alth associated
with the US)

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
initially influenced by the US flag, but similar to the Cuban flag,
with the colors of the bands and triangle reversed

Economy Puerto Rico

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. Growth
fell off in 2001, largely due to the slowdown in the US economy.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $43.9 billion (2001 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: 2.2% (2001 est.)

GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $11,200 (2001 est.)

GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 1% industry: 45% services: 54%
(1999 est.)

Population below poverty line: NA%

Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 5.7% (2000 est.)

Labor force: 1.3 million (2000)

Labor force - by occupation: agriculture 3%, industry 20%, services 77%
(2000 est.)

Unemployment rate: 9.5% (2000)

Budget: revenues: $6.7 billion expenditures: $9.6 billion, including
capital expenditures of $NA (FY99/00)

Industries: pharmaceuticals, electronics, apparel, food products; tourism

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity - production: 20.497 billion kWh (2000)

Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 99.22% hydro: 0.78%
other: 0% (2000) nuclear: 0%

Electricity - consumption: 19.062 billion kWh (2000)

Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (2000)

Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (2000)

Agriculture - products: sugarcane, coffee, pineapples, plantains,
bananas; livestock products, chickens

Exports: $38.5 billion (f.o.b., 2000)

Exports - commodities: pharmaceuticals, electronics, apparel, canned
tuna, rum, beverage concentrates, medical equipm