tion
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 1,338 m
Natural resources: some copper and nickel; potential for onshore
and offshore oil
Land use:
arable land: 4%
permanent crops: 5%
permanent pastures: 26%
forests and woodland: 16%
other: 49% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 390 sq km (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: periodic droughts; hurricanes
Environment--current issues: erosion; occasional drought causing
water shortages
Environment--international agreements:
party to: NA
signed, but not ratified: NA
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
Population: 3,887,652 (July 1999 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 24% (male 482,111; female 459,940)
15-64 years: 65% (male 1,220,682; female 1,323,787)
65 years and over: 11% (male 173,133; female 227,999) (1999 est.)
Population growth rate: 0.59% (1999 est.)
Birth rate: 15.9 births/1,000 population (1999 est.)
Death rate: 7.87 deaths/1,000 population (1999 est.)
Net migration rate: -2.15 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1999 est.)
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: 0.76 male(s)/female
total population: 0.93 male(s)/female (1999 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 10.79 deaths/1,000 live births (1999 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 75.06 years
male: 70.95 years
female: 79.41 years (1999 est.)
Total fertility rate: 1.94 children born/woman (1999 est.)
Nationality:
noun: Puerto Rican(s) (US citizens)
adjective: Puerto Rican
Ethnic groups: Hispanic
Religions: Roman Catholic 85%, Protestant denominations and other
15%
Languages: Spanish, English
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 89%
male: 90%
female: 88% (1980 est.)
Government
Country name:
conventional long form: Commonwealth of Puerto Rico
conventional short form: Puerto Rico
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