ean, island between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic
Ocean, east of the Dominican Republic

Geographic coordinates:

18 15 N, 66 30 W

Map references:

Central America and the Caribbean

Area:

total: 13,790 sq km
land: 8,870 sq km
water: 4,921 sq km

Area - comparative:

slightly less than three times the size of Rhode Island

Land boundaries:

0 km

Coastline:

501 km

Maritime claims:

territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm

Climate:

tropical marine, mild; little seasonal temperature variation

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 de Punta 1,339 m

Natural resources:

some copper and nickel; potential for onshore and offshore oil

Land use:

arable land: 3.69%
permanent crops: 5.59%
other: 90.72% (2005)

Irrigated land:

400 sq km (2003)

Natural hazards:

periodic droughts; hurricanes

Environment - current issues:

erosion; occasional drought causing water shortages

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

People
Puerto Rico

Population:

3,958,128 (July 2008 est.)

Age structure:

0-14 years: 20.5% (male 415,141/female 396,782)
15-64 years: 66% (male 1,254,416/female 1,358,229)
65 years and over: 13.5% (male 229,727/female 303,833) (2008 est.)

Median age:

total: 35.6 years
male: 33.8 years
female: 37.3 years (2008 est.)

Population growth rate:

0.369% (2008 est.)

Birth rate:

12.61 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Death rate:

7.88 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Net migration rate:

-1.03 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Sex ratio:

at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.76 male(s)/female
total population: 0.92 male(s)/female (2008 est.)

Infant mortality rate:

total: 8.65 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 9.15 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 8.13 deaths/1,000 live births (2008 est.)

Life expec