The Human Truth Foundation

Puerto Rico (Commonwealth of Puerto Rico)

https://www.humantruth.info/puerto_rico.html

By Vexen Crabtree 2013

#puerto_rico

Puerto Rico
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico
Flag
StatusDependency (Commonwealth)
SovereigntyUSA
CapitalSan Juan
Land Area 8 870km21
LocationNorth America, The Americas, The Caribbean
GroupingsSmall Islands
Population
GNI
ISO3166-1 CodesPR, PRI, 6302
Internet Domain.pr3
CurrencyDollar (USD)4
Telephone+5

1. Overview

Populated for centuries by aboriginal peoples, the island was claimed by the Spanish Crown in 1493 following Christopher COLUMBUS' second voyage to the Americas. In 1898, after 400 years of colonial rule that saw the indigenous population nearly exterminated and African slave labor introduced, Puerto Rico was ceded to the US as a result of the Spanish-American War. Puerto Ricans were granted US citizenship in 1917. Popularly-elected governors have served since 1948. In 1952, a constitution was enacted providing for internal self government. In plebiscites held in 1967, 1993, and 1998, voters chose not to alter the existing political status with the US, but the results of a 2012 vote left open the possibility of American statehood.

CIA's The World Factbook (2013)6

Book CoverPuerto Rico is the fodder of many a Caribbean daydream for good reason: this natural jewel box can satisfy the lethargic beach bum, the sunrise rainforest explorer and the budding big-wave surfer. Golden sand, swashbuckling history and wildly diverse terrain make the sun-washed backyard of the United States a place fittingly hyped as the `Island of Enchantment.´ It´s the Caribbean´s only island where you can catch a wave before breakfast, hike a rainforest after lunch and race to the beat of a high-gloss, cosmopolitan city after dark.

Between blinking casinos and chirping frogs, Puerto Rico is also a land of dynamic contrasts, where the breezy gate of the Caribbean is bedeviled by the hustle of contemporary America. While modern conveniences make it simple for travelers, the condo-lined concrete jungle might seem a bit too close to home. A quick visit for Puerto Rico´s beaches, historic forts and craps tables will quicken a visitor´s pulse, but the island´s singular essence only reveals itself to those who go deeper, exploring the misty crags of the central mountains and crumbling facades of the island´s remote corners.

"The World" by Lonely Planet (2014)7

As a territory of the USA I do not have many specific statistics for this territory in its own right.

2. Puerto Rico's Demographics and Migration

#birth_control #demographics #fertility #health #overpopulation #population #yemen

Population:

This country has a fertility rate of 0.90. The fertility rate is, in simple terms, the average amount of children that each woman has. The higher the figure, the quicker the population will grow, although, to calculate the rate you also need to take into account morbidity - the rate at which people die. If people live healthy and long lives and morbidity is low, then, 2.0 approximates to the replacement rate (two new children for each set of parents who die), which would keep the population stable. If all countries had such a fertility rate, population growth would end. The actual replacement rate in most developed countries is around 2.1. The highest fertility rate ever detected in a single year was in Yemen in 1985, at 8.86.8

Fertility Rate
2.0 is best
9
Pos.20229
1US Virgin Islands2.00
2Ecuador2.00
3Nepal2.01
...
148British Virgin Islands1.02
149Timor-Leste (E. Timor)3.05
150Kazakhstan3.05
151Puerto Rico0.90
152Tajikistan3.14
153Tuvalu3.14
154Papua New Guinea3.17
155Tonga3.19
World Avg2.47
q=208.

3. Puerto Rico's Human Rights, Equality & Tolerance

#freedom #human_rights #politics #puerto_rico

Human Rights & Tolerance:

Freedom in the World
Lower is better
Pos.2024
Score
1=Norway1.0
1=Canada1.0
1=Cape Verde1.0
...
149Kuwait5.5
150=Iraq5.5
150=Northern Cyprus5.5
150=Puerto Rico5.5
150=Oman5.5
150=S. Ossetia5.5
150=Hong Kong5.5
150=Guinea5.5
The Americas Avg2.7
World Avg3.7
q=205.

Amnesty International's 2023-23 report on Puerto Rico was quite short: "Killings by police disproportionately affected low-income racially mixed communities. Activists protested environmental degradation. A total of five bills seeking to restrict access to abortion were defeated"10.

4. Puerto Rico's Health

#birth_control #demographics #health #overpopulation #puerto_rico

Health:

Puerto Rico is a pretty unhealthy country. And finally, it does worse than average in its fertility rate9 (the highest in The Americas). The prevalence of overweight adults has increased by 14% over the last 40 years. Puerto Rico's peak fertility rate was 4.8 in 1960.

Fertility Rate
2.0 is best
9
Pos.20229
1US Virgin Islands2.00
2Ecuador2.00
3Nepal2.01
...
148British Virgin Islands1.02
149Timor-Leste (E. Timor)3.05
150Kazakhstan3.05
151Puerto Rico0.90
152Tajikistan3.14
153Tuvalu3.14
154Papua New Guinea3.17
155Tonga3.19
The Americas Avg1.80
World Avg2.47
q=208.

5. Puerto Rico's Responsibility Towards The Environment

#biodiversity #deforestation #over-exploitation #puerto_rico #the_environment

This rank is calculated from 1 data sets. Puerto Rico comes in the best 20 when it comes to its forested percent change 2000-202011.

Forest Area Change 2000-2020
Higher is better
11
Pos.Total11
1Guernsey82.6%
2Bahrain75.2%
3Iceland64.7%
...
14Ireland22.8%
15Syria20.0%
16Guam16.7%
17Puerto Rico15.5%
18Iran15.2%
19Bulgaria14.9%
20Chile14.6%
21Cape Verde14.6%
The Americas Avg-2.1%
World Avg-0.1%
q=234.

From 2000 to 2010, Puerto Rico restored its forest cover by 15%, from 429 thousand hectares to 491 thousand, although sadly from 2010 to 2020, it only managed +1%.

6. Puerto Rico's Modernity and Learning

#education #modernity #religion #religiosity #research #science #secularisation #technology #the_internet

Compared to The Americas (2020)12
Pos.Lower is better
Avg Rank12
1Canada21.9
2USA28.2
3Argentina43.6
4Chile50.8
5Barbados54.2
6Brazil54.9
7St Kitts & Nevis56.7
8Puerto Rico57.5
9Mexico60.7
10Uruguay66.8
11Costa Rica68.0
12=Peru68.5
12=Grenada68.5
The Americas Avg81.3
q=41.
Modernity & Learning (2020)12
Pos.Lower is better
Avg Rank12
1Finland7.7
2Taiwan10.0
3Switzerland14.7
...
57St Kitts & Nevis56.7
58Kosovo57.0
59Moldova57.2
60Puerto Rico57.5
61Saudi Arabia58.1
62Palau59.3
63China60.4
64Mexico60.7
World Avg82.7
q=205.

Modernity and Education:

Research & Development
Higher is better
Pos.2016
% RDP PPP
1S. Korea4.2913
2Israel4.1113
3Japan3.5813
...
63=Qatar0.4714
63=Cuba0.4715
65Macedonia0.4415
66=Puerto Rico0.4415
67Jordan0.4316
68Mozambique0.4217
69Thailand0.3918
70=Tanzania0.3817
The Americas Avg0.47
World Avg0.84
q=126.
Religiosity
Lower is better
19
Pos.2018
%19
1China3
2Estonia6
3Czechia7
...
65S. Africa75
66=Ecuador76
66=Costa Rica76
68Puerto Rico77
69=Malaysia77
69=Colombia77
71Dominican Rep.78
72=Iran78
The Americas Avg65.4
World Avg54.3
q=106.

Technology and Information:

Internet Users
Higher is better
20
Pos.201620
1Iceland100%
2Faroe Islands99%
3Norway98%
...
28S. Korea86%
29Australia85%
30Bahamas85%
31Puerto Rico83%
32=Singapore83%
32=Slovakia83%
34Spain82%
35Austria81%
The Americas Avg56.4%
World Avg48.1%
q=201.
IPv6 Uptake
Higher is better
21
Pos.2017
Ratio21
1Belgium55.4
2Germany41.8
3Switzerland35.1
...
63=Moldova0.3
64UAE0.3
65Seychelles0.2
66Puerto Rico0.2
67Indonesia0.2
68S. Africa0.1
69Jersey0.1
70=Sudan0.1
The Americas Avg3.36
World Avg3.82
q=176.

7. Religion and Beliefs

#buddhism #christianity #hinduism #islam #judaism #religion #religiosity #secularisation

Religiosity (2018)19
Pos.Lower is better
%19
1China3
2Estonia6
3Czechia7
...
65S. Africa75
66=Ecuador76
66=Costa Rica76
68Puerto Rico77
69=Malaysia77
69=Colombia77
71Dominican Rep.78
72=Iran78
72=Tunisia78
74Bangladesh80
75=India80
76Iraq82
77=El Salvador85
77=Jordan85
79Palestine86
80=Uganda86
World Avg54.3
q=106.

Data from the Pew Forum, a professional polling outfit, states that in 2010 the religious makeup of this country was as follows in the table below22:

Christian96.7%
Muslim0.1%
Hindu0.1%
Buddhist0.3%
Folk Religion0.8%
Jewish0.1%
Unaffiliated1.9%

It appears that when asked "What religion are you" many give pollsters the 'correct' answer despite how they actually feel, and despite what they actually believe. Although 98.1% of the populace say they belong to a religion, only 77% say that they are religious when the question is phrased as "Is religion an important part of your daily life?".

For more on this phenomenon, see:

The CIA World Factbook has slightly different data, and states simply: Roman Catholic 85%, Protestant and other 15%23.

Links: