Puerto Rico (Commonwealth of Puerto Rico)

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

By Vexen Crabtree 2013

Puerto Rico Commonwealth of Puerto Rico
Status	Dependency (Commonwealth)
Sovereignty	USA
Capital	San Juan
Land Area	8 870km²₁
Location	North America, The Americas, The Caribbean
Groupings	Small Islands
Population
GNI
ISO3166-1 Codes	PR, PRI, 630₂
Internet Domain	.pr₃
Currency	Dollar (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

“Puerto 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, this territory does not have standard international statistics available for it in its own right.

2. Puerto Rico's Demographics and Migration

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

Population Datasets:

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 best₉
Pos.		2022₉
1	US Virgin Islands	2.00
2	Ecuador	2.00
3	Nepal	2.01
	...
148	British Virgin Islands	1.02
149	Timor-Leste (E. Timor)	3.05
150	Kazakhstan	3.05
151	Puerto Rico	0.90
152	Tajikistan	3.14
153	Tuvalu	3.14
154	Papua New Guinea	3.17
155	Tonga	3.19
	World Avg	2.47
q=208.

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

#freedom #human_rights #politics #puerto_rico

Human Rights & Tolerance Datasets:

Freedom in the World Lower is better
Pos.		2024 Score
1=	Norway	1.0
1=	Canada	1.0
1=	Cape Verde	1.0
	...
149=	Kuwait	5.5
149=	Iraq	5.5
149=	Northern Cyprus	5.5
149=	Puerto Rico	5.5
149=	Oman	5.5
149=	S. Ossetia	5.5
149=	Hong Kong	5.5
149=	Guinea	5.5
	The Americas Avg	2.7
	World Avg	3.7
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 #obesity #overpopulation #puerto_rico

Compared to The Americas (2025)₁₁
Pos.		Lower is better Avg Rank₁₁
1	Canada	57.4
2	Turks & Caicos Islands	62.6
3	St Martin	66.7
	...
32	Dominican Rep.	104.6
33	Paraguay	105.5
34	Belize	106.7
35	Puerto Rico	109.9
36	Suriname	110.1
37	Honduras	112.1
38	Guatemala	113.2
39	Nicaragua	117.1
40	Haiti	117.2
	The Americas Avg	92.66
q=41.

Health (2025)₁₁
Pos.		Lower is better Avg Rank₁₁
1	Monaco	12.4
2	Liechtenstein	30.1
3	San Marino	30.6
	...
125	Belize	106.7
126	Bangladesh	107.6
127	Mongolia	109.1
128	Puerto Rico	109.9
129	Suriname	110.1
130	Nepal	111.4
131	Jordan	111.7
132	Honduras	112.1
	World Avg	96.86
q=204.

The countries with the best overall approach to public health, in terms of both public policy and individual lifestyle choices, are Monaco, Liechtenstein and San Marino₁₂. These countries are worth emulating. And, although often through no fault of the average citizen, the worst countries are Angola, Somalia and S. Sudan₁₂.

36 datasets are used to calculate points for each country, including multiple decades of data on its average life expectancy, its alcohol consumption rate, its fertility rate, its smoking rate, its suicide rate, its food aid and health contributions and WHO compliance, the prevalence of overweight adults, obesity rate, its adolescent birth rate, its immunizations take-up and childhood mortality (so far). The regions with the best average results per country are Scandinavia, Europe and The Mediterranean₁₂, whereas the worst are Micronesia, Africa and Melanesia₁₂.

For more, see:

"Countries With the Healthiest Cultures and Health Policies" by Vexen Crabtree (2025).

Health Datasets:

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

Fertility Rate 2.0 is best₉
Pos.		2022₉
1	US Virgin Islands	2.00
2	Ecuador	2.00
3	Nepal	2.01
	...
148	British Virgin Islands	1.02
149	Timor-Leste (E. Timor)	3.05
150	Kazakhstan	3.05
151	Puerto Rico	0.90
152	Tajikistan	3.14
153	Tuvalu	3.14
154	Papua New Guinea	3.17
155	Tonga	3.19
	The Americas Avg	1.80
	World Avg	2.47
q=208.

Adult Obesity Lower is better₁₃
Pos.		2022 %₁₃
1	Vietnam	2.1%
2	Timor-Leste (E. Timor)	2.2%
3	Ethiopia	2.4%
	...
175	Romania	38.2%
176	Georgia	38.9%
177	Chile	39.5%
178	Puerto Rico	41.0%
179	Saudi Arabia	41.1%
180	Belize	41.9%
181	Palau	42.2%
182	USA	42.9%
	The Americas Avg	32.0%
	World Avg	24.7%
q=199.

5. Puerto Rico's Responsibility Towards The Environment

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

Compared to The Americas (2025)₁₄
Pos.		Lower is better Avg Rank₁₄
1	Uruguay	43.2
2	Puerto Rico	47.1
3	Costa Rica	49.7
4	Chile	56.4
5	Peru	56.7
6	Dominican Rep.	65.0
7	Ecuador	65.6
8	Guatemala	66.1
9	Mexico	66.3
10	El Salvador	67.4
11	Brazil	70.2
12	Colombia	70.9
13	Argentina	78.5
	The Americas Avg	92.66
q=36.

Responsibility Towards The Environment (2025)₁₄
Pos.		Lower is better Avg Rank₁₄
1	Sri Lanka	34.9
2	Uruguay	43.2
3	Switzerland	45.0
4	Morocco	46.5
5	Puerto Rico	47.1
6	Burundi	47.8
7	Nepal	47.9
8	India	49.5
9	Philippines	49.6
10	Costa Rica	49.7
11	Denmark	50.4
12	Mali	51.0
	World Avg	84.93
q=199.

We have known for a long term that we must protect the environment from habitation destruction, over-exploitation, pollution, and the emissions that cause climate change. In 1998, Greenpeace wrote that "Environment can no longer be meaningfully separated from health, quality of life, democracy, education, economy or trade"₁₅. What countries have been doing the right thing, via legislation and national culture? All countries' current and historical approach towards the environment is gauged via 21 datasets, including multiple decades of data on its forested percent change 2000-2020, its environmental performance, energy to GDP efficiency, its sign-up rate to major international accords on protecting the environment, the rate of rational beliefs on the environment in the population, reducing annual meat consumption per person and its score on the Green Future Index.

The countries that do the best (Sri Lanka, Uruguay and Switzerland) tend to have avoided the excesses of early industrial countries, and have not yet repeated the same mistakes of environmental destruction - at least, not on the same scale. The regions with the best average results per country are Central America, South America and Scandinavia. The worst are Eritrea, The Vatican City and Timor-Leste (E. Timor), and the worst regions Micronesia, Australasia and Melanesia.

For more, see:

"Countries With the Best Environmental Records" by Vexen Crabtree (2025).

Regarding its responsibility towards the environment, Puerto Rico is positioned 5th-best in the world. This is formulated from 21 data sets. Puerto Rico comes in the best 20 for its forested percent change 2000-2020₁₆. It does better than average for energy to GDP efficiency₁₇ (amongst the lowest in The Americas).

Forest Area Change 2000-2020 Higher is better₁₆
Pos.		Total₁₆
1	Guernsey	82.6%
2	Bahrain	75.2%
3	Iceland	64.7%
	...
14	Ireland	22.8%
15	Syria	20.0%
16	Guam	16.7%
17	Puerto Rico	15.5%
18	Iran	15.2%
19	Bulgaria	14.9%
20	Chile	14.6%
21	Cape Verde	14.6%
	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%.

Energy to GDP Efficiency Lower is better₁₇
Pos.		2022 Avg₁₇
1	Rwanda	0.25
2	Chad	0.26
3	Tanzania	0.31
	...
33	Denmark	0.65
34	Botswana	0.67
35	Hong Kong	0.67
36	Puerto Rico	0.68
37	Angola	0.70
38	Indonesia	0.71
39	Swaziland	0.73
40	Guatemala	0.74
	The Americas Avg	1.42
	World Avg	1.23
q=165.

6. Puerto Rico's Modernity and Learning

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

Compared to The Americas (2025)₁₈
Pos.		Lower is better Avg Rank₁₈
1	Canada	30.9
2	Argentina	34.3
3	Chile	41.0
	...
28	St Vincent & Grenadines	97.3
29	St Lucia	99.5
30	Dominica	100.5
31	Jamaica	103.3
32	Guyana	113.1
33	Haiti	123.9
34	Bahamas	125.5
35	Belize	127.3
36	Puerto Rico	137.1
	The Americas Avg	77.96
q=36.

Modernity & Learning (2025)₁₈
Pos.		Lower is better Avg Rank₁₈
1	Vatican City	1.0
2	Finland	4.8
3	Belgium	8.5
	...
170	Niger	133.3
171	Malawi	133.9
172	Ethiopia	136.9
173	Puerto Rico	137.1
174	Sudan	139.4
175	Congo, DR	139.9
176	Cambodia	140.0
177	Angola	140.6
	World Avg	80.33
q=194.

The most modern countries, with the best results from education, the highest levels of research, and with the easiest access to information on the Internet, are The Vatican City, Finland and Belgium₁₉. The worst countries are S. Sudan, Eritrea and Somalia₁₉. Despite improves in global education, access to tertiary (adult) education is becoming increasingly unequal between the rich haves and the poor have-nots₂₀.

“Education, at all levels and ages, is the single most vital support for equality as well as being a country's most vital economic and social resource. [...] Every successful aspirant to modernisation and economic development, from Japan to South Korea, China to Chile, has got there with a big emphasis on education.”
Bill Emmott (2017)₂₁

23 datasets are used to calculate points for each country, including multiple decades of data on Research and Development, Intellectual Endeavours, metric system adoption rate, Religiosity, IQ, Secondary Education, Length of Schooling, Maths, Science & Reading, the percent of citizens with access to the internet, Freedom On The Internet, IT Security, IPv6 Uptake and digital quality of life. The regions with the best average results per country are Scandinavia, Baltic States and Europe₁₉, whereas the worst are Melanesia, Africa and Micronesia₁₉.

For more, see:

" Which Countries are Most Modern, With the Best Education and Internet Access?" by Vexen Crabtree (2025).

Modernity Datasets:

Research & Development Higher is better
Pos.		2016 % RDP PPP
1	S. Korea	4.29₂₂
2	Israel	4.11₂₂
3	Japan	3.58₂₂
	...
63=	Qatar	0.47₂₃
63=	Cuba	0.47₂₄
65=	Macedonia	0.44₂₄
65=	Puerto Rico	0.44₂₄
67	Jordan	0.43₂₅
68	Mozambique	0.42₂₆
69	Thailand	0.39₂₇
70=	Tanzania	0.38₂₆
	The Americas Avg	0.47
	World Avg	0.84
q=126.

Metric System Adoption Rate Higher is better₂₈
Pos.		2025 %₂₈
1=	Slovakia	100
1=	Poland	100
1=	Portugal	100
	...
180=	Yemen	85
180=	Laos	85
182	S. Sudan	80
183=	Myanmar	50
183=	Myanmar	50
183=	Puerto Rico	50
186	Liberia	40
187	USA	30
	The Americas Avg	90
	World Avg	92
q=187.

Puerto Rico officially adopted metric in 1868₂₉. But in 2020, it still uses US customary units due to US jurisdiction; metric is taught in schools and used in science/medicine.

Religiosity Lower is better₃₀
Pos.		2018 %₃₀
1	China	3
2	Estonia	6
3	Czechia	7
	...
65	S. Africa	75
66=	Ecuador	76
66=	Costa Rica	76
68=	Puerto Rico	77
68=	Malaysia	77
68=	Colombia	77
71=	Dominican Rep.	78
71=	Iran	78
	The Americas Avg	65.4
	World Avg	54.3
q=106.

Technology and Information Datasets:

Internet Users Higher is better₃₁
Pos.		2016₃₁
1	Iceland	100%
2	Faroe Islands	99%
3	Norway	98%
	...
28	S. Korea	86%
29	Australia	85%
30	Bahamas	85%
31	Puerto Rico	83%
32=	Singapore	83%
32=	Slovakia	83%
34	Spain	82%
35	Austria	81%
	The Americas Avg	56.4%
	World Avg	48.1%
q=201.

IPv6 Uptake Higher is better₃₂
Pos.		2017 Ratio₃₂
1	Belgium	55.4
2	Germany	41.8
3	Switzerland	35.1
	...
63=	Moldova	0.3
64	UAE	0.3
65	Seychelles	0.2
66	Puerto Rico	0.2
67	Indonesia	0.2
68	S. Africa	0.1
69	Jersey	0.1
70=	Sudan	0.1
	The Americas Avg	3.36
	World Avg	3.82
q=176.

7. Religion and Beliefs

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

Religiosity (2018)₃₀
Pos.		Lower is better %₃₀
1	China	3
2	Estonia	6
3	Czechia	7
	...
65	S. Africa	75
66=	Ecuador	76
66=	Costa Rica	76
68=	Puerto Rico	77
68=	Malaysia	77
68=	Colombia	77
71=	Dominican Rep.	78
71=	Iran	78
71=	Tunisia	78
74=	Bangladesh	80
74=	India	80
76	Iraq	82
77=	El Salvador	85
77=	Jordan	85
79=	Palestine	86
79=	Uganda	86
	World Avg	54.3
q=106.

Pew Forum polling over the decades has found the following adherency rates:₃₃:

	2010	2020
Christian	88.9%	88.8%
Unaffiliated	10.3%	10.4%
Other	0.214%	0.29%
Buddhist	0.258%	0.22%
Hindu	0.123%	0.118%
Muslim	0.102%	0.108%
Jewish	<0.1%	<0.1%

The CIA World Factbook has slightly different data, and states simply: Roman Catholic 85%, Protestant and other 15%₃₄.

Links:

A List of All Religions and Belief Systems