Puerto Rico

Commonwealth of Puerto Rico Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico  (Spanish)
Flag Coat of arms
Capital and largest city	San Juan 18°15′N 66°30′W / 18.25°N 66.5°W / 18.25; -66.5
Official languages	Spanish and English
Other languages	French, Taíno (historical, extinct)
Ethnic groups	70% White 22% Mixed 8% Black
Demonym(s)	Puerto Rican American
Government	Republic, three-branch government
• President	Joe Biden (D)
• Governor	Pedro Pierluisi (NPP/D)
• Federal legislative branch	United States Congress
Sovereignty   United States[1]
• Cession	December 10, 1898 incorporated as official territory of the  United States
Area
• Total	9,104 km2 (3,515 sq mi) (169th)
• Water	1,809 sq mi (4,690 km2)
• Water (%)	1.6
Population
• 2018 estimate	3,195,153 (127th in the world; 29th in U.S.)
• Density	418/km2 (1,082.6/sq mi) (21st in the world; 2nd in U.S.)
GDP (PPP)	2007 estimate
• Total	$77.4 billion (N/A)
• Per capita	$19,600 (N/A)
GDP (nominal)	2010 estimate
• Total	$96.26  billion[2] (N/A)
• Per capita	$24,229[2] (N/A)
Gini (2009)	53.2[3] high · ?th
Currency	United States dollar (USD)
Time zone	UTC–4 (AST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC–4 (No DST)
Driving side	right
Calling code	+1 (spec. +1-787 and +1-939)
ISO 3166 code	PR
Internet TLD	.pr

Puerto Rico, or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico (Spanish: Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico), is a U.S. territory in the Caribbean Sea.^[4] This means that it belongs to the United States and citizens of Puerto Rico are citizens of the United States as well. Puerto Rico is not an independent country, but like all populated U.S. territories, it enjoys a greater degree of autonomy than U.S. states. There has been a movement for independence for almost two centuries. There have been protests, votes, and armed attacks for independence.^[5][6][7]

Puerto Rico has about 3.3 million (3,300,000) people. Its political system is based on a republican system. It has two official languages: Spanish and English, but Spanish is almost only used by the government, the legislature and the judiciary (courts). Spanish is also the main language of the school curriculum, though English is taught in all schools as a second language (from grade 1 to 12). Puerto Rico is one of two U.S. territories where the metric system is officially used and is dominant. (The other is Guam, which was also a Spanish colony. The metric system was introduced to both territories, before they became U.S. territories.)^[8] Spanish is spoken by 94.7% of the population and English is spoken by 5.3% of the population as a mother language. The currency used is the United States dollar.

The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico includes the largest, main island and a number of smaller islands, including Mona, Vieques, and Culebra. Of those three smaller islands, only Culebra and Vieques are populated all year. Mona is unpopulated, but employees of the Puerto Rico Department of Natural Resources sometimes visit the island to inspect it and its wildlife. People can visit the island for hiking and camping by getting the permission needed. San Juan, on the northern side of the main island, is the island's largest city and the capital of the territory.

Puerto Rico means "rich port" in Spanish.

On May 3, 2017, Puerto Rico filed for bankruptcy after a massive debt and weak economy.^[9] It is the largest bankruptcy case in American history.^[9]

1. ↑ Cite error: The named reference ussd was used but no text was provided for refs named (see the help page).
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} "Government Development Bank of Puerto Rico, May 2011" (PDF). gdb-pur.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-01-31. Retrieved June 2, 2011.
3. ↑ https://www.census.gov/hhes/www/income/data/historical/state/state4.html Archived 2015-09-24 at the Wayback Machine (in English)
4. ↑ More exactly, it is an unincorporated territory.
5. ↑ "Audio of Lolita Lebron at 1954 attack". Freedom Archives. Archived from the original on 2020-12-04. Retrieved 2020-11-17.
6. ↑ "El Grito de Lares". New York Latino Journal. Archived from the original on 2011-07-21.
7. ↑ Qvortrup, Matt (2015-07-10). "Voting on Independence and National Issues: A Historical and Comparative Study of Referendums on Self-Determination and Secession". Revue Française de Civilisation Britannique. French Journal of British Studies. 20 (XX-2). doi:10.4000/rfcb.366. ISSN 0248-9015. Archived from the original on 2020-11-09. Retrieved 2020-11-17.
8. ↑ "US leaves the world puzzled by dragging its feet on metric system". The Nation Thailand. 2015-12-26. Archived from the original on 2023-01-28. Retrieved 2023-01-28.
9. ↑ ^{9.0 9.1} "Puerto Rico files for biggest ever U.S. local government bankruptcy". Reuters. May 3, 2017. Archived from the original on September 10, 2017. Retrieved August 31, 2017.