Here, let us take a look at the Geography of Puerto Rico. Important location along the Mona Passage -- a key shipping lane to the Panama Canal; San Juan is one of the biggest and best natural harbors in the Caribbean; many small rivers and high central mountains ensure land is well watered; south coast relatively dry; fertile coastal plain belt in north. Mother's mean age at first birth is (), whereas, the Maternal mortality ratio is 34 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)
Location | Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of the Dominican Republic |
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Geographic coordinates | 18 15 N, 66 30 W |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean |
Tarrain | mostly mountains with coastal plain in north; precipitous mountains to the sea on west coast; sandy beaches along most coastal areas |
Natural Resources | some copper and nickel; potential for onshore and offshore oil |
Natural Hazards | periodic droughts; hurricanes |
Irrigated Land | 220 sq km (2012) |
Major rivers (by length in km) | |
Major aquifers | |
Land Boundaries | 0 km |
Border Countries | |
Coastline | 501 km |
Climate | tropical marine, mild; little seasonal temperature variation |
Area | |
Total Area | |
Land Area | 8,959 sq km |
Water Area | 145 sq km |
comparative Area | slightly less than three times the size of Rhode Island |
Maritime Claims | |
Territorial sea | 12 nm |
Exclusive economic zone | 200 nm |
Elevations | |
Highest point | Cerro de Punta 1,338 m |
Lowest point | Caribbean Sea 0 m |
Mean elevation | 261 m |
Land Use | |
Agricultural land | 22% (2018 est.) |
Agricultural land: arable land | arable land: 6.6% (2018 est.) |
Agricultural land: permanent crops | permanent crops: 5.6% (2018 est.) |
Agricultural land: permanent pasture | permanent pasture: 9.8% (2018 est.) |
Forest | 63.2% (2018 est.) |
Other | 14.8% (2018 est.) |
Population clusters tend to be found along the coast, the largest of these is found in and around San Juan; an exception to this is a sizeable population located in the interior of the island immediately south of the capital around Caguas; most of the interior, particularly in the western half of the island, is dominated by the Cordillera Central mountains, where population density is low
In Puerto Rico, the different Ethnic groups are such that we have: White 75.8%, Black/African American 12.4%, other 8.5% (includes American Indian, Alaskan Native, Native Hawaiian, other Pacific Islander, and others), mixed 3.3% (2010 est.)
Population | |
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Pop growth rate | -1.2% (2024 est.) |
Birth rate | 7.8 births/1,000 population (2024 est.) |
Death rate | 10.2 deaths/1,000 population (2024 est.) |
Health expenditure | NA |
Physicians Density | |
Hospital bed Density | |
Total fertility rate | 1.26 children born/woman (2024 est.) |
Gross reproduction rate | 0.61 (2024 est.) |
Contraceptive prevalence rate | NA |
Est married women (ages 15-49) | 37.4% (2023 est.) |
Literacy | age 15 and over can read and write |
Education expenditures | 3.6% of GDP (2021 est.) |
Net Migration rate | -9.6 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2024 est.) |
Nationality | Puerto Rican | Puerto Rican(s) (US citizens) |
Languages | |
Religions | Roman Catholic 56%, Protestant 33% (largely Pentecostal), other 2%, atheist 1%, none 7% (2014 est.) |
Age Structure | |
0-14 years | 12.5% (male 191,649/female 184,597) |
15-64 years | 62.6% (male 904,406/female 986,778) |
65 years and over | 24.9% (2024 est.) (male 322,698/female 429,322) |
Dependency Ratios | |
Total dependency ratio | 56.3 |
Youth dependency ratio | 21.3 |
Elderly dependency ratio | 34.9 |
Potential support ratio | 2.9 (2021 est.) |
Median Age | |
Total | 46.1 years (2024 est.) |
Male | 44.2 years |
Female | 47.8 years |
Urbanization | |
Urban population | 93.6% of total population (2023) |
Rate of urbanization | -0.12% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.) |
Major urban areas (Pop) | 2.440 million SAN JUAN (capital) (2023). |
Sex Ratio | |
At birth | 1.06 male(s)/female |
0-14 years | 1.04 male(s)/female |
15-64 years | 0.92 male(s)/female |
65 years and over | 0.75 male(s)/female |
Total population | 0.89 male(s)/female (2024 est.) |
Infant Motality | |
Total | 5.8 deaths/1,000 live births (2024 est.) |
Male | 6.4 deaths/1,000 live births |
Female | 5.2 deaths/1,000 live births |
Life Expectancy at birth | |
Total population | 82.1 years (2024 est.) |
Male | 78.9 years |
Female | 85.5 years |
Drinking Water Sources | |
Improved: urban | urban: NA |
Improved: rural | rural: NA |
Improved: total | total: 100% of population |
Unimproved: urban | urban: NA |
Unimproved: rural | rural: NA |
Unimproved: total | total: 0% of population (2020 est.) |
Sanitation facility acess | |
Improved: urban | urban: NA |
Improved: rural | rural: NA |
Improved: total | total: 100% of population |
Unimproved: urban | urban: NA |
Unimproved: rural | rural: NA |
Unimproved: total | total: 0% of population (2020 est.) |
Want to know more about Puerto Rico? Check all different factbooks for Puerto Rico below.