Demographics of Puerto Rico

Demographics of Puerto Rico
Population Change Timeline (1961-2003)
Population Density
Population (2015)	3,474,182
Male population (2010)	1,785,171
Female population (2010)	1,940,618
Population growth	-1.32%
Birth rate	9.8/1,000
Death rate	8.6/1,000
Infant mortality rate	8.24/1,000
Life expectancy	78.29 years
Nationality	Puerto Rican
Demographic bureaus	2010 United States Census

The population of Puerto Rico has been shaped by Amerindian settlement, European colonization especially under the Spanish Empire, slavery and economic migration. This article is about the demographic features of the population of Puerto Rico, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.

History of migration

Historical population
Year	Pop.	±%
1765	44,883	—
1775	70,250	+56.5%
1800	155,426	+121.2%
1815	220,892	+42.1%
1832	350,051	+58.5%
1846	447,914	+28.0%
1860	583,308	+30.2%
1877	731,648	+25.4%
1887	798,565	+9.1%
1899	953,243	+19.4%
1910	1,118,012	+17.3%
1920	1,299,809	+16.3%
1930	1,543,913	+18.8%
1940	1,869,255	+21.1%
1950	2,210,703	+18.3%
1960	2,349,544	+6.3%
1970	2,712,033	+15.4%
1980	3,196,520	+17.9%
1990	3,522,037	+10.2%
2000	3,808,610	+8.1%
2010	3,725,789	−2.2%
2015	3,474,182	−6.8%
The Spanish Government took the censuses from 1765 to 1887.[1] The United States War Department took the census in 1899. 1910–2010[2] 2015 Estimate[3]

The inhabitants of Puerto Rico immediately before the first European contact were part of the Arawak group of Amerindians. They called the island, Borikén (alt. Borinquén) and themselves "Boricuas". They were named the Taíno by Christopher Columbus in 1493.

Immigration

The Spanish conquered the island, assuming government in 1508, colonized it, and assumed hegemony over the natives. The Taíno population dwindled due to disease, tribal warfare, and forced labor, so the Spanish began importing large numbers of slaves from Africa. Spanish men arrived on the island disproportionately to Spanish women; Taíno women would sometimes marry them, resulting in a mestizo, or "mixed" ethnicity.

In the late 18th century the number of African slaves began to dwindle on the island. The British ban on slavery resulted in slave raids on Puerto Rico. Many slaves also escaped to neighboring islands.

During the 19th century large numbers of immigrants from Spain, as well as numerous Spaniards living in former Spanish colonies in South America, also arrived in Puerto Rico (See Spanish immigration to Puerto Rico). Although the vast majority of settlers came from Spain, Catholics from France, Ireland, Italy and other European countries were also granted land from Spain during the Real Cedula de Gracias de 1815 (Royal Decree of Graces of 1815), were allowed to settle in the island with a certain amount of free land and enslaved persons.

This mass immigration during the 19th century helped the population grow from 155,000 in 1800 to almost a million at the close of the century. During the early 20th century Jews began to settle in Puerto Rico. The first large group of Jews to settle in Puerto Rico were European refugees fleeing German–occupied Europe in the 1930s. Puerto Rico's economic boom of the 1950s attracted a considerable number of Jewish families from the U.S. mainland, who were joined after 1959 by an influx of Jewish emigres from Castro's Cuba.^[4]

Emigration

Emigration has been a major part of Puerto Rico's recent history as well. Starting in the post-World War II period waves of Puerto Ricans moved to the continental United States, particularly to New York City; Newark, Jersey City, Paterson, and Camden, New Jersey; Providence, Rhode Island; Springfield; Hartford and New Haven, Connecticut; Boston, Massachusetts; Orlando, Miami and Tampa, Florida; Philadelphia and Reading, Pennsylvania; Washington, D.C., Chicago and Los Angeles, California. This continued even as Puerto Rico's economy improved and its birth rate declined. The 2010 Census in fact recorded Puerto Rico's first population drop in history. Puerto Rico's demographics are therefore atypical for Latin America, and instead more resemble those of many Eastern European countries such as Romania or Lithuania.

Vital statistics

Puerto Rico's vital statistics 1910–2012^[5][6][7][8]

	Average population (x 1000)	Live births	Deaths	Natural change	Crude birth rate (per 1000)	Crude death rate (per 1000)	Natural change (per 1000)	TFR
1910	1 118	37 600	26 600	11 000	33.6	23.8	9.8
1911	1 140	39 100	26 600	12 500	34.3	23.3	11.0
1912	1 150	40 400	26 900	13 500	35.1	23.4	11.7
1913	1 170	42 700	23 200	19 500	36.5	19.8	16.7
1914	1 190	47 400	22 300	25 100	39.8	18.7	21.1
1915	1 210	45 000	25 000	20 000	37.2	20.7	16.5
1916	1 230	43 200	29 400	13 800	35.1	23.9	11.2
1917	1 250	44 300	38 600	5 700	35.4	30.9	4.5
1918	1 260	51 500	38 900	12 600	40.9	30.9	10.0
1919	1 280	46 000	30 300	15 700	35.9	23.7	12.2
1920	1 300	49 900	29 600	20 300	38.4	22.8	15.6
1921	1 320	50 600	29 700	20 900	38.3	22.5	15.8
1922	1 350	50 500	29 400	21 100	37.4	21.8	15.6
1923	1 370	50 700	26 900	23 800	37.0	19.6	17.4
1924	1 400	53 600	27 200	26 400	38.3	19.4	18.9
1925	1 420	52 700	33 200	19 500	37.1	23.4	13.7
1926	1 450	55 500	32 300	23 200	38.3	22.3	16.0
1927	1 470	58 200	33 500	24 700	39.6	22.8	16.8
1928	1 500	52 900	29 700	23 200	35.3	19.8	15.5
1929	1 520	52 300	40 700	11 600	34.4	26.8	7.6
1930	1 544	54 300	31 500	22 800	35.2	20.4	14.8
1931	1 580	71 600	35 200	36 400	45.3	22.3	23.0
1932	1 615	66 400	35 500	30 900	41.1	22.0	19.1
1933	1 647	61 600	36 700	24 900	37.4	22.3	15.1
1934	1 679	65 595	31 684	33 911	39.1	18.9	20.2
1935	1 710	67 585	30 748	36 837	39.5	18.0	21.5
1936	1 743	68 962	34 790	34 172	39.6	20.0	19.6
1937	1 777	67 919	37 132	30 787	38.2	20.9	17.3
1938	1 810	69 823	33 870	35 953	38.6	18.7	19.9
1939	1 844	73 044	32 631	40 413	39.6	17.7	21.9
1940	1 879	72 388	34 477	37 911	38.5	18.3	20.2
1941	1 926	76 130	35 551	40 579	39.5	18.5	21.1
1942	1 973	78 405	32 218	46 187	39.7	16.3	23.4
1943	2 012	77 304	29 065	48 239	38.4	14.4	24.0
1944	2 037	82 534	29 843	52 691	40.5	14.7	25.9
1945	2 070	86 680	28 837	57 843	41.9	13.9	27.9
1946	2 100	88 421	27 517	60 904	42.1	13.1	29.0
1947	2 149	91 305	25 407	65 898	42.5	11.8	30.7
1948	2 187	87 809	26 209	61 600	40.2	12.0	28.2
1949	2 197	85 625	23 389	62 236	39.0	10.6	28.3
1950	2 218	86 038	21 895	64 143	38.8	9.9	27.9
1951	2 210	84 076	22 374	61 702	38.0	10.1	27.9
1952	2 212	80 438	20 480	59 958	36.3	9.3	27.1
1953	2 221	77 754	17 972	59 782	35.0	8.1	26.9
1954	2 233	78 008	16 783	61 225	34.9	7.5	27.4
1955	2 247	79 221	16 243	62 978	35.2	7.2	28.0
1956	2 262	78 177	16 607	61 570	34.5	7.3	27.2
1957	2 279	76 068	16 022	60 046	33.3	7.0	26.3
1958	2 299	76 128	16 099	60 029	33.1	7.0	26.1
1959	2 323	74 933	15 870	59 063	32.2	6.8	25.4
1960	2 356	76 015	15 841	60 174	32.2	6.7	25.5
1961	2 396	75 563	16 361	59 202	31.5	6.8	24.7
1962	2 442	76 677	16 575	60 102	31.3	6.8	24.6
1963	2 491	77 382	17 386	59 996	31.0	7.0	24.0
1964	2 538	78 837	18 556	60 281	31.0	7.3	23.7
1965	2 578	79 586	17 719	61 867	30.8	6.9	24.0
1966	2 609	75 735	17 506	58 229	29.0	6.7	22.3
1967	2 634	70 755	16 780	53 975	26.8	6.4	20.4
1968	2 656	67 989	17 481	50 508	25.5	6.6	19.0
1969	2 680	67 577	17 669	49 908	25.1	6.6	18.6
1970	2 710	67 438	18 080	49 358	24.8	6.7	18.2
1971	2 746	71 114	18 144	52 970	25.8	6.6	19.2
1972	2 787	68 914	19 011	49 903	24.7	6.8	17.9
1973	2 833	68 821	19 257	49 564	24.2	6.8	17.5
1974	2 882	70 082	19 490	50 592	24.3	6.7	17.5
1975	2 932	69 691	19 073	50 618	23.7	6.5	17.2
1976	2 984	72 883	19 893	52 990	24.4	6.7	17.7
1977	3 037	75 151	19 895	55 256	24.7	6.5	18.2
1978	3 090	75 066	19 876	55 190	24.2	6.4	17.8
1979	3 141	73 781	20 390	53 391	23.4	6.5	17.0
1980	3 188	73 060	20 486	52 574	22.9	6.4	16.4
1981	3 230	71 365	21 197	50 168	22.0	6.5	15.5
1982	3 269	69 336	21 522	47 814	21.2	6.6	14.6
1983	3 305	65 742	21 499	44 243	19.8	6.5	13.4
1984	3 338	63 321	21 733	41 588	18.9	6.5	12.4
1985	3 370	63 629	23 194	40 435	18.8	6.9	12.0
1986	3 400	63 551	23 387	40 164	18.6	6.9	11.8
1987	3 429	64 393	23 954	40 439	18.7	7.0	11.8
1988	3 457	64 081	25 123	38 958	18.5	7.2	11.2
1989	3 487	66 692	25 987	40 705	19.1	7.4	11.6
1990	3 518	66 565	26 138	40 407	18.9	7.4	11.5
1991	3 552	64 498	26 321	38 177	18.2	7.4	10.7
1992	3 587	64 471	27 389	37 082	18.0	7.6	10.3
1993	3 623	65 258	28 493	36 765	18.0	7.9	10.1
1994	3 657	64 341	28 428	35 913	17.6	7.8	9.8
1995	3 690	63 502	30 184	33 318	17.2	8.2	9.0
1996	3 719	63 259	29 871	33 388	17.0	8.0	9.0
1997	3 747	64 214	29 119	35 095	17.1	7.8	9.4
1998	3 770	60 518	29 990	30 528	16.1	8.0	8.1
1999	3 787	59 684	29 145	30 539	15.8	7.7	8.1
2000	3 797	59 460	28 550	30 910	15.7	7.5	8.1
2001	3 799	55 982	28 794	27 188	14.7	7.6	7.2
2002	3 795	52 871	28 098	24 773	13.9	7.4	6.5
2003	3 785	50 803	28 356	22 447	13.4	7.5	5.9
2004	3 773	51 239	29 066	22 173	13.6	7.7	5.9
2005	3 761	50 687	29 702	20 985	13.5	7.9	5.6
2006	3 750	48 597	28 206	20 391	13.0	7.5	5.4
2007	3 739	46 642	29 169	17 473	12.5	7.8	4.7	1.64
2008	3 729	45 620	29 050	16 570	11.5	7.8	3.7	1.62
2009	3 719	44 773	29 005	15 768	11.3	7.8	3.5	1.59
2010	3 722	42 153	29 153	13 000	11.3	7.8	3.5	1.62
2011	3 679	41 080	29 742	11 338	11.2	8.1	3.1	1.60
2012	3 634	38 900	29 448	9 228	10.7	8.1	2.5	1.54
2013	3 593	38 986	29 009	9 977	10.9	8.1	2.8	1.47
2014	3 535	34 485	30 224	4 261	9.8	8.5	1.2	1.36
2015	3 474	31 272	28 279	2 993	9.0	8.1	0.9

Structure of the population ^[9]

Structure of the population (01.07.2012) (Estimates) (Data refer to projections based on the 2010 Population Census) :

Age Group	Male	Female	Total	%
Total	1 755 479	1 911 605	3 667 084	100
0-4	107 000	102 597	209 597	5,72
5-9	116 188	109 665	225 853	6,16
10-14	129 722	123 006	252 728	6,89
15-19	138 646	132 250	270 896	7,39
20-24	134 894	131 768	266 662	7,27
25-29	112 981	117 257	230 238	6,28
30-34	115 030	125 281	240 311	6,55
35-39	111 971	121 837	233 808	6,38
40-44	113 223	123 276	236 499	6,45
45-49	114 114	129 441	243 555	6,64
50-54	109 550	127 211	236 761	6,46
55-59	103 031	123 108	226 139	6,17
60-64	96 256	115 745	212 001	5,78
65-69	86 858	104 308	191 166	5,21
70-74	64 745	79 593	144 338	3,94
75-79	46 652	60 431	107 083	2,92
80-84	29 398	41 911	71 309	1,94
85+	25 220	42 290	68 140	1,86

Age group	Male	Female	Total	Percent
0-14	352 910	335 268	688 178	18,77
15-64	1 149 696	1 247 174	2 396 870	65,36
65+	252 873	329 163	582 036	15,87

Race and ethnic group

Racial groups - Puerto Rico[10][11][12][13][14]
Year	White %	Non-White
1802	42.0	58.0
1812	40.8	59.2
1820	39.4	60.6
1830	45.1	54.9
1877	52.3	47.7
1887	53.5	46.5
1897	64.3	35.7
1899	61.8	38.2
1910	64.5	35.5
1920	72.0	28.0
1930	73.3	26.7
1935	75.2	24.8
1940	76.0	24.0
1950	79.7	20.3
2000	80.5	19.5
2010	75.8	24.2
Racial composition of the Puerto Rican population, by the census, 1802-2010.

Racial demographic history

The first census by the United States in 1899 reported a population of 953,243 inhabitants, 61.8% of them classified as white, 31.9% as mixed, and 6.3% as black.

A strong European immigration wave and large importation of slaves from Africa helped increase the population of Puerto Rico over sixfold during the 19th century. No major immigration wave occurred during the 20th century.^[15]

The federal Naturalization Act, signed into law on March 26, 1790, by President Washington, explicitly barred anyone not of the White race from applying for U.S. citizenship. This law remained in effect until the 1950s, although its enforcement was tightened in the late 19th century regarding Asian immigrants, and by the Johnson-Reed act of 1924 imposing immigration quotas. In short, until the middle of the 20th century, only immigrants of the White race could hope to become naturalized citizens.

Until 1950 the U.S. Bureau of the Census attempted to quantify the racial composition of the island's population, while experimenting with various racial taxonomies. In 1960 the census dropped the racial identification question for Puerto Rico but included it again in the year 2000. The only category that remained constant over time was white, even as other racial labels shifted greatly—from "colored" to "Black", "mulatto" and "other". Regardless of the precise terminology, the census reported that the bulk of the Puerto Rican population was white from 1899 to 2000.^[11]

In the late 1700s, Puerto Rico had laws like the Regla del Sacar or Gracias al Sacar where a person of mixed ancestry could be considered legally white so long as they could prove that at least one person per generation in the last four generations had also been legally white. Therefore, people of mixed ancestry with known white lineage were classified as white, the opposite of the "one-drop rule" in the United States.^[16]

According to the 1920 Puerto Rico census, 2,505 individuals immigrated to Puerto Rico between 1910 and 1920. Of these, 2,270 were classified as "white" in the 1920 census (1,205 from Spain, 280 from Venezuela, 180 from Cuba, and 135 from the Dominican Republic). During the same 10-year period, 7,873 Puerto Ricans emigrated to the U.S. Of these, 6,561 were listed as "white" on the U.S mainland census, 909 as "Spanish white" and 403 as "black".^[17]

Genetic studies

Racial distribution – 2000 Census[18]
Race	Population	% of Total
Total	3,808,610	100%
One race	3,650,195	95.8%
:White	3,064,862	80.5%
:Black/African American	302,933	8.0%
:American Indian and Alaska Native	13,336	0.4%
:Asian	7,960	0.2%
:Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander	1,093	0.0%
:Some other race	260,011	6.8%
Two or more races	158,415	4.2%

Island Identity survey – 2000 census[19]
Island Identity	% of Total
Puerto Rican	69%
American	2.5%
Spaniard	2.1%
Dominican	1.7%
Hispanic	0.8%

Racial distribution – 2006 ACS[20]
Race	Population	% of Total
White	2,986,427	75.8%
Black/African American	286,049	7.3%
American Indian & Alaska Native	7,831	0.2%
Asian	12,646	0.3%
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander	145	0.0%
Some other race	430,358	10.9%
Two or more races	217,170	5.5%

|} Puerto Ricans, on average, have genetic contributions from Europeans, West Africans, and Native Americans of approximately 66%, 18%, and 16%, respectively.^[21] A recent study of Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) from 800 individuals found that patrilineal input, as indicated by the Y-chromosome, showed 66% of Puerto Ricans could trace their ancestry to male European ancestors, 18% could trace it to male African ancestors, and 16% could trace it to male Native American ancestors.^[22]

Women in the diaspora

In a study done on Puerto Rican women born on the island but living in New York by Carolina Bonilla, Mark D. Shriver and Esteban Parra in 2004, the ancestry proportions corresponding to the three parental populations were found to be 53.3±2.8% European, 29.1±2.3% West African, and 17.6±2.4% Native American based on autosomal ancestry informative markers. Although autosomal markers tests seem to draw a more broad picture than that of single, gender-based mtDNA and Y-Chromosome tests, the problem with autosomnal DNA is in the archaic categories used: "European", "Sub-Saharan African", "East Asian" & "Native American". "Asian" (South, North or East) & "North African" are not included. These generalised categories may not take into account the complexity of migratory patterns across the Old World. The study also found that, from the women sampled, 98% had European ancestry markers, 87% had African ancestry markers, 84% had Native American ancestry markers, 5% showed only African and European markers, 4% showed mostly Native American and European markers, 2% showed only African markers, and 2% showed mostly European markers.^[23]

These findings are consistent with the historical record that the native male Taino population was virtually wiped out shortly after the arrival of the Spanish invaders to the Island.^[24]

Religion

There are many religious beliefs represented in the island. Religious breakdown in Puerto Rico (2006):^[25]

Religion	Adherents	% of Population
Christian	3,752,544	97.00%
Non-religious/other	76,598	1.98%
Spiritist	27,080	0.70%
Muslim	5,029	0.13%
Hindu	3,482	0.09%
Jewish	2,708	0.07%
Buddhist	1,161	0.03%

Christians

Christian Denominational Breakdown (2006):^[26]

Denomination	Adherents
Catholic	1,650,000
Other Pentecostal	229,814
Pentecostal Church of God	100,000
Assemblies of God	56,000
Baptist Convention	35,000
Seventh-day Adventist	31,524
Jehovah's Witnesses	25,778
Church of God (Cleveland)	17,500
Defenders of the Faith	17,500
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints	16,084
Disciples of Christ	10,778
United Methodist	10,000
Boriquen Presby Synod	8,300
Christian and Missionary Alliance	6,500
Church of the Nazarene	2,994
Other	130,400

Catholics

The Roman Catholic Church has been historically the most dominant religion of the majority of Puerto Ricans, with Puerto Rico having the first dioceses in the Americas.^[27]

Protestants

The presence of various Protestant denominations has increased under American sovereignty, making modern Puerto Rico an interconfessional country. Protestantism was suppressed under the Spanish regime, but encouraged under American rule of the island. An example of this was with the Holy Trinity Anglican church in Ponce, which was prevented from ringing its bell until 1898, when American troops landed there.^[28]

Muslims

In 2007, there were over 5,000 Muslims in Puerto Rico, representing about 0.13% of the population.^[29][30] There are eight Islamic mosques spread throughout the island, with most Muslims living in Río Piedras.^[31][32] Puerto Rican converts to Islam continues to occur.^[33] "Ties between Latinos and Islam are more than just spiritual, but date back to Spanish history. Many people do not realize that Muslims ruled Spain for more than 700 years".^[34] And at times not just individuals, but whole families convert. However, lack of Muslim education in the Island forces some Puerto Rican Muslims to migrate to the States.^[34] Islam was brought into Puerto Rico mainly via the Palestinian migration of the 1950s and '60s.^[35] Thus, today there is a strong Palestinian presence among Muslims in Puerto Rico. "They are economically strong and are thus able to pay for a full-time Imaam".^[36]

Jews

Puerto Rico is also home to the largest Jewish community in the Caribbean with 3,000 Jewish inhabitants.^[37] Some Puerto Ricans have converted, not only as individuals but as entire families. Puerto Rico is the only Caribbean island in which the Conservative, Reform and Orthodox Jewish movements are represented.^[4][38]

Pagans

Taíno religious practices have been rediscovered/reinvented by a handful of advocates. Various African religious practices have been present since the arrival of enslaved Africans. In particular, the Yoruba beliefs of Santería and/or Ifá, and the Kongo-derived Palo Mayombe (sometimes called an African belief system, but rather a way of Bantu lifestyle of Congo origin) find adherence among individuals who practice some form of African traditional religion.

CIA World Factbook demographic statistics

The following demographic statistics are from the CIA World Factbook, unless otherwise indicated UI.

Population:

• 3,725,789 (2010 U.S. Census)

Gender:^[39]

• Men: 1,785,171
• Women: 1,940,618

Age structure:

• 0–17 years:
• 24.2% (903,295)
• '18–24 years:
• 10.1% (375,175)
• 25-34 years:
• 13.2% (492,332)
• 35-49 years:
• 19.6% (731,514)
• 50-64 years:
• 18.3% (681,505)
• 65 years and over:
• 14.6% (541,998)

Infant mortality rate:

• Total
• 8.23 deaths/1,000 live births
• Male
  • Deaths/1,000 live births
• Female
  • 7.43 deaths/1,000 live births (2010 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:

• 'Total population:
• 78.77 years
• Male:75.15 years
• Female: 82.57 years (2010 est.)

Total fertility rate:

• 1.62 children born/woman (2010 est.)

Nationality: ^[40]

• Noun: Puerto Rican(s) (US citizens)
• Adjective: Puerto Rican

Ethnic Groups (2010): ^[40]

• White 75.8%
• Black/African 12.4%
• Other 8.5% (includes American Indian, Alaskan Native, Native Hawaiian, Other Pacific Islander, and Others)
• Mixed 3.3%

Religions:^[40]

• Roman Catholic 85%
• Protestant and Other 15%

Languages:^[40]

• Spanish (main language)
• English

See also

• Puerto Rican people
• Demographics of the United States
• Cultural diversity in Puerto Rico

References

External links

• The End of Slavery ...
• How Puerto Rico Became White: Racial analysis
• Puerto rico 2005 Fact finder statistics
• United Nations country profile
• Genetic Make-up of Puerto Ricans
• 1930s Sterilization of One Third of Puerto Rican Women by the Chicago Women's Liberation Union

• Puerto Rican citizenship
• Outline of Puerto Rico
• Cultural diversity in Puerto Rico
  • Corsican immigration to Puerto Rico
  • French immigration to Puerto Rico
  • Crypto-Judaism
  • German immigration to Puerto Rico
  • Irish immigration to Puerto Rico
  • Royal Decree of Graces of 1815
• Index of Puerto Rico-related articles
• History of women in Puerto Rico
• Military history of Puerto Rico
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Puerto Rico
• 51-star flag