Puerto Rico (2001) | Reunion (2003) | |
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Administrative divisions | none (commonwealth associated with the US); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 78 municipalities (municipios, singular - municipio) at the second order; Adjuntas, Aguada, Aguadilla, Aguas Buenas, Aibonito, Anasco, Arecibo, Arroyo, Barceloneta, Barranquitas, Bayamon, Cabo Rojo, Caguas, Camuy, Canovanas, Carolina, Catano, Cayey, Ceiba, Ciales, Cidra, Coamo, Comerio, Corozal, Culebra, Dorado, Fajardo, Florida, Guanica, Guayama, Guayanilla, Guaynabo, Gurabo, Hatillo, Hormigueros, Humacao, Isabela, Jayuya, Juana Diaz, Juncos, Lajas, Lares, Las Marias, Las Piedras, Loiza, Luquillo, Manati, Maricao, Maunabo, Mayaguez, Moca, Morovis, Naguabo, Naranjito, Orocovis, Patillas, Penuelas, Ponce, Quebradillas, Rincon, Rio Grande, Sabana Grande, Salinas, San German, San Juan, San Lorenzo, San Sebastian, Santa Isabel, Toa Alta, Toa Baja, Trujillo Alto, Utuado, Vega Alta, Vega Baja, Vieques, Villalba, Yabucoa, Yauco | none (overseas department of France); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 4 arrondissements, 24 communes, and 47 cantons |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
23.73% (male 478,441; female 455,800) 15-64 years: 65.72% (male 1,242,245; female 1,345,421) 65 years and over: 10.55% (male 177,083; female 238,326) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 31.3% (male 121,119; female 115,501)
15-64 years: 62.8% (male 233,607; female 240,502) 65 years and over: 5.9% (male 18,036; female 26,406) (2003 est.) |
Agriculture - products | sugarcane, coffee, pineapples, plantains, bananas; livestock products, chickens | sugarcane, vanilla, tobacco, tropical fruits, vegetables, corn |
Airports | 28 (2000 est.) | 2 (2002) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
19 over 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 6 (2000 est.) |
total: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
9 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 7 (2000 est.) |
- |
Area | total:
9,104 sq km land: 8,959 sq km water: 145 sq km |
total: 2,517 sq km
land: 2,507 sq km water: 10 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly less than three times the size of Rhode Island | slightly smaller than Rhode Island |
Background | Discovered by Columbus in 1493, the island was ceded by Spain to the US in 1898 following the Spanish-American War. A popularly elected governor has served since 1948. In plebiscites held in 1967 and 1993, voters chose to retain commonwealth status. | The Portuguese discovered the uninhabited island in 1513. From the 17th to the 19th centuries, French immigration, supplemented by influxes of Africans, Chinese, Malays, and Malabar Indians, gave the island its ethnic mix. The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 cost the island its importance as a stopover on the East Indies trade route. |
Birth rate | 15.26 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 20.17 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$6.7 billion expenditures: $9.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY99/00) |
revenues: $1.26 billion
expenditures: $2.62 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1998) |
Capital | San Juan | Saint-Denis |
Climate | tropical marine, mild; little seasonal temperature variation | tropical, but temperature moderates with elevation; cool and dry from May to November, hot and rainy from November to April |
Coastline | 501 km | 207 km |
Constitution | ratified 3 March 1952; approved by US Congress 3 July 1952; effective 25 July 1952 | 28 September 1958 (French Constitution) |
Country name | conventional long form:
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico conventional short form: Puerto Rico |
conventional long form: Department of Reunion
conventional short form: Reunion local long form: none local short form: Ile de la Reunion former: Bourbon Island |
Currency | US dollar (USD) | euro (EUR) |
Death rate | 7.77 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 5.49 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | $NA | $NA |
Dependency status | commonwealth associated with the US | overseas department of France |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (commonwealth associated with the US) | none (overseas department of France) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (commonwealth associated with the US) | none (overseas department of France) |
Disputes - international | none | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $NA | $NA; note - substantial annual subsidies from France |
Economy - overview | Puerto Rico has one of the most dynamic economies in the Caribbean region. A diverse industrial sector has surpassed agriculture as the primary locus of economic activity and income. Encouraged by duty-free access to the US and by tax incentives, US firms have invested heavily in Puerto Rico since the 1950s. US minimum wage laws apply. Sugar production has lost out to dairy production and other livestock products as the main source of income in the agricultural sector. Tourism has traditionally been an important source of income, with estimated arrivals of nearly 5 million tourists in 1999. Prospects for 2001 are clouded by a probable slowing down in both the construction and tourist sectors and by increasing inflation, particularly in energy and food prices; estimated growth will be 2%. | The economy has traditionally been based on agriculture, but services now dominate. Sugarcane has been the primary crop for more than a century, and in some years it accounts for 85% of exports. The government has been pushing the development of a tourist industry to relieve high unemployment, which amounts to one-third of the labor force. The gap in Reunion between the well-off and the poor is extraordinary and accounts for the persistent social tensions. The white and Indian communities are substantially better off than other segments of the population, often approaching European standards, whereas minority groups suffer the poverty and unemployment typical of the poorer nations of the African continent. The outbreak of severe rioting in February 1991 illustrates the seriousness of socioeconomic tensions. The economic well-being of Reunion depends heavily on continued financial assistance from France. |
Electricity - consumption | 15.587 billion kWh (1999) | 1.005 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 16.76 billion kWh (1999) | 1.08 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
98.45% hydro: 1.55% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
fossil fuel: 55.5%
hydro: 44.5% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: Cerro de Punta 1,338 m |
lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Piton des Neiges 3,069 m |
Environment - current issues | erosion; occasional drought causing water shortages | NA |
Ethnic groups | white (mostly Spanish origin) 80.5%, black 8%, Amerindian 0.4%, Asian 0.2%, mixed and other 10.9% | French, African, Malagasy, Chinese, Pakistani, Indian |
Exchange rates | the US dollar is used | euros per US dollar - 1.06 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000), 0.9386 (1999); French francs per US dollar - 5.8995 (1998) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
President George W. BUSH of the US (since 20 January 2001); Vice President Richard B. CHENEY (since 20 January 2001) head of government: Governor Sila M. CALDERON (since NA January 2001) cabinet: appointed by the governor with the consent of the legislature elections: US president and vice president elected on the same ticket for four-year terms; governor elected by popular vote for a four-year term; election last held 7 November 2000 (next to be held NA November 2004) election results: Sila M. CALDERON (PDP) elected governor; percent of vote - 48.8% |
chief of state: President Jacques CHIRAC of France (since 17 May 1995), represented by Prefect Gonthier FRIEDERICI (since NA)
head of government: President of the General Council Jean-Luc POUDROUX (since NA March 1998) and President of the Regional Council Paul VERGES (since NA March 1993) cabinet: NA elections: French president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; prefect appointed by the French president on the advice of the French Ministry of the Interior; the presidents of the General and Regional Councils are elected by the members of those councils |
Exports | $38.5 billion (f.o.b., 2000) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | pharmaceuticals, electronics, apparel, canned tuna, rum, beverage concentrates, medical equipment | sugar 63%, rum and molasses 4%, perfume essences 2%, lobster 3%, (1993) |
Exports - partners | US 88% (2000) | France 74%, Japan 6%, Comoros 4% (2000) |
Fiscal year | 1 July - 30 June | calendar year |
Flag description | five equal horizontal bands of red (top and bottom) alternating with white; a blue isosceles triangle based on the hoist side bears a large, white, five-pointed star in the center; design influenced by the US flag, but based on the Cuban flag | the flag of France is used |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $39 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $4.174 billion (1999 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
1% industry: 45% services: 54% (1999 est.) |
agriculture: 8%
industry: 19% services: 73% (2000 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $10,000 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $5,600 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 2.8% (2000 est.) | 2.5% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 18 15 N, 66 30 W | 21 06 S, 55 36 E |
Geography - note | important location along the Mona Passage - a key shipping lane to the Panama Canal; San Juan is one of the biggest and best natural harbors in the Caribbean; many small rivers and high central mountains ensure land is well watered; south coast relatively dry; fertile coastal plain belt in north | this mountainous, volcanic island has an active volcano, Piton de la Fournaise; there is a tropical cyclone center at Saint-Denis, which is the monitoring station for the whole of the Indian Ocean |
Highways | total:
14,400 km paved: 14,400 km unpaved: 0 km (1996) |
total: 2,724 km
paved: 1,300 km (including 73 km of four-lane road) unpaved: 1,424 km (1994) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | $27 billion (c.i.f., 2000) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | chemicals, machinery and equipment, clothing, food, fish, petroleum products | manufactured goods, food, beverages, tobacco, machinery and transportation equipment, raw materials, and petroleum products |
Imports - partners | US 60% (2000) | France 64%, Bahrain 3%, Germany 3%, Italy 3% (2000) |
Independence | none (commonwealth associated with the US) | none (overseas department of France) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | NA% |
Industries | pharmaceuticals, electronics, apparel, food products; tourism | sugar, rum, cigarettes, handicraft items, flower oil extraction |
Infant mortality rate | 9.51 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 8.13 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 8.89 deaths/1,000 live births female: 7.34 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 5.7% (2000 est.) | NA% |
International organization participation | Caricom (observer), ECLAC (associate), FAO (associate), ICFTU, Interpol (subbureau), IOC, WCL, WFTU, WHO (associate) | FZ, InOC, WFTU |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 76 (2000) | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 390 sq km (1993 est.) | 120 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Superior Courts; Municipal Courts (justices for all these courts appointed by the governor with the consent of the Senate) | Court of Appeals or Cour d'Appel |
Labor force | 1.3 million (2000) | 309,900 (2000) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 3%, industry 20%, services 77% (2000 est.) | agriculture 13%, industry 12%, services 75% (2000) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | 0 km |
Land use | arable land:
4% permanent crops: 5% permanent pastures: 26% forests and woodland: 16% other: 49% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 13.2%
permanent crops: 2% other: 84.8% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Spanish, English | French (official), Creole widely used |
Legal system | based on Spanish civil code | French law |
Legislative branch | bicameral Legislative Assembly consists of the Senate (28 seats; members are directly elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) and the House of Representatives (54 seats; members are directly elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 7 November 2000 (next to be held NA November 2004); House of Representatives - last held 7 November 2000 (next to be held NA November 2004) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PNP 19, PPD 7, PIP 1, other 1; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PNP 30, PPD 20, PIP 1, other 3 note: Puerto Rico elects one nonvoting representative to the US House of Representatives; elections last held 7 November 2000 (next to be held NA November 2004); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PPD 1 (Anibal ACEVEDO-VILA) |
unicameral General Council (49 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve six-year terms) and a unicameral Regional Council (45 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve six-year terms)
elections: General Council - last held 15 and 22 March 1998 (next to be held NA 2004); Regional Council - last held 15 March 1998 (next to be held NA 2004) election results: General Council - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - various right-wing candidates 13, PCR 10, PS 10, UDF 8, RPR 6, other left-wing candidates 2; Regional Council - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PCR 19, UDF 9, RPR 8, various right-wing candidates 4, various left-wing candidates 5 note: Reunion elects three representatives to the French Senate; elections last held NA 2001 (next to be held NA 2006); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA; Reunion also elects five deputies to the French National Assembly; elections last held 9 June-16 June 2002 (next to be held NA 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - UMP-RPR 1, UMP 1, PCR 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
75.76 years male: 71.28 years female: 80.48 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 73.43 years
male: 70.03 years female: 77 years (2003 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 89% male: 90% female: 88% (1980 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 88.9% male: 87% female: 90.8% (2003 est.) |
Location | Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of the Dominican Republic | Southern Africa, island in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | World |
Maritime claims | exclusive economic zone:
200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of the US | defense is the responsibility of France |
Military branches | paramilitary National Guard, Police Force | no regular indigenous military forces; French forces (including Army, Navy, Air Force, and Gendarmerie) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 198,341 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 101,116 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 18 years of age (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 6,795 (2003 est.) |
National holiday | US Independence Day, 4 July (1776) | Bastille Day, 14 July (1789) |
Nationality | noun:
Puerto Rican(s) (US citizens) adjective: Puerto Rican |
noun: Reunionese (singular and plural)
adjective: Reunionese |
Natural hazards | periodic droughts; hurricanes | periodic, devastating cyclones (December to April); Piton de la Fournaise on the southeastern coast is an active volcano |
Natural resources | some copper and nickel; potential for onshore and offshore oil | fish, arable land, hydropower |
Net migration rate | -2.13 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | National Democratic Party [Celeste BENITEZ]; National Republican Party of Puerto Rico [Luis FERRE]; New Progressive Party or PNP [Pedro ROSSELLO]; Popular Democratic Party or PPD [Hector Luis ACEVEDO]; Puerto Rican Independence Party or PIP [Ruben BERRIOS Martinez] | Communist Party of Reunion or PCR [Paul VERGES]; Rally for the Republic or RPR [Andre Maurice PIHOUEE]; Socialist Party or PS [Jean-Claude FRUTEAU]; Union for French Democracy or UDF [Gilbert GERARD] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Armed Forces for National Liberation or FALN; Armed Forces of Popular Resistance; Boricua Popular Army (also known as the Macheteros); Volunteers of the Puerto Rican Revolution | NA |
Population | 3,937,316 (July 2001 est.) | 755,171 (July 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 0.54% (2001 est.) | 1.47% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Guanica, Guayanilla, Guayama, Playa de Ponce, San Juan | Le Port, Pointe des Galets |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 72, FM 17, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 2, FM 55, shortwave 0 (2001) |
Radios | 2.7 million (1997) | - |
Railways | total:
96 km narrow gauge: 96 km 1.000-m gauge, rural, narrow-gauge system for hauling sugarcane; no passenger service |
0 km |
Religions | Roman Catholic 85%, Protestant and other 15% | Roman Catholic 86%, Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist (1995) |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.74 male(s)/female total population: 0.93 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.68 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal; indigenous inhabitants are US citizens but do not vote in US presidential elections | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment:
modern system, integrated with that of the US by high-capacity submarine cable and Intelsat with high-speed data capability domestic: digital telephone system; cellular telephone service international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat; submarine cable to US |
general assessment: adequate system; principal center is Saint-Denis
domestic: modern open-wire and microwave radio relay network international: radiotelephone communication to Comoros, France, Madagascar; new microwave route to Mauritius; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 1.322 million (1997) | 268,500 (1999) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 169,265 (1996) | 197,000 (September 2000) |
Television broadcast stations | 18 (plus three stations of the US Armed Forces Radio and Television Service) (1997) | 35 (plus 18 low-power repeaters) (2001) |
Terrain | mostly mountains, with coastal plain belt in north; mountains precipitous to sea on west coast; sandy beaches along most coastal areas | mostly rugged and mountainous; fertile lowlands along coast |
Total fertility rate | 1.9 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 2.53 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 9.5% (2000) | 36% (1999 est.) |
Waterways | none | none |