This information originally appeared in Spanish in Puerto Rico’s Vocero newspaper. While politicians on the island from all political parties play the partisan game, according to the US Census, Puerto Rico is facing worsening economic and social conditions.
Puerto Rico has become a poor country, that is more dependent, with more disabled people. The working age population is now the minority, their participation in the labor market is minimal and they are less educated. A quarter of the population lives in poverty, according to 2010 Census.
Here are some facts:
- There are 311,000 people who live alone. That equates to one in five of all 1.319 million Puerto Rican households 1,319 million. The average number of people in other households is 3.2.
- Half of the families in Puerto Rico are married couples, and 43 percent of them have children. A third of households are headed by women. There are now 700,000 thousand children. There are more people over 65 in Puerto Rico than children, creating a dependent population.
- Each year there are 17,000 marriages, while there are 15,000 divorces. Almost half of couples who have a home are not married.
- 52 percent of the population are women.
- 15 percent of the population is over 65 years old.
- In 42 percent of the families, there is a person over 65 years old, which means that this elderly population does not have sufficient income to live alone.
- In the area of education, a quarter of the island’s total population, one million people, is comprised of students, including adults, adolescents, and children. However, the majority of the adult population has attained a high school education. The level of education is 22 percent, which suggests that the poverty rate has increased.
- 80 percent of teachers in the public school system are not in English, while 63 percent of university students do not graduate. 60 percent of public school students do not master basic skills in Spanish.
- Only one in five Puerto Ricans have mastered English skills, thus reducing the bilingual labor market.
- There are 2,444,000 people who 25 years or older. 20 percent of this population has ninth grade education or less, 11 percent complete Grade 11, while only 25 percent have completed fours years of high school.
- 63 percent of the population have a college education or lower education.
- On the island there are 400,000 people with college degrees, or 16 percent of the population. Only 6 percent if the population or 154,000 people have a graduated degrees The total number of people with undergraduate or graduate degrees is only 22 percent of the population.
- There are 113,000 veterans Puerto Ricans living on the Island
- Meanwhile, there are 726 000 people with disabilities, or 20 percent of the population. 52 percent of people over 65 has some form of disability, and children represent 7 percent of the disabled population. There are 67,000 students in special education. Disabled adults and children account for 1.5 million people, or one third of the population.
- There are 200,000 Puerto Ricans born in the U.S., or 5 percent of the population. Another 304,000 were born outside the United States, while the rest of the population was born on the island.
- In terms of economics, the study revealed that a 250,000 families (with 3.2 members per household) live on less than $ 10,000 annually, or $ 800 per month, which equals $ 240 a month per household member.
- Women are discriminated against by receiving less pay and have worse working conditions, while the average monthly income of retirees is $ 668 from Social Security.
- The labor force is 1.2 million, a quarter of the population. The participation rate is one million, less than 39 percent of the total population. Only 39% of older people who work.
- Almost half the population lives below the poverty line: 45 percent of 3.7 million.Less than 40,000 families have incomes more than $ 100 000. 37 percent of the population depends on the federal Nutritional Assistance Program (NAP).
- In the last decade has been over half a million Puerto Ricans have left the island, which results is a fleeing of knowledge from the island.
- 40 percent of the population receives 8 percent of the country’s income, while the remaining 92 percent goes into the hands of 60% of the population, which implies an unequal distribution of wealth.
- On issues related to the population of all Puerto Ricans in the United States, there are now 4.2 million Puerto Ricans living in the United States. This signifies a greater diaspora, when compared to countries like Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia, Sudan and Palestines.
- The population of people under 18 years old fell to 17 percent.
- Puerto Rico has become a nation without a working class, with poor, dependent, disabled and marginalized people.
The island has been in decline, according to data that could be classified as the worst since the first census conducted in 1950. Is it the lost decade?
Puerto Rico is not a nation, nor is it a country. It is a Commonwealth of the United States. Making a distinction of those “born in the U.S.” is a fallacy. Pretending to be an independent country while living off Federal taxpayer dollars is the reason for the decline.
Thanks for the lesson on semantics. No matter how you spin it, Puerto Rico is suffering and the Census facts prove it. We agree with you on the notion of a federal welfare state. The current political system has done nothing to improve the island’s economic suffering. All parties that have spun the messages for decades are too blame. The time to change the system is now. Do we have the will as a people? Only time will tell.
These are the results of colonialism. The US business interests in the island are doing well, to the point of having their best selling stores in the island. Their industrial conglomerates are doing well. So why isn’t the people doing well ? The feeling of impotency is contagious. The country lacks the international authority to look after its people and set in motion initiatives to create jobs separate and apart from the decision making power in Washington in which they have inconsequential influence.Consequently the country as well as the individuals have very few options to make a living: the govt. has the grant funds or stimulus money the US sents down and the individuals and families have the social welfare to which they may have access too and the earned benefits of a lifetime of low salaries and injuries whether in the military or in civilian life.
What is worse is that in the horizon the economic solutions are the increase of corporate welfare which may produce a few jobs and the increase of social welfare from a country which is not in an economic position to do much sharing. The colonial mentality prevails.
Agreed and this is a Puerto Rican issue that has been manipulated by different political parties in the self-interest of maintaining the relevance of those parties, which in the end, borders on neo-criminality in our opinion.
Psychologically, Puerto Rico is like the illegitimate child of the United States. Everyone recognizes the relationship between parent and child but the “bastard” will never be fully accepted by the father’s family and the community at large. How long will the proud people of Puerto Rico suffer this unhealthy relationship?
Thank you so much for that analogy, Raul. You are spot on, in my opinion. My blog has been generating a lot of interest this past week by the very same “children” who continue to look at Papi USA for approval, but in the end, it is clear that Papi USA does not truly consider PR part of the family. This whole notion of PRicans still negotiating with Papi USA is ludicrous. PR has no leverage and the US knows it. It would rather just string it along for its benefit. For those who think that I am crazy and a nut job (LOL), I saw look at Egypt, look at Libya. The time for PRicans to determine their OWN destiny is NOW. Waiting for Congress and the President is like Waiting for Godot.
Let us not look to whether Puerto Rico is a nation or not but rather at the facts that are on the table here. Yes, the distinct culture is there. The current status or relationship with the U.S. has not done much in over 50 years since the ‘name change’ to show improvement and/or great strides. Until all parties begin to show an interest in the people, look to the root causes and look for solutions to the same, until then, things will only remain the same.
Agreed. I think we are all in agreement that 50 years of this misery if still 50 years of this misery.
“60 percent of public school students do not master basic skills in Spanish.”
“Only one in five Puerto Ricans have mastered English skills, thus reducing the bilingual labor market.”
“There are 2,444,000 people who 25 years or older. 20 percent of this population has ninth grade education or less, 11 percent complete Grade 11, while only 25 percent have completed fours years of high school.”
Education is the key to a society’s economic success. As in the US where students are under achieving it is clear they do not have the basic skills to compete in the job market, let alone with more educated countries like India, Japan and China to name a few that rank hirer then the US.
Parents blame the education system, while the teachers blame the parents for their children’s poor grades and attendance.
But to blame the poor economic conditions on the status of Puerto Rico is ludicrous. The money for education pours in from the US taxpayer. How that money is used is determined by the Education Secretary here and the various schools. But money alone is not the answer. It starts at home as it should. The parents need to pay close attention to how their children are doing in school and make sure they get the extra help when it is needed in a timely manner or the child will fall behind and quickly lose interest. In my opinion, ultimately it is the parents responsibility to see to it their children get the education they need to me a productive member of society.
Thanks, Bruce, it is combination of both. You are a very loyal reader and your perspective is greatly appreciated.
Raul, The U.S. is like an uncle (Sam, lol) .. he’ll not bring us to the folds of his family, but he will hold on to the status-quo for as long as he can. He’s a jealous son of gun, too. Look at the tariffs at our ports, “He” controls the ins and outs .. No, we don’t pay federal taxes, our dues are rendered with the sacred blood of our men/women whom have served in the U.S. Military since beyond WW1 ..
Complacency is the tune, now, for too many of us. We are on automatic my friend .. We get up, we eat, we caca, and we sleep. Once a month we run to the mail box, for the cheque that we’ll stretch, until that proverbial “ay bendito” Meanwhile look what’s happening to our youth, in them the future ..Now, that’s scary.. They don’t know their/our history, not fluent in Spanish nor English, and there’s no “Ay, Bendito” (rampant crime) in their hearts… Please, relize I’m generalizing regarding our youth..
Thanks for the comment!
I think the “bastard” comments are perhaps a good analogy — why do you think the US is so reluctant to accept PR?
PRicans have always been cheap labor and the elite in the island exploited this just as much. And a Latino state in the 21st century? Not gonna happen.
Bad analogy, and part of the problem that we have as a culture. Puerto Rico, in looking at itself as an illegitimate child and asking why “US is so reluctant to accept it” still places itself in a subordinate position, a ridiculous stance after 519 straight years of colonialism. Instead of embracing this analogy of an illegitamate child, let us look at ourselves as a grown man whose destiny and history were stolen by more powerful entities, a stutus that should cause us to live in shame instead of curiosity as to why we are not more accepted by those to whom we surrendered our very sense of self.
Just, curious, which Hispanic sector do you represent? By you I mean, You! (” I think the “bastard” comments are perhaps a good analogy”) Not the “Career opportunities for hispanic people” .. I’m asking, because your “maybe”( since you don’t comment) analogy, doesn’t sound like a Boricua’s first statement, especially, with the follow- up question.. Thanks/gracias!
The game is 4 years PPD and because that dosnt work they try 4 years PNP and because ……. we need a real change,but we are just become lazy people or ignorants ..upss I guess the system is working
Thanks, guys, for the comments!
Ok, bottom line, the politically toxic environmment the local political parties promote for the benefit of a few, the lack of attention from this new generation of parents ( I.e., 1990’s, 1980’s, 2000’s) and the welfare support from the US, is what has created this mess and social crisis Puerto Rico is going through, and it’s just getting worse and no one has a solution on how to ger the island and it’s people out of it. Only God knows where our beautiful PR will end up….
There are plenty of jobs in Puerto Rico. Train your teachers, keep the kids in school and send some of those parents to work. The government needs to regulate there social welfare for those who really need it.
Where are the jobs?
Take away the social safety nets and people will get hungry for work. Maybe then we will start seeing jobs develop here.
I am a US resident from Florida who visited PR for 7 months and was shocked at how poverty-stricken this otherwise beautiful island is; I learned that PR has been kept in a ‘parent-child’ relationship with the US for about 100 years, one that has prevented PR from growing and maturing into the independent and prosperous nation that God always intended for it to be. Welfare states simply collapse in the end, and if there’s no one to bail them out (like the US) then social anarchy, violence and political overthrow are very possible. Since PR is an obscenely dependent welfare ‘child’ of the US, it’s going to be really hard to wean the PR people from the handouts that Uncle Sam provides, and yet this is exactly what has to be done if PR is to become independent and strong. Welfare destroys a nation – just give it enough time, and the work ethic will be completely destroyed.. Giving more money to teach children isn’t the answer – that’s like feeding a drug addict more of his drug, expecting him to somehow recover. Instead, what PR needs a spiritual awakening, with the Gospel of Jesus Christ transforming one person and then one family, one barrio/urbanization at a time. The LORD is PR’s only hope, and the wise will seek His grace now, while He still offers it. Thanks.
the biggest problem of Puerto Rico are the parties that have governed, none have worked for the people.
The other problem is the dependence of the United States. Puerto Rico currently does not produce enough to support himself.
The puertoriquños have the power to solve the problem they are facing, but getting there requires an event that impacts the people.
Agree 100%
That event involves removing all monies that come from the U.S. for starters.
Reblogged this on Go Blindly and commented:
Poverty in Puerto Rico, 2011.
The numbers are almost the same in the south of United States
Texas has a 55% high-school completion rate
UT Austin has a 50% drop out rate in first year
Like the NY area in the 1960s Texas TV advertises for GED
My sisters married two Puerto Rican men in NU, they are doing quite well
Cuba is in worse shape than Puerto Rico
If people stop divorcing the poverty rate would rapidly decline
“The conclusion is that Puerto Rico is no longer predominantly Catholic”
and that carries with it social consequences. The fundies in Texas have children by age 14, have lower incomes, marry 4 or more times.
You don’t need a college degree in fundy homes because “Jesus is coming soon”
Catholics build hospitals, schools and Universities.
Fundies build churches on every street.
My Puerto Rican brother in laws make over 100,000 per year plus their wives bring in 80k a year
My nephews and nieces completed undergrad and are now in grad school
The numbers for education are misleading, During the past 10 years over 2,500 professionally trained graduates, meaning doctors, lawyers, accountants, engineers, etc. have migrated to the mainland because there are no opportunities for them here. Add to that , that high honors graduates, most of which manage the English language better that most 50-staters, have to work at Wallmart, Sears and Kmart.
You seem to do a “mumbo-jumbo” here or “mogolla” of facts and figures…while you have some right data, you still lack a central point to whatever you are trying to say. Also…some facts and figures don’t tally up or do not belong in the same sentence. With all due respect, this article or blog post needs some TLC or editing. It seems you belong to that 4/5 of the population who still haven’t mastered English as a FULLY bilingual citizen…I take you are not a reporter but a common person exposing his point of view.
With all that said…the roots of the problem are-as some other reader pointed out-complacency, ego (insert politicians here) and a total lack of understanding of our culture and history. Yes, there is poverty here in Puerto Rico. A lot, I might say….but this is part of the cupones or welfare status imposed to us by the US government. This has created a counter-culture… A vast sector of our society loathes hard work (complacency) and sees no value in pursuing a higher education. While this is not true for everybody, our current economic situation has even made this gap bigger. A lot of well-to do families are leaving the island. Is not only the young professionals whose opportunities are being thwarted. I am a divorced mother of three, making a very decent salary and life is very hard. Taxes, high cost of energy, schools, and more taxes….
Solving the current situation will be hard….in the meantime, I resist the urge to gather my belongings and leave. I want to show my kids that hard work pays off and that I love my country, no matter what.
As you correctly point out….only time will tell…..
Its no accident that PR is in the state that its in. The U.S. will not allow a flourishing strong independent country that close to its borders. The Monroe Doctrine verifies this ideology. While many believe they are free. All we have to do is look at the Dominicans, Jamacans, Haitians, Cubans and the Puerto Ricans and know that the horrific poverty and state of these beautiful islands and once proud people are still colonized by foreign countries and corporations who are getting rich while standing on the backs of the poor