Puerto Rico Fact Sheet
Official Name
 Puerto Rico -  The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico
Nick name
 Borinquen
Official Languages
 Spanish and English (25% are fluent in English - most know some)
Nationality
 Puerto Rican and American citizens, "Boricua" (indigenous term)
Ethnic Group
 Hispanic
Location
 Caribbean Sea, approximately 1000 miles from Miami
Size
 Roughly 110 miles by 36 miles
Total area
 3,492 sq. mi.
Land area
 3,427 sq. mi.
Land regions
 (1) the Coastal Lowlands, (2) the Coastal Valleys,
            (3) the Foothills, and (4) the Central Mountains.
Discovery
 November 19, 1493 by Cristóforo Colombo
Ruled by:

1493-1898 Spanish colony
1898-present U.S. colony
Capital
 San Juan
Largest Cities
 San Juan, Bayamón, Ponce, Carolina, and Mayagüez
Flag
 Five equal horizontal bands of red (top and bottom) alternating with white; a blue isosceles triangle based on the hoist side bears a large white five-pointed star in the center; design based on the Cuban flag with inverted colors.
National Hymn
 La Borinqueña
National Holiday
 Discovery Day - November 19th (Celebrates most U.S. Holidays)
National Symbol
 El Coquí, a tiny 1" tree frog that sings throughout the night
National Tree
 Ceiba
National Flower
 Maga
National Bird
 Reinita
National Sport
 Beisbol (baseball)
National Motto
 Joannes Est Nomen Eius (John is his name)
Indigenous People
Taíno Indians
Religion
 85% Catholic
Counties
or municipios
 Total 78 (each municipio has an urban or semiurban nucleus (city, town, or village) and may include both urban and rural areas.
Government

Head of State - The President of the United States
Governor elected by the people.
Congress made up of two houses 1) Senate & 2) House of Representatives. All elected by the populous.
Judiciary system modeled after the U.S.
Has the same structure as U.S. Government and runs much like a state.
Representation

The island is represented in the U.S. Congress by a Resident Commissioner who has a voice but no vote.
Political Parties

PPD - Partido Popular Democratico
PNP - Partido Nuevo Progresista
PIP - Partido Independentista Puertorriqueño
Population
 3,808,610 (2000) - approx. 3.9 plus million live in mainland USA
Literacy Rate
 90% - better than most states (US Labor Department figures)
Education Level
 56% have at least one year of college (US Labor Department figures)
Currency
 U.S. dollar
Terrain
 Mostly mountains with coastal plain belt in north; mountains precipitous to sea on west coast; sandy beaches along most coastal areas
Climate
 Tropical marine, mild, little seasonal temperature variation.
Average temperature 72 degrees.
Elevation
 Lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
Highest point: Cerro de Punta 1,338 m (4,389 feet) in Jayuya.
Suffrage
 18 years of age; universal; indigenous inhabitants are U.S. citizens but do not vote in presidential elections.
Natural resources
 Some copper and nickel, potential for onshore and offshore oil
Principal industries
 manufacturing
Principal manufactured goods
 pharmaceuticals; chemicals, machinery and metals, electric machinery              and equipment, food products, apparel, petroleum refining.
Chief crops
 coffee, plantains, pineapples, tomatoes, sugarcane, bananas, peppers,              pumpkins, lettuce, tobacco, yams.
Tourist Attractions
 Old San Juan including El Morro, La Fortaleza, and all the sites. Arecibo Observatory; La Parguera, Cueva del Indio, Tibes Indian Ceremonial site, Caguana Indian Ceremonial Park, City of Ponce, Ponce Museum of Art, Luquillo Beach, El Yunque Rain Forest, Cueva de Camuy, Mona Island Reserve, Vieques Island, and countless others.
"Father of
Puerto Rico"
 Luis Muñoz Marín

Notable Boricuas

 Cacique Agüeybaná, Luis Muñoz Rivera, Luis Muñoz Marín, Dr. Pedro Albizu Campos, Dr. Ricardo Alegría, José Celso Barbosa, Mariana Bracetti, Dr. Emeterio Betances, Julia de Burgos, Pablo Casals, Orlando Cepeda, Roberto Clemente, José de Diego, José Feliciano, Luis A. Ferré, José Ferrer, Doña Felisa Rincón de Gautier, Commodore Diégo E. Hernández, Rafael Hernández (El Jibarito), Raúl Julía, Luis Palés Matos, Concha Meléndez, Rita Moreno, Adm. Horacio Rivero, Ricky Martin, Marc Anthony, Tito  Puente, José Campeche, Eugenio María de Hostos, Luis Lloréns Torres, Francisco Oller, Lola Rodríguez de Tió and many more.

TOP

Back to EL BORICUA