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Puerto Rico Demographic Profile

Behind Puerto Rico's rich history and vibrant culture is a population that continues to evolve. Like many places around the world, the island has experienced demographic changes driven by migration, declining birth rates, longer life expectancy, and an aging population. These trends influence everything from education and healthcare to housing, employment, and economic development.

The following statistics provide a snapshot of Puerto Rico today, offering insight into the people who call the island home and the demographic trends shaping its future.

Being Puerto Rican is more than where you live. It is a shared heritage shaped by Indigenous, European, African, and immigrant influences; strengthened by family, language, music, and tradition; and carried proudly by millions of Boricuas both on the island and throughout the world.


Demographic Profile

Population

3,231,071 (2026 est.)
3,019,450 (2024 est.)
3,057,311 (2023 est.)
3,098,423 (2022 est.)
3,285,874 (2020 U.S. Census)
3,189,068 (July 2020 est.)
3,725,789 (2010 U.S. Census)

Summary: 1980 to 2006 (PDF) (projections (PDF))

Population History, 1765-2000
Puerto Rico's story is one of constant change. The island's population has evolved from the Indigenous Taíno communities before European contact to today's more than 3 million residents. View historical census data, population trends, and the major events that shaped Puerto Rico's demographic history.

Population Density: 941 density per sq mi/363 persons per sq km (2026 est.)

Puerto Rico's population density is among the world's highest - only Bangladesh, The Maldives, Barbados, Taiwan, South Korea and the city-states of Hong Kong and Singapore are more crowded. Puerto Rico population is equivalent to 0.05% of the total world population.

Population Split: Urban 93.7%; Rural 6.3% (2024 est.)

Country Population Rank: 135th (2026 est.)

U.S. Population Rank: 33rd (2026 est.)

% of World Pop: 0.04% (2020)

Interesting Fact

The Census Bureau publishes estimates of total population and demographic components of change (births, deaths, and migration) for the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and its 78 municipios (municipalities). A municipio is the government unit that is the primary legal subdivision of Puerto Rico; the Census Bureau treats the municipio as the statistical equivalent of a county.

Population Growth Rate: -1.2% (2024 est.)
-1.29% (2023 est.)

Population Doubling Time: 88 years (2002)

Puerto Rico's population growth dynamics have shifted dramatically since the early 2000s:

Migration:

According to the 2021 U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey estimates, approximately 5.8 million people of Puerto Rican origin live in the United States (in the 50 states and Washington, D.C.), far exceeding the number reported in the 1990 Census (2.7 million) - and significantly larger than the island's current resident population.

Net Migration Rate: -9.6 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2024 est.)
10.76 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Urbanization:
urban population: 93.6% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization: -0.12% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Age Structure:
0-14 years: 12.5% (male 191,649/female 184,597)
15-64 years: 62.6% (male 904,406/female 986,778)
65 years and over: 24.9% (male 322,698/female 429,322) (2024 est.)
Dependency ratios:
total dependency ratio: 57.1
youth dependency ratio: 21.0
elderly dependency ratio: 35.5
potential support ratio: 2.9 (2024 est.)
Median Age:
total: 46.1 years (2024 est.)
male: 44.2 years
female: 47.8 years
Sex Ratio:
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.75 male(s)/female
total population: 0.89 male(s)/female (2024 est.)

Marriage Rate: 5.1 per 1000 persons (2025 est.)

Divorce Rate: 4.47 per 1000 persons (2025 est.)

Housing

Owner-occupied housing unit rate, 2019-2023: 68.1%

Median value of owner-occupied housing units, 2019-2023: $124,600

Median selected monthly owner costs -with a mortgage, 2019-2023: $882

Median selected monthly owner costs -without a mortgage, 2019-2023: $179

Median gross rent, 2019-2023: $568

Families & Households

Households, 2019-2023: 1,239,243

Persons per household, 2019-2023: 2.60

Living in same house 1 year ago, percent of persons age 1 year+, 2019-2023: 93.8%

Language other than English spoken at home, percent of persons age 5 years+, 2019-2023: 95.5%

Family Average Size: 2019-2023: 3.07 people

Health & Well-being

Birth Rate: 6.9 births per 1,000 population (2025 est.)
7.8 births/1,000 population (2024 est.)

Death Rate: 10.2 deaths/1,000 population (2024 est.)
10 deaths/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Major causes of death per 100,000 population: (2023-24)
Heart disease (leading)
Cancer (second)
Alzheimers disease
Various chronic diseases including diabetes and chronic respiratory disease
Unintentional injuries also among major causes of death.

Currently married women (ages 15-49):
37.4% (2023 est.)

Contraceptive Use: 82.8% (2019-2020)

Maternal Mortality Rate: 34 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)
21 deaths/100,000 live births (2017 est.)

Infant Mortality Rate:
total: 5.8 deaths/1,000 live births (2024 est.)
male: 6.4 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 5.2 deaths/1,000 live births
Life Expectancy at Birth:
total population: 82.1 years (2024 est.)
male: 78.9 years
female: 85.5 years

Total Fertility Rate: 1.26 children born/woman (2024 est.)
1.25 children born/woman (2023 est.)

Gross reproduction rate: 0.61 (2024 est.)
0.61 (2023 est.)

Drinking water source:

improved: total: 100% of population
unimproved: total: 0% of population (2020 est.)

Physicians density:
3.06 physicians/1,000 population (2018)

Sanitation facility access:

improved: total: 97.2% of population
unimproved: total: 2.8% of population (2017 est.)

Population with a disability, under age 65 years, percent, 2012-2016: 15.3%

Persons without health insurance, under age 65 years: 7.4%

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 18,422, 68% men, 32% women (2012)
Puerto Rico ranked among the top 10 U.S. states or territories with the highest number of total AIDS cases among residents at the end of 2004.




Did You Know?

No point on the island is more than about 35 miles from the ocean.