Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico
Organized and Unincorporated U.S. territory
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico Free Associated State of Puerto Rico Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico (Spanish)
Flag Coat of arms Seal of Puerto Rico
Nickname(s):  "La Isla del Encanto" (Spanish) ('The Island of Enchantment')
Motto:  "Joannes est nomen ejus" (Latin) ('John is his name')
Anthem: "La Borinqueña" (Spanish) ("The Song of Borinquen")
Location of Puerto Rico
Sovereign state	United States[a]
Before annexation	Captaincy General of Puerto Rico
Cession from Spain	10 December 1898
Current constitution	25 July 1952
Capital and largest city	San Juan 18°27′N 66°6′W / 18.450°N 66.100°W / 18.450; -66.100
Common languages	94.3% Spanish 5.5% English 0.2% other[2]
Official languages	Spanish English[3]
Ethnic groups (2020)[4]	By race: 49.8% Multiracial 17.1% White 7.0% Black 0.5% Native American 0.1% Asian 25.5% Other By origin: 98.9% Hispanic or Latino 1.1% non-Hispanic or Latino
Demonym(s)	Puerto Rican (Spanish: puertorriqueño -a) boricua (neutral)[b] borinqueño -a borincano -a[5] puertorro -a[c][6]
Government	Devolved presidential constitutional dependency
• President	Joe Biden (D)
• Governor	Pedro Pierluisi (PNP/D)
Legislature	Legislative Assembly
• Upper house	Senate
• Lower house	House of Representatives
United States Congress
• Resident Commissioner	Jenniffer González (PNP/R)
Area
• Total	13,792 km2 (5,325 sq mi)[d]
• Land	8,868 km2 (3,424 sq mi)
• Water	4,924 km2 (1,901 sq mi)
• Water (%)	35.6
Dimensions [e][14]
• Length	178 km (111 mi)
• Width	65 km (40 mi)
Highest elevation	1,338 m (4,390[f] ft)
Population
• 2023 estimate	3,205,691[g][15] (136th)
• 2020 census	3,285,874[16]
• Density	361.4/km2 (936.0/sq mi) (41st)
GDP (PPP)	2023 estimate
• Total	$132.052 billion[17] (85th)
• Per capita	$41,682[17] (40th)
GDP (nominal)	2023 estimate
• Total	$117.515 billion[17] (62nd)
• Per capita	$37,093[17] (28th)
Gini (2024)	58[18] high
HDI (2015)	0.845[19] very high · 40th
Currency	United States dollar (US$) (USD)
Time zone	UTC-04:00 (AST)
Date format	dd/mm/yyyy mm/dd/yyyy
Driving side	right
Calling code	+1 (787), +1 (939)
USPS abbreviation	PR
ISO 3166 code	PR US-PR
Internet TLD	.pr

Puerto Rico, or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico (Spanish: Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico), is a U.S. territory in the Caribbean Sea.^[20] This means that it belongs to the United States and citizens of Puerto Rico are citizens of the United States as well. Puerto Rico is not an independent country, but like all populated U.S. territories, it enjoys a greater degree of autonomy than U.S. states. There has been a movement for independence for almost two centuries. There have been protests, votes, and armed attacks for independence.^[21][22][23]

Puerto Rico has about 3.3 million (3,300,000) people. Its political system is based on a republican system. It has two official languages: Spanish and English, but Spanish is almost only used by the government, the legislature and the judiciary (courts). Spanish is also the main language of the school curriculum, though English is taught in all schools as a second language (from grade 1 to 12). Puerto Rico is one of two U.S. territories where the metric system is officially used and is dominant. (The other is Guam, which was also a Spanish colony. The metric system was introduced to both territories, before they became U.S. territories.)^[24] Spanish is spoken by 94.7% of the population and English is spoken by 5.3% of the population as a mother language. The currency used is the United States dollar.

The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico includes the largest, main island and a number of smaller islands, including Mona, Vieques, and Culebra. Of those three smaller islands, only Culebra and Vieques are populated all year. Mona is unpopulated, but employees of the Puerto Rico Department of Natural Resources sometimes visit the island to inspect it and its wildlife. People can visit the island for hiking and camping by getting the permission needed. San Juan, on the northern side of the main island, is the island's largest city and the capital of the territory.

Puerto Rico means "rich port" in Spanish.

On May 3, 2017, Puerto Rico filed for bankruptcy after a massive debt and weak economy.^[25] It is the largest bankruptcy case in American history.^[25]

1. ↑ "U.S. Territories - Developments in the Law". Harvard Law Review. 10 April 2017. Retrieved 11 June 2024.
2. ↑ "Puerto Rico 2015-2019 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates". US Census. Department of Commerce. 2019. Archived from the original on 9 July 2021. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
3. ↑ "P. Rico Senate declares Spanish over English as first official language". Agencia EFE. San Juan, Puerto Rico. 4 September 2015. Archived from the original on 1 November 2020. Retrieved 7 February 2016.
4. ↑ "2020 Census Illuminates Racial and Ethnic Composition of the Country: Puerto Rico". United States Census. Archived from the original on 21 October 2021. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
5. ↑ "puertorriqueño". Diccionario de la Lengua Española por la Real Academia Española (in Spanish). Retrieved 19 January 2024.
6. ↑ "puertorro". Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española: Diccionario de Americanismos (in Spanish). Retrieved 19 January 2024.
7. ↑ "State Area Measurements and Internal Point Coordinates". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 24 February 2024.
8. ↑ "Vieques Municipio, Puerto Rico". US Census Bureau. Retrieved 24 February 2024.
9. ↑ "Mona Island". Earth Observatory. 28 February 2016. Retrieved 24 February 2024.
10. ↑ "Culebra Municipio, Puerto Rico". US Census Bureau. Retrieved 24 February 2024.
11. ↑ "Plan de Manejo Reserva Natural Isla Caja de Muertos" (PDF). Gobierno de Puerto Rico: Departamento de Recursos Naturales y Ambientales. Retrieved 24 February 2024.
12. ↑ "Desecheo National Wildlife Refuge". U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. Retrieved 24 February 2024.
13. ↑ "Catches by Taxon in the waters of Puerto Rico (USA)". Sea Around Us. Retrieved 24 February 2024.
14. ↑ "Geografía de Puerto Rico". Sistemas de Información Geográfica (in Spanish). Retrieved 24 February 2024.
15. ↑ "Quick Facts Puerto Rico: Population Estimates, July 1, 2023". United States Census Bureau. 1 July 2023. Archived from the original on 30 March 2021. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
16. ↑ "Table 2. Resident Population for the 50 States, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico: 2020 Census" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. 26 April 2021. Archived (PDF) from the original on 26 April 2021. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
17. ↑ ^{17.0 17.1 17.2 17.3} "World Economic Outlook Database, October 2023 Edition. (PR)". International Monetary Fund. 10 October 2023. Archived from the original on 20 November 2023. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
18. ↑ "Socioeconomic Indicators - Puerto Rico | Market Forecast". August 2024. Retrieved September 23, 2024.
19. ↑ Fuentes-Ramírez, Ricardo R. (2017). "Human Development Index Trends and Inequality in Puerto Rico 2010–2015". Ceteris Paribus: Journal of Socio-Economic Research. 7. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 May 2017. Retrieved 15 May 2017.
20. ↑ More exactly, it is an unincorporated territory.
21. ↑ "Audio of Lolita Lebron at 1954 attack". Freedom Archives. Archived from the original on 2020-12-04. Retrieved 2020-11-17.
22. ↑ "El Grito de Lares". New York Latino Journal. Archived from the original on 2011-07-21.
23. ↑ Qvortrup, Matt (2015-07-10). "Voting on Independence and National Issues: A Historical and Comparative Study of Referendums on Self-Determination and Secession". Revue Française de Civilisation Britannique. French Journal of British Studies. 20 (XX-2). doi:10.4000/rfcb.366. ISSN 0248-9015. Archived from the original on 2020-11-09. Retrieved 2020-11-17.
24. ↑ "US leaves the world puzzled by dragging its feet on metric system". The Nation Thailand. 2015-12-26. Archived from the original on 2023-01-28. Retrieved 2023-01-28.
25. ↑ ^{25.0 25.1} "Puerto Rico files for biggest ever U.S. local government bankruptcy". Reuters. May 3, 2017. Archived from the original on September 10, 2017. Retrieved August 31, 2017.