Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico is a US territory in the northeastern Caribbean. Its capital is San Juan.

Find Puerto Rico

● Capital · Gold highlights this card’s area.
Map: Natural Earth. Boundaries show geographic context, not a position on sovereignty. Small islands may use enlarged markers.

At a glance

Capital: San Juan
Languages: Spanish & English
Currency: United States dollar (USD)
Population: 3.2 million2025 · World Bank
Area: 8,870 km²3,424.72 square miles
Constitution: 1952Unincorporated territory of the United States.

Puerto Rico in context

North America and its surrounding regions. The dot marks San Juan; the mapped territory is highlighted in gold.

Natural Earth · locator map

Geography & languages

Physical geography

Mostly mountains with coastal plain in north; precipitous mountains to the sea on west coast; sandy beaches along most coastal areas.

Languages

Spanish and English are official languages. Spanish predominates in everyday life.

Location

Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of the Dominican Republic.

Flag

Five equal horizontal bands of red alternating with white; a blue isosceles triangle based on the left side has a large five-pointed white star in the center

Sources: CIA World Factbook · archived profile

History & status

Taíno communities inhabited Puerto Rico before Spanish colonization. Spain ceded the island to the United States in 1898 after the Spanish-American War. US citizenship was granted to Puerto Ricans in 1917. A 1952 constitution established internal self-government; Puerto Rico remains a US territory, not a state or independent country.

1898
Spain cedes Puerto Rico to the United States
1917
US citizenship is granted to Puerto Ricans
1952
The constitution for internal self-government takes effect

Sources: CIA World Factbook · archived profile

Economy

Main activities

Pharmaceuticals, medical devices and other manufacturing contribute substantially to output and exports. Services, tourism and public administration are also important. Corporate production figures should not be read as the income received by households.

Industry and production

pharmaceuticals, electronics, apparel, food products, tourism

Sources: CIA World Factbook · archived profile

Population & economic trends

Dated World Bank observations. Population uses selected years; real GDP uses all available annual observations.

Population, 1970–2025

Millions of people

3.22025 · millions of people

Population estimates may be revised. Selected years are shown.

Sources: World Bank · Population

View data table

Population: source values and plotted units
Year	People	Millions of people
1970	2,718,000	2.718
1980	3,206,000	3.206
1990	3,537,000	3.537
2000	3,810,605	3.811
2010	3,724,465	3.724
2020	3,281,591	3.282
2025	3,184,835	3.185

Real GDP, 1990–2025

Billions of constant 2015 US dollars

99.52025 · billions of constant 2015 US dollars

Constant prices adjust for inflation. This is total economic output, not current-dollar GDP or income per person. Missing years are left as gaps.

Sources: World Bank · Real GDP

View data table

Real GDP: source values and plotted units
Year	Constant 2015 US$	Billions of constant 2015 US dollars
1990	66,260,903,262	66.261
1991	67,787,813,678	67.788
1992	70,881,684,618	70.882
1993	74,173,803,638	74.174
1994	77,278,688,339	77.279
1995	80,794,086,619	80.794
1996	82,663,425,484	82.663
1997	86,697,472,738	86.697
1998	91,492,472,088	91.492
1999	96,423,641,766	96.424
2000	99,578,589,113	99.579
2001	105,865,455,033	105.865
2002	106,835,668,972	106.836
2003	106,892,740,375	106.893
2004	116,244,440,860	116.244
2005	113,934,735,058	113.935
2006	112,328,922,886	112.329
2007	111,022,754,695	111.023
2008	108,975,346,085	108.975
2009	106,847,683,984	106.848
2010	106,406,131,529	106.406
2011	106,024,654,229	106.025
2012	106,055,693,106	106.056
2013	105,730,285,957	105.730
2014	104,471,711,253	104.472
2015	103,375,500,000	103.376
2016	102,069,149,649	102.069
2017	99,124,231,779	99.124
2018	94,801,000,740	94.801
2019	96,389,357,184	96.389
2020	92,359,439,313	92.359
2021	92,715,228,857	92.715
2022	95,456,906,861	95.457
2023	96,155,166,599	96.155
2024	99,210,088,885	99.210
2025	99,525,249,620	99.525

Government

An unincorporated US territory with internal self-government. An elected Governor leads the executive, and a Legislative Assembly has a Senate and House of Representatives. Puerto Rico is subject to US federal authority and elects a Resident Commissioner with limited voting rights in Congress.

Sources: CIA World Factbook · archived profile

Knowledge check

Three questions about Puerto Rico.

QUESTION 1 OF 3

In which year did this event occur in Puerto Rico: Spain cedes Puerto Rico to the United States?

Sources & notes

Sources: CIA World Factbook · archived profile

Prepared 24 September 2026. World Bank series: SP.POP.TOTL (persons) and NY.GDP.MKTP.KD (constant 2015 US dollars); downloaded 24 September 2026, provider update 13 July 2026. UNDP values use the 2025 report and 2023 observation year. These are dated statistical snapshots, not live population or economic counters.

Maps use Natural Earth geographic data. Background geography, flag descriptions and selected historical facts use archived public-domain CIA World Factbook profiles, supplemented by the sources linked above. The Factbook is no longer updated; dated statistics here come from the separately named providers.