerto Rican Music TV |publisher=Puerto Rican Music TV |access-date=August 14, 2010 |archive-date=July 22, 2010 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100722043541/http://www.puertoricanmusictv.com/ }}</ref>

Puerto Rico has many symbols, but only the [[Thespesia grandiflora|Flor de Maga]] has been made official by the Government of Puerto Rico.<ref>{{cite web | title= Entre leyes y múltiples indultos |author-last=López Maldonado | author-first=Cesiach | publisher=Primera Hora | url=https://www.primerahora.com/noticias/gobierno-politica/notas/entre-leyes-y-multiples-indultos/ | date=August 21, 2019 | access-date=March 16, 2021 | language=es |trans-title=Between laws and multiple pardons}}</ref> Other popular, traditional, or unofficial symbols of Puerto Rico are the [[Puerto Rican spindalis]], the [[Ceiba pentandra|kapok tree]], the [[Coquí|coquí frog]], the [[Jíbaro (Puerto Rico)|jíbaro]], the [[Taíno|Taíno Indian]], and [[Cerro Las Tetas]] with its [[Monumento al Jíbaro Puertorriqueño|jíbaro culture monument]].<ref>{{cite web | title= Debate por el Ave Nacional (primera parte) |author-last=Pérez Rivera | author-first=Raúl | publisher=CienciaPR | url=https://www.cienciapr.org/es/external-news/debate-por-el-ave-nacional-primera-parte | date=December 2, 2015 | access-date=March 16, 2021 | language=es |trans-title=Debate for the National Bird (first part)}}
</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=¿Tenemos o no un ave nacional? | author-last=Sánchez Martínez | author-first=Héctor | publisher=La Perla del Sur | url=https://www.periodicolaperla.com/tenemos-no-ave-nacional/ | date=January 20, 2017 | access-date=March 16, 2021 | language=es | trans-title=Do we or do we not have a national bird? | archive-date=May 5, 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220505231620/https://www.periodicolaperla.com/tenemos-no-ave-nacional/ }}</ref>

===Architecture===
{{Main|Architecture of Puerto Rico}}
The architecture of Puerto Rico demonstrates a broad variety of traditions, styles and national influences accumulated over four centuries of Spanish rule, and a century of American rule. [[Spanish colonial architecture]], [[Islamic architecture|Ibero-Islamic]], [[art deco]], [[Post-modern architecture|post-modern]], and many other architectural forms are visible throughout the island. From town to town, there are also many regional distinctions.

[[File:The Colors of Old San Juan (28488284470).jpg|thumb|Street-lined homes in [[Old San Juan]]]]

Old San Juan is one of the two ''barrios'', in addition to [[Santurce, San Juan, Puerto Rico|Santurce]], that made up the [[municipality]] of San Juan from 1864 to 1951, at which time the former independent municipality of [[Río Piedras]] was annexed. With its abundance of shops, historic places, museums, open air cafés, restaurants, gracious homes, tree-shaded plazas, and its old beauty and architectonical peculiarity, Old San Juan is a main spot for local and internal tourism. The district is also characterized by numerous public plazas and churches including [[San José Church]] and the [[Catedral Metropolitana Basílica de San Juan Bautista (San Juan, Puerto Rico)|Cathedral of San Juan Bautista]], which contains the tomb of the Spanish explorer [[Juan Ponce de León]]. It also houses the oldest Catholic school for elementary education in Puerto Rico, the Colegio de Párvulos, built in 1865.

The oldest parts of the district of Old San Juan remain partly enclosed by massive walls. Several defensive structures and notable [[fort]]s, such as the emblematic [[Fort San Felipe del Morro]], [[Castillo San Cristóbal (San Juan)|Fort San Cristóbal]], and [[El Palacio de Santa Catalina]], also known as [[La Fortaleza]], acted as the primary defenses of the settlement which was subjected to numerous attacks. [[La Fortaleza]] continues to serve also as the executive mansion for the [[governor of Puerto Rico]]. Many of the historic fortifications are part of [[San Juan National Historic Site]].

During the 1940s, sections of Old San Juan fell into disrepair, and many renovation plans were suggested in the following decades and into the present.<ref>{{Cite web |date=June 28, 2023 |title=In Old San Juan, History Is Being Run Over |url=https://globalpressjournal.com/americas/puerto-rico/old-san-juan-history-is-being-run-over/ |access-date=May 6, 2025 |website=Global Press Journal |language=en-US}}</ref> There was even a strong push to develop Old San Juan as a "small [[Manhattan]]". Strict remodeling codes were implemented to prevent new constructions from affecting the common colonial Spanish architectural themes of the old city. When a project proposal suggested that the old Carmelite Convent in San Juan be demolished to erect a new hotel, the Institute had the building declared as a historic building, and then asked that it be converted to a hotel in a renewed facility. This was what became the ''Hotel El Convento'' in Old San Juan. The paradigm to reconstruct and renovate the old city and revitalize it has been followed by other cities in the Americas, particularly [[Havana]], [[Lima]] and [[Cartagena de Indias]].

[[File:Parque de Bombas - Ponce Puerto Rico.jpg|thumb|[[Parque de Bombas]], a landmark of [[Ponce, Puerto Rico|Ponce]], a former fire station built in 1882]]
[[Ponce Creole]] is a unique [[architectural style]] created in [[Ponce, Puerto Rico]], in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. This style of Puerto Rican buildings is found predominantly in residential homes in Ponce that developed between 1895 and 1920. Ponce Creole architecture borrows heavily from the traditions of France, Spain and the Caribbean vernacular to create houses that were especially built to withstand the hot and dry climate of the region, and to take advantage of the sun and sea breezes characteristic of the southern Puerto Rico's [[Caribbean Sea]] coast.<ref>{{cite book|author=Randall Peffer|title=Puerto Rico, a Travel Guide|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MjXG2vg5YFsC&pg=PA225|year=2002|publisher=Lonely Planet|isbn=978-1-74059-274-1|page=225}}</ref> It is a blend of wood and masonry, incorporating architectural elements of other styles, from [[Classical revival]] and [[Spanish Revival]] to [[Victorian architecture|Victorian]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/traveler/articles/1056puerto_rico.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100302194306/http://www.nationalgeographic.com/traveler/articles/1056puerto_rico.html|title=National Geographic Traveler Article: Puerto Rico|archive-date=March 2, 2010|website=www.nationalgeographic.com}}</ref>

===Arts===
{{Main|Puerto Rican art}}
[[File:José Campeche (Puerto Rican, 1751-1809). Doña María de los Dolores Gutiérrez del Mazo y Pérez, ca. 1796..jpg|upright|thumb|María de los Dolores Gutiérrez del Mazo, in colonial Puerto Rico, in 1796, by the mulatto Rococo painter [[José Campeche]]. Painting currently housed in the [[Brooklyn Museum]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/opencollection/objects/209953|title=Doña María de los Dolores Gutiérrez del Mazo y Pérez|author=[[José Campeche]]|year=1796|website=[[Brooklyn Museum]] website|location=New York}}</ref>]]
Puerto Rican art reflects many influences, much from its ethnically diverse background. A form of [[folk art]], called ''santos'' evolved from the Catholic Church's use of [[sculpture]]s to convert Indigenous Puerto Ricans to [[Christianity]]. ''Santos'' depict figures of saints and other religious icons and are made from native wood, clay, and stone. After shaping simple, they are often finished by painting them in vivid colors. ''Santos'' vary in size, with the smallest examples around eight inches tall and the largest about twenty inches tall. Traditionally, santos were seen as messengers between the earth and Heaven. As such, they occupied a special place on household [[altar]]s, where people prayed to them, asked for help, or tried to summon their protection.

Also popular, ''caretas'' or ''vejigantes'' are masks worn during [[carnival]]s. Similar masks signifying evil spirits were used in both Spain and Africa, though for different purposes. The Spanish used their masks to frighten lapsed [[Christians]] into returning to the church, while tribal Africans used them as protection from the evil spirits they represented. True to their historic origins, Puerto Rican ''caretas'' always bear at least several horns and fangs. While usually constructed of [[papier-mâché]], coconut shells and fine metal screening are sometimes used as well. Red and black were the typical colors for ''caretas'' but their palette has expanded to include a wide variety of bright hues and patterns.

===Literature===
{{Main|Puerto Rican literature}}
[[File:Retrato de EMdeHostos por Francisco Oller.jpg|thumb|right|upright|[[Eugenio María de Hostos]]]]

Puerto Rican literature evolved from the art of [[oral literature|oral story telling]] to its present-day status. Written works by the native islanders of Puerto Rico were prohibited and repressed by the Spanish colonial government. Only those who were commissioned by the Spanish Crown to document the chronological history of the island were allowed to write. [[Diego de Torres Vargas]] was allowed to circumvent this strict prohibition and in 1647 wrote {{lang|es|Descripción de la Ciudad e Isla de Puerto Rico}} ("Description of the Island and City of Puerto Rico"). This historical book was the first to make a detailed geographic description of the island.<ref name="DT">{{cite web |url=http://newdeal.feri.org/pr/pr03.htm |title=Puerto Rico in the Great Depression |publisher=Newdeal.feri.org |access-date=April 18, 2014}}</ref>

Some of Puerto Rico's earliest writers were influenced by the teachings of [[Rafael Cordero (educator)|Rafael Cordero]]. Among these was [[Manuel A. Alonso]], the first Puerto Rican writer of notable importance. In 1849 he published {{lang|es|El Gíbaro}}, a collection of verses whose main themes were the poor Puerto Rican country farmer. [[Eugenio María de Hostos]] wrote {{lang|es|La peregrinación de Bayoán}} in 1863, which used [[Bartolomé de las Casas]] as a springboard to reflect on Caribbean identity. After this first novel, Hostos abandoned fiction in favor of the essay which he saw as offering greater possibilities for inspiring social change.

In the late 19th century, with the arrival of the first printing press and the founding of the Royal Academy of Belles Letters, Puerto Rican literature began to flourish. The first writers to express their political views in regard to Spanish colonial rule of the island were journalists. [[Alejandro Tapia y Rivera]], also known as the Father of Puerto Rican Literature, ushered in a new age of [[historiography]] with the publication of ''The Historical Library of Puerto Rico''. [[Cayetano Coll y Toste]] was another Puerto Rican historian and writer. His work ''The Indo-Antillano Vocabulary'' is valuable in understanding the way the [[Taínos]] lived. [[Manuel Zeno Gandía]] in 1894 wrote {{lang|es|La Charca}} and talked about the harsh life in the remote and mountainous coffee regions in Puerto Rico. [[Antonio S. Pedreira]], described in his work {{lang|es|Insularismo}} the cultural survival of the Puerto Rican identity after the American invasion.

With the Puerto Rican diaspora of the 1940s, Puerto Rican literature was greatly influenced by a phenomenon known as the [[Nuyorican Movement]]. Puerto Rican literature continued to flourish, and many Puerto Ricans have since distinguished themselves as authors, journalists, poets, novelists, playwrights, essayists, and screenwriters. The influence of Puerto Rican literature has transcended the boundaries of the island to the U.S. and the rest of the world. Over the past fifty years, significant writers include [[Ed Vega]] ([[The Lamentable Journey of Omaha Bigelow into the Impenetrable Loisaida Jungle|Omaha Bigelow]]), [[Miguel Piñero]] ([[Short Eyes (play)|Short Eyes]]), [[Piri Thomas]] ([[Down These Mean Streets]]), [[Giannina Braschi]] ([[Yo-Yo Boing!]]), [[Rosario Ferré|Rosario Ferrer]] (Eccentric Neighborhoods). and [[Esmeralda Santiago]] (''[[When I was Puerto Rican]]).''<ref>{{Cite book|last=Acosta Cruz|first=María|title=Dream Nation: Puerto Rican Culture and the Fictions of Independence|year=2014 |isbn=978-1-4619-5820-8|location=New Brunswick, New Jersey |publisher=Rutgers University Press |oclc=871424250}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Zimmerman|first=Marc|title=Defending Their Own in the Cold: The Cultural Turns of U.S. Puerto Ricans|date=2020|publisher=University of Illinois Press|isbn=978-0-252-08558-1|oclc=1142708953}}</ref>

===Media===
{{Main|Media in Puerto Rico}}
The [[mass media]] in Puerto Rico includes local [[radio stations]], [[television stations]] and [[newspapers]], the majority of which are conducted in [[Spanish language|Spanish]]. There are also three stations of the [[American Forces Network|U.S. Armed Forces Radio and Television Service]]. Newspapers with daily distribution are {{lang|es|[[El Nuevo Día]]}}, {{lang|es|[[El Vocero]]}} and {{lang|es|[[Índice (newspaper)|Índice]]}}, {{lang|es|[[Metro (Puerto Rico)|Metro]]}}, and {{lang|es|[[Primera Hora (Puerto Rico)|Primera Hora]]}}. {{lang|es|El Vocero}} is distributed free of charge, as are {{lang|es|Índice}} and {{lang|es|Metro}}.

Newspapers distributed on a weekly or regional basis include {{lang|es|[[Claridad]]}}, {{lang|es|[[La Perla del Sur]]}}, {{lang|es|[[La Opinión]]}}, {{lang|es|[[Visión (Puerto Rico)|Visión]]}}, and {{lang|es|[[La Estrella del Norte]]}}, among others. Several television channels provide local content in the island. These include [[WIPR-TV]], {{lang|es|[[Telemundo Puerto Rico (TV channel)|Telemundo]]}}, Univision affiliate [[WLII-DT]] ({{lang|es|Teleonce}}), [[WAPA-TV]], and [[WKAQ-TV]].

===Music===
{{Main|Music of Puerto Rico}}
[[File:Bomba-1.ogv|thumb|A dancer performs typical ''[[bomba (Puerto Rico)|bomba]]'' choreography.]]

The music of Puerto Rico has evolved as a heterogeneous and dynamic product of diverse cultural resources. The most conspicuous musical sources have been Spain and West Africa, although many aspects of Puerto Rican music reflect origins elsewhere in Europe and the Caribbean and, over the last century, from the U.S. Puerto Rican music culture today comprises a wide and rich variety of genres, ranging from Indigenous genres like [[Bomba (Puerto Rico)|bomba]], [[plena]], [[aguinaldo (music)|aguinaldo]], [[danza]] and the popular [[Salsa music|salsa]] to recent hybrids like [[reggaeton]] and [[Latin trap]], popular with the new generation of musicians and popularized across the world by Puerto Rican musician [[Bad Bunny]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=June 7, 2024 |title=In Puerto Rico, Reggaeton Means Struggle, Resistance and Having a Good Time |url=https://globalpressjournal.com/americas/puerto-rico/puerto-rico-reggaeton-means-struggle-resistance-good-time/ |access-date=May 6, 2025 |website=Global Press Journal |language=en-US}}</ref>

Puerto Rico has some national instruments, like the [[Puerto Rican cuatro|cuatro]] (Spanish for "four"). The cuatro is a local instrument that was made by the "Jibaro" or people from the mountains. Originally, the Cuatro consisted of four steel strings, hence its name, but currently the Cuatro consists of five double steel strings. It is easily confused with a guitar, even by locals. When held upright, from right to left, the strings are G, D, A, E, B.

In the realm of [[classical music]], the island hosts two main orchestras, the [[Orquesta Sinfónica de Puerto Rico]] and the Orquesta Filarmónica de Puerto Rico. The [[Casals Festival]] takes place annually in San Juan, drawing in classical musicians from around the world.

With respect to [[opera]], the legendary Puerto Rican tenor [[Antonio Paoli]] was so celebrated, that he performed private recitals for [[Pope Pius X]] and Tsar [[Nicholas II of Russia]]. In 1907, Paoli was the first operatic artist in world history to record an entire opera – when he participated in a performance of ''[[Pagliacci]]'' by [[Ruggiero Leoncavallo]] in [[Milan, Italy]].

Musical artists with great international success include [[Menudo (group)|Menudo]], [[Ricky Martin]], [[Bad Bunny]] and others.

===Philately===
{{Main|Puerto Rico on stamps}}
[[File:San Juan 1971 U.S. stamp.1.jpg|thumb|upright|San Juan 450th 1971 issue, depicting one of the [[:File:Lookout Station.JPG|garitas]] of El Morro]]

Puerto Rico has been commemorated on four U.S. postal stamps. Insular Territories were commemorated in 1937, the third stamp honored Puerto Rico featuring '[[La Fortaleza]]', the Spanish Governor's Palace.<ref>[http://arago.si.edu/index.asp?con=1&cmd=1&img=&mode=1&pg=1&tid=2033211 3-cent Puerto Rico Issue] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140317194928/http://arago.si.edu/index.asp?con=1&cmd=1&img=&mode=1&pg=1&tid=2033211 |date=March 17, 2014 }} Arago: people, postage & the post. Viewed March 4, 2014.</ref> The first free election for governor of the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico was honored on April 27, 1949, at San Juan, Puerto Rico. 'Inauguration' on the 3-cent stamp refers to the election of [[Luis Muñoz Marín]], the first democratically elected governor of Puerto Rico.<ref name="Puerto Rico Election Issue">Rod, Steven J. [http://arago.si.edu/index.asp?con=1&cmd=1&img=&mode=1&pg=1&tid=2028823 Puerto Rico Election Issue] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200728043302/https://postalmuseum.si.edu/search-the-collection |date=July 28, 2020 }} Arago: people, postage & the post. Viewed March 4, 2014.</ref> San Juan, Puerto Rico was commemorated with an 8-cent stamp on its 450th anniversary issued September 12, 1971, featuring a sentry box from [[Castillo San Felipe del Morro]].<ref>[http://arago.si.edu/index.asp?con=1&cmd=1&tid=2038993 San Juan Issue] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140317211951/http://arago.si.edu/index.asp?con=1&cmd=1&tid=2038993 |date=March 17, 2014 }} Arago: people, postage & the post. Viewed March 17, 2014.</ref> In the "Flags of our nation series" 2008–2012, of the fifty-five, five territorial flags were featured. Forever stamps included the [[Flags of Puerto Rico|Puerto Rico Flag]] illustrated by a bird issued 2011.<ref>"Flags of our nation series 2008–2012, Arago: people, postage & the post", National Postal Museum. Viewed March 7, 2014.</ref>

===Cuisine===
{{Main|Puerto Rican cuisine}}
[[File:Arrozcongandules2.jpg|thumb|[[Arroz con gandules]], widely regarded as "Puerto Rico's national dish"<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/york-daily-record-reports-notebook/158359504/ |first=Joseph |last=Maldono |title=Reporter's Notebook |work=York Daily Record  |location=York, Pennsylvania |date=December 15, 2003 |page=35 |access-date=November 3, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/el-nuevo-herald-el-gusto-boricua-en-el-s/158359723/ |title=El Gusto Boricua en el Sur de la Florida |first=Yined |last=Ramírez-Hendrix |work=El Nuevo Herald |location=Miami, Florida |date=July 27, 2011 |page=D12 |access-date=November 3, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/el-nuevo-herald-sofrito-imprescindible/158359877/ |title=Sofrito, imprescindible para latinos |first=Viviana |last=Caraballo |work=El Nuevo Herald |location=Miami, Florida |date=January 6, 1999 |page=19 |access-date=November 3, 2024}}</ref>]]
Puerto Rican cuisine has its roots in the cooking traditions and practices of Europe (Spain), Africa and the Native [[Taíno]]s. Basic ingredients include [[grain]]s and [[legume]]s, [[herb]]s and [[spice]]s, starchy tropical [[tuber]]s, vegetables, meat and poultry, seafood and shellfish, and fruits. Main dishes include ''[[mofongo]]'', ''[[arroz con gandules]]'', ''[[pasteles]]'', and [[pig roast]] (or [[Suckling pig|lechón]]). Beverages include ''[[mauby|maví]]'' and ''[[piña colada]]''. Desserts include flan, ''arroz con dulce'' (sweet [[rice pudding]]), ''[[Piragua (food)|piraguas]]'', ''[[brazo gitano]]s'', ''[[tembleque]]'', ''[[Polvorón|polvorones]]'', and ''[[dulce de leche]]''.

===Sports===
{{Main|Sports in Puerto Rico}}

[[Baseball]] was one of the first sports to gain widespread popularity in Puerto Rico. The [[Puerto Rico Baseball League]] serves as the only active professional league, operating as a winter league. No [[Major League Baseball]] franchise or affiliate plays in Puerto Rico; however, San Juan hosted the [[Montreal Expos]] for several series in 2003 and 2004 before they moved to Washington, D.C. and became the [[Washington Nationals]].

The [[Puerto Rico national baseball team]] has participated in the [[World Cup of Baseball]] winning one gold (1951), four silver and four bronze medals, the [[Caribbean Series]] (winning fourteen times) and the [[World Baseball Classic]]. In {{Nowrap|March 2006}}, San Juan's [[Hiram Bithorn Stadium]] hosted the opening round as well as the second round of the newly formed [[World Baseball Classic]]. Puerto Rican baseball players include [[Hall of Fame]]rs [[Roberto Clemente]], [[Orlando Cepeda]] and [[Roberto Alomar]], enshrined in 1973, 1999, and 2011 respectively.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://baseballhall.org/hof/clemente-roberto |title=Baseball Hall of Fame entry for Roberto Clemente |publisher=Baseballhall.org |access-date=October 30, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://baseballhall.org/hof/cepeda-orlando |title=Baseball Hall of Fame entry for Orlando Cepeda |publisher=Baseballhall.org |access-date=October 30, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://baseballhall.org/hof/alomar-roberto |title=Baseball Hall of Fame entry for Roberto Alomar |newspaper=Baseball Hall of Fame |publisher=Baseballhall.org |access-date=October 30, 2011}}</ref>

[[Boxing]], [[basketball]], and [[volleyball]] are considered popular sports as well. [[Wilfredo Gómez]] and [[McWilliams Arroyo]] have won their respective divisions at the [[World Amateur Boxing Championships]]. Other medalists include [[José Pedraza (boxer)|José Pedraza]], who holds a silver medal, and three boxers who finished in third place, José Luis Vellón, [[Nelson Dieppa]] and [[McJoe Arroyo]]. In the professional circuit, Puerto Rico has the third-most [[List of Puerto Rican boxing world champions|boxing world champions]] and it is the global leader in champions per capita. These include [[Miguel Cotto]], [[Félix Trinidad]], [[Wilfred Benítez]] and Gómez among others.

The [[Puerto Rico national basketball team]] joined the [[International Basketball Federation]] in 1957. Since then, it has won more than 30 medals in international competitions, including gold in three [[FIBA Americas Championship]]s and the 1994 [[Goodwill Games]] August 8, 2004, became a landmark date for the team when it became the first team to defeat the [[United States men's national basketball team|United States]] in an Olympic tournament since the integration of [[National Basketball Association]] players. Winning the inaugural game with scores of 92–73 as part of the [[2004 Summer Olympics]] organized in [[Athens]], Greece.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/olympics_2004/basketball/3567344.stm |title=Olympics 2004 – Basketball – Shock defeat for USA |work=BBC News |date=August 15, 2004 |access-date=October 30, 2011}}</ref> [[Baloncesto Superior Nacional]] acts as the top-level professional basketball league in Puerto Rico and has experienced success since its beginning in 1930.

[[Puerto Rico national football team|Puerto Rico]] is also a member of [[FIFA]] and [[CONCACAF]]. In 2008, the archipelago's first unified league, the [[Puerto Rico Soccer League]], was established.

Other sports include [[professional wrestling]] and [[road running]]. The [[World Wrestling Council]] and [[International Wrestling Association (Puerto Rico)|International Wrestling Association]] are the largest wrestling promotions in the main island. The [[World's Best 10K]], held annually in San Juan, has been ranked among the 20 most competitive races globally. The "Puerto Rico All Stars" team, which has won twelve world championships in [[unicycle basketball]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.primerahora.com/boricuasluciosenunarueda-boricuazo-especial-nota-243205.html |title=Boricuas lucíos en una rueda |author=Jesús Omar Rivera |newspaper=Primera Hora |language=es |date=October 29, 2008 |access-date=October 16, 2010 |archive-date=May 14, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110514223446/http://www.primerahora.com/boricuasluciosenunarueda-boricuazo-especial-nota-243205.html }}</ref>

Organized [[streetball]] has gathered some exposition, with teams like "Puerto Rico Street Ball" competing against established organizations including the [[Arecibo Captains|Capitanes de Arecibo]] and [[AND1]]'s [[AND1 Mixtape Tour|Mixtape Tour Team]]. Six years after the first visit, AND1 returned as part of their renamed Live Tour, losing to the Puerto Rico Streetballers.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.boricuasballers.com/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=2542:and1-and-pr-streetball-put-on-a-show |title=AND1 & PR Streetball Put on a Show! |author=Raul Sosa |publisher=BoricuaBallers.com |date=July 27, 2012 |access-date=July 31, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151016022449/http://www.boricuasballers.com/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=2542%3Aand1-and-pr-streetball-put-on-a-show |archive-date=October 16, 2015 }}</ref> Consequently, practitioners of this style have earned participation in international teams, including [[Orlando Melendez|Orlando "El Gato" Meléndez]], who became the first Puerto Rican born athlete to play for the [[Harlem Globetrotters]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.espn.com/espn/hispanicheritage2008/news/story?id=3641638 |title=Melendez adds a new country to Globetrotters' resume |author=Joshua Hammann |publisher=[[ESPN]] |date=October 14, 2008 |access-date=November 7, 2008}}</ref>

Puerto Rico has representation in all international competitions including the [[Summer Olympics|Summer]] and [[Winter Olympics]], the [[Pan American Games]], the [[Caribbean World Series]], and the [[Central American and Caribbean Games]]. Puerto Rico hosted the Pan Am Games in 1979 (officially in San Juan), and The [[Central American and Caribbean Games]] were hosted in [[1993 Central American and Caribbean Games|1993]] in [[Ponce, Puerto Rico|Ponce]] and in [[2010 Central American and Caribbean Games|2010]] in [[Mayagüez]].

Puerto Rican athletes have won ten medals in Olympic competition (two gold, two silver, six bronze), the first one in 1948 by boxer [[Juan Evangelista Venegas]]. [[Monica Puig]] won the first gold medal for Puerto Rico in the Olympic Games by winning the [[Tennis at the 2016 Summer Olympics#Medal events|Women's Tennis singles title in Rio 2016]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rio2016.com/en/news/who-is-monica-puig-the-puerto-rico-puerto-rican-tennis-player-at-rio-2016-olympic-games |title=Who is Mónica Puig the Puerto Rico player who won the gold medal in the Rio 2016 Olympic Games women's tennis final? |date=August 14, 2016 |website=Rio2016.com |publisher=[[Rio 2016 Organising Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games]] |access-date=August 14, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160826095633/https://www.rio2016.com/en/news/who-is-monica-puig-the-puerto-rico-puerto-rican-tennis-player-at-rio-2016-olympic-games |archive-date=August 26, 2016 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/26/sports/tennis/monica-puig-puerto-rico-olympics-gold-medalist.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160826101224/http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/26/sports/tennis/monica-puig-puerto-rico-olympics-gold-medalist.html |archive-date=August 26, 2016 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Monica Puig, Puerto Rico's Favorite Daughter (and Only Gold Medalist) |first=David |last=Waldstein |date=August 25, 2016 |website=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref>

<gallery widths=200 heights=200>
File:DR_vs_PR._World_Baseball_Classic.jpg|[[2013 World Baseball Classic championship]] between [[Puerto Rico national baseball team|Puerto Rico]] and [[Dominican Republic national baseball team|Dominican Republic]], 20 March 2013
File:Orangestarsultra.jpg|alt=|[[Puerto Rico Islanders]] fans at a soccer game
</gallery>

==See also==
* [[Outline of Puerto Rico]]
* [[Stateside Puerto Ricans]], living on mainland
* [[List of islands of Puerto Rico]]

==Notes==
{{Notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
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* {{official website|https://www.pr.gov/}} {{in lang|es}}
** {{official website|http://www.businessinpuertorico.com/|Investment}}
** {{official website|http://www.seepuertorico.com/|Tourism}}
** [http://www.ddec.pr.gov/ Department of Economic Development and Commerce]
* {{GNIS|1779808|Puerto Rico}}
* {{cite news |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/country_profiles/3593469.stm |title=Puerto Rico |publisher=BBC |work=Country profiles}}
* {{cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/482879/Puerto-Rico |title=Puerto Rico |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]|date=August 24, 2023 }}
* {{cite web |url=http://www.tendenciaspr.com/ |title=Datos y Estadisticas de Puerto Rico y sus Municipios |trans-title=Data and Statistics about Puerto Rico and Its Municipalities |language=es |website=Tendencias PR |access-date=May 1, 2010 |archive-date=February 9, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140209040354/http://www.tendenciaspr.com/ }}

===Geography===
* {{wikiatlas|Puerto Rico}}
* {{OSM relation|4422604}}

===United States government===
* {{cite web |url=http://www.gao.gov/archive/1998/og98005.pdf |title=Application of the U.S. Constitution in U.S. Insular Areas |date=November 1997 |access-date=March 28, 2008 |archive-date=February 29, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200229153648/https://www.gao.gov/archive/1998/og98005.pdf }}
* {{cite web |url=https://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/states/puertorico/index.html |title=Puerto Rico: Resource Guide |publisher=[[Library of Congress|LOC]]}}

===United Nations Declaration on Puerto Rico===
* {{cite web |url=https://www.un.org/News/Press/docs//2007/gacol3160.doc.htm |archive-date= December 26, 2007 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20071226070939/https://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2007/gacol3160.doc.htm |title=Special Committee on Decolonization Calls Upon United States to Expedite Puerto Rico's Self-Determination Process |publisher=UN General Assembly |work=Special Committee on Decolonization |series=Press release |date=June 14, 2007}}

{{Puerto Rican topics}}
{{Puerto Rico subdivisions}}
{{Countries of North America}}
{{United States political divisions}}
{{Territories of the United States}}
{{Subject bar
|portal1=Puerto Rico
|portal2=United States
|portal3=Caribbean
|portal4=Islands
|voy=Puerto Rico
|n=Category:Puerto Rico
|s=Category:Puerto Rico
|d=Q1183
|b=no
|v=no
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{{Authority control}}
{{Coord|18.2|-66.5|dim:300000_region:US-PR_type:adm1st|name=Commonwealth of Puerto Rico|display=title}}

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