Puerto Rico - Geography

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.)

Geographical data of Puerto Rico
Location Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of the Dominican Republic
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 Distribution

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

People and Society

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
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.)
Demographic profile
All Important Facts about Puerto Rico

Want to know more about Puerto Rico? Check all different factbooks for Puerto Rico below.

Puerto Rico is found in Caribbean