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 |
Capital
|
San Juan |
Largest
Cities
|
San Juan, Bayamón, Ponce, Carolina, and Mayagüez |
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 |
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 |
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. |