Puerto Rico summary

Puerto Rico, officially Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Self-governing island commonwealth of the West Indies, in the northeastern Caribbean Sea; it is associated with the U.S. Area: 3,424 sq mi (8,868 sq km). Population: (2024 est.) 3,177,000. Capital: San Juan. Most of the population is of Spanish descent, with significant minorities of people of African and mixed (African-European) descent. Languages: Spanish, English (both official). Religion: Christianity (predominantly Roman Catholic; also Protestant). Currency: U.S. dollar. The island of Puerto Rico may be divided into three geographic regions: the mountainous interior, the northern plateau, and the coastal plains. It has a developing free-market economy, of which manufacturing, financial services, and trade (mostly with the U.S.) are the main components. Tourism is also an important source of income. Puerto Rico’s head of state is the U.S. president, and its head of government is the commonwealth governor. The island was inhabited by Arawak Indians when it was settled by the Spanish in the early 16th century. It remained largely undeveloped economically until the late 18th century. After 1830 it gradually developed a plantation economy based on the export crops of sugarcane, coffee, and tobacco. The independence movement began in the late 19th century, and Spain ceded the island to the U.S. in 1898 after the Spanish-American War. In 1917 Puerto Ricans were granted U.S. citizenship, and in 1952 the island became a commonwealth with autonomy in internal affairs. Voters reaffirmed the island’s commonwealth status in plebiscites in 1967, 1993, and (tacitly) 1998, but Puerto Rican statehood remained a political issue into the 21st century.