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THE COMMONWEALTH OF PUERTO RICO

Puerto Rico, the fourth largest of the Caribbean This New Deal initiative helped modernize Puerto
Islands, is located approximately one thousand Rican society by funding agricultural development,
miles southeast of Miami, Florida, just east of the public works, and the electrification of the island.
Dominican Republic and west of the U.S. Virgin In 1952, Puerto Rico was declared a semi-autono-
Islands. The island is approximately 100 miles long mous commonwealth territory of the United States,
in an east-west direction and 35 miles wide be- a status it maintains today.
tween the north and south coasts, making it larger
than both Delaware and Rhode Island in land area.
Although the island enjoys a tropical climate with POPULATION
an almost constant temperature throughout There are approximately 3.6 million people in
the year, the island’s terrain varies widely, ranging Puerto Rico, which would make it the 27th largest
from a mountainous interior to rain forests on the state.
eastern side of the island. Over half of the entire island’s population lives with-
Puerto Rico is a Commonwealth of the United in the San Juan Metropolitan area. San Juan, located
States, a status it has enjoyed since 1952. As a on the north side of the island, is the island’s most
Commonwealth, Puerto Rico shares citizen rights, densely populated region and serves as its capital.
a common currency, customs, postal service, and San Juan Central City has a population density of
a legal system with the United States. Nowhere is over 9,300 people per square mile, which ranks it
the integration between Puerto Rico and the United eighth among all U.S. cities. Overall, the island’s
States more fully developed though, than in the population is quite dense, with about 1,100 people
island’s economy. Nearly 80% of Puerto Rico’s ex- per square mile, more densely populated than
ports are sent to the mainland U.S., which is any state.
the source of approximately 50% of Puerto Rico’s
imports. The bond between the two economies
has allowed Puerto Rico to share in the expansion
of the U.S. economy.

HISTORY

Puerto Rico was a Spanish colony for approximately
four centuries after being discovered by Christopher
Columbus in 1493. In 1898, the island came under
the sovereignty of the United States as part of the
Treaty of Paris, which ended the Spanish-American
War. In 1917, the U.S. Congress granted U.S. citizen-
ship to Puerto Rican residents, and two decades
later President Franklin D. Roosevelt instituted the
Puerto Rican Reconstruction Administration.

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