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