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Pharmaceutical Industry Association of Puerto Rico
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Discovered by Columbus in 1493, the island of Puerto Rico was ceded by Spain to the United States in 1898, the Spanish-American War. A popularly elected governor has served since 1948.
People  |  Government  |  Economy  |  Geography  |  Transportation | Communications | Census 2000
PEOPLE

Population
3,916,632 *


Citizenship

United States

Age Structure:
*
  • 0-14 - 22% 
    male: 441,594
    female:421,986
  • 15-64 - 65.5%
    male: 1,228,583
    female:1,337,006
  • 65 and older - 12.4%
    male: 211,283
    female:276,120
Population growth rate*
0.47%

Birth rate
*
13.93 births / 1,000 population

Death rate
7.86deaths/1,000*


Population Density
  • 1, 1 12 people
    per square mile
  • 414 homes
    per square mile
Life Expectancy at birth*
  • Total population:78.29 years
  • Male: 74.35 years
  • Female: 82.43 years
  • Total fertility rate:
      1.91 children born/woman
Ethnic Groups
  • Black 8%
  • White 80.5%
    (mostly spanish origin)
  • Other 11.5%
Religions
  • Roman Catholic85%
  • Protestant 15%
Languages
Spanish, English

Literacy
*
  • Total (age 15 and over): 94.1%
  • Male: 93.9%
  • Female: 94.4% (1980 est.)
*2005 estimates
 
GOVERNMENT
Commonwealth of PR
Short form: Puerto Rico

Government type
Commonwealth

Constitution
Ratified March 3, 1952

Legal system
Based on spanish civil code

Suffrage
18 years of age. Inhabitants are U.S. citizens but do not vote in U.S. presidential elections.

Flag of Puerto Rico
Five horizontal bands of red alternating with white; a blue triangle bears a white star. Design influenced by the US flag and based on the Cuban flag.

Head of government
Governor Luis Fortuño

Political parties and leaders
  • New Progressive Party (NPP):
    Luis Fortuño
  • Popular Democratic Party (PDP):
    Hector Ferrer
  • Puerto Rico Independence Party (PIP): Rubén Berrios Martínez
  • Puertorricans for Puerto Rico (PPR): Rogelio Figueroa

Cabinet
Appointed by the governor with the consent of the legislature

Legislative branch
bicameral Legislative Assembly consists of the Senate (at least 27 seats - currently 29; members are directly elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) and the House of Representatives (51 seats; members are directly elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)

Judicial branch
  • U.S. District Court
  • Supreme Court
  • Circuit Court of Appeals
  • Court of First Instance
Administrative divisions
Capital city: San Juan 78 municipalities

Representation in the U.S.
Puerto Rico elects one nonvoting representative to the U.S House of Representatives known as a resident commisioner, currently Pedro Pierluisi(NPP)

Elections
Elections for Governor, Resident Commissioner, senate, House of Representatives and municipalities last held November 2, 2008

Election results
  • Governor Luis Fortuño (PNP) elected with 52.7% of vote.
  • Senate seats by party:
    NPP 17, PDP 9, PIP 1.
  • House of Representatives seats by party:
    PDP 18, NPP 32, PIP 1.
International organizations
ICFTU, Interpol (subbureau), IOC, WCL, WFTU, WHO,UPU,WTOO(Associate)
Military
Defense provided by United States
ECONOMY
Puerto Rico has one of the most dynamic economies in the Caribbean region. Plantation sugar production dominated Puerto Rico's economy until the 1940s. Industry has surpassed agriculture as the primary sector of economic activity and income. Encouraged by duty free access to the U.S. and by tax incentives, U.S. firms have invested heavily in Puerto Rico since the 1950s (U.S. minimum wage laws apply). As a result, Puerto Rico's export and import has prospered, nearly doubled between fiscal years 1987 and 1997. Recently the economy has suffered budget cuts from U.S. The Puerto Rican economy has depended heavily on the tax incentives given to U.S. mainland companies and on federal transfers. Important industries include pharmaceuticals, electronics, textiles, petrochemicals, processed foods, clothing and textiles. The principal livestock are cattle, pigs and poultry. Tourism has traditionally been an important source of income for the island, with estimated arrivals of nearly 3.9 million tourists in 1993, and a 7% of the Island's GNP, the tourism industry employees over 60,000 people.
GNP GNP - real growth rate GNP - per capita
$47.2 billion*  1.7% $12,239
GDP GDP - real growth rate GDP - per capita
$72.37 billion 2.5%* $18,500*
GDP - composition by sector
  • Agriculture: 1%
  • Industry: 45%
  • Services: 54% (1999 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)
4.8%

Labor force

1.4 million

Labor force - by occupation
  • Agriculture: 3%, 
  • Industry: 20%,
  • Services: 77%*
Unemployment rate
12%

Budget

Revenues: $6.7 billion
Industries
Pharmaceuticals, electronics, apparel, food products; tourism

Electricity: Production

23.03 billion kWh (2003 est.)

Electricity: Production by source

fossil fuel: 98.45%
Hydro:1.55%

Electricity: consumption

21.42 billion kWh (2003 est.)

Agricultural Products
:
Sugarcane, coffee, pineapples, plantains, bananas; livestock products, chickens

Exports:

$46.9 billion

Exports: partners

U.S. 90.3%(2004)
Exports: commodities
Pharmaceuticals, electronics, apparel, canned tuna, rum, beverage concentrates, medical equipment

Imports:

$29.1 billion

Imports: partners

U.S. 55%

Imports: commodities

chemical , machinery and equipment, clothing, food, fish, petroleum products

Currency

U.S. dollar (USD)

Fiscal Year

1 July - 30 June
*2005 estimates
GEOGRAPHY
Location
Between the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, east of the Dominican Republic.

Geographic coordinates

18 15N,66 30W

Area
  • Total: 9,104 sq km
  • Land: 8,959 sq km
  • Water: 145 sq km
Area (comparative)
Slightly less than three times the size of Rhode Island.
Climate
Tropical marine, mild; little seasonal temperature variation.
Average high: 84
oF.
Average Low: 73
oF.
Average monthly rainfall: 5 in.

Natural Hazards

Periodic droughts; hurricanes

Maritime claims

Exclusive economic zone: 200 NM

Territorial sea
12 NM

Coastline
501 km
Terrain
Mostly mountains, with coastal plain belt in north; mountains precipitous to sea on west coast; sandy beaches along most coastal areas.

Elevation extremes
  • lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
  • highest point: Cerro La Punta 1,338 m
Natural Resources
  • Some copper and nickel; potential for onshore and offshore oil
  • Land use: arable land: 4%
  • Permanent crops: 5%
  • Permanent pastures: 26%
  • Forests and woodland: 16%
  • Other: 49% (1993 est.)
  • Integrated land: 390 sq km (1993 est.)
   
TRANSPORTATION
Highways
  • Total: 25,328 km
  • Paved: 23,665 km
  • Unpaved: 1,363 km (2004)
Airports
  • 30 Airports
  • paved runways: 17
Ports and harbors
  • Aguadilla
  • Arecibo
  • Fajardo
  • Guánica
  • Guayanilla
  • Guayama
  • Mayaguez
  • Playa de Ponce
  • San Juan
   
COMMUNICATIONS
Telephone system 
Modern system, integrated with that of the U.S. by high-capacity submarine cable and Intelsat with high speed data capability
  • Domestic:
    digital telephone system;cellular telephone service
  • International:
    satellite earth station

Television
  • Stations: 18
  • Cable Providers: 4
  • Cable subscribers: 360,000
  • Satellite TV Subscribers: 154,000
  • TV Sets: 2.3 million
Radio
  • 72 AM broadcast stations
  • 17 FM broadcast stations
  • Radios: 2.7 million (1997)
Internet
  • Internet country code: .pr
  • Internet Service Providers: 28
  • Internet users: 600,000 (2002)
Telephones
  • Lines in use:
      1,322 million (1997)
  • Mobile cellular:
      1.4 million
   
CENSUS 2000
Education
  • High school degree: 23%
  • Bachelor's degree: 13.6%
  • Graduate degree: 4.7%

lncome (annual)
  • Median household income: $14,412
  • 37.1%, of households earn less than $10,000;
  • 2.4% of households earn $150,000 or more
  • 44.6% of households are below federal poverty level
 
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