Puerto Rico (/prt riko/ or /pwrt riko/[note 1], Spanish pronunciation: [peto riko] officially the Commonwealth of Puerto

Rico (Spanish: Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico)), is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands. Puerto Rico (Spanish for "rich port") comprises an archipelago that includes the main island of Puerto Rico and a number of smaller islands, the largest of which are Vieques, Culebra, and Mona. The main island of Puerto Rico is the smallest by land area of the Greater Antilles. It ranks third in population among that group of four islands, which include Cuba, Hispaniola (Dominican Republic and Haiti), and Jamaica. Due to its location, Puerto Rico enjoys a tropical climate and is subject to the Atlantic hurricane season. Official languages of the island are Spanish and English, with Spanish being the primary language. Originally populated for centuries by indigenous aboriginal peoples known as Tanos, the island was claimed by Christopher Columbus for Spain during his second voyage to the Americas on November 19, 1493. Under Spanish rule, the island was colonized and the indigenous population was forced into slavery and wiped out due to, among other things, European infectious diseases. Spain possessed Puerto Rico for over 400 years, despite attempts at capture of the island by the French, Dutch, and British. In 1898, Spain ceded the archipelago, as well as the Philippines, to the United States as a result of its defeat in the SpanishAmerican War under the terms of the Treaty of Paris of 1898. In 1917, Puerto Ricans were granted U.S. citizenship and since 1948 have elected their own governor. In 1952 the Constitution of Puerto Rico was adopted and ratified by the electorate. A democratically elected bicameral legislature is in place but the United States Congress legislates many fundamental aspects of Puerto Rican life.[14] The islanders may not vote in U.S. presidential elections because the territory is not a state.[15] The island's current political status, including the possibility of statehood or independence, is widely debated in Puerto Rico. In November 2012, a non-binding referendum resulted in fifty-four percent of respondents voting to reject the current status under the territorial clause of the U.S. Constitution.[16] Among respondents to a second question about alternatives, sixty-one percent voted for statehood as the preferred alternative to the current territorial status.[17] However, partly because of criticism of the referedum's process, President Barack Obama stated in April 2013 that he will seek $2.5 million to hold another one, this time the first Puerto Rican status referendum to be financed by the Federal government.[18] The United States Census Bureau estimates that the population of Puerto Rico was 3,667,084 on July 1, 2012, a -1.6% decrease since the 2010 United States Census.[6] From 2000 to 2010, the population decreased, the first such decrease in census history for Puerto Rico. It went from the 3,808,610 residents registered in the 2000 Census to 3,725,789 in the 2010 Census.[155] A declining and aging population presents additional problems for the society. The Census Bureau has noted that "76,218 people residing in the U.S. last year lived in Puerto Rico one year earlier."[155]

Continuous European immigration during the 19th century helped the population grow from 155,000 in 1800 to almost a million at the close of the century. A census conducted by royal decree on September 30, 1858 gives the following totals of the Puerto Rican population at this time: 341,015 as Free colored; 300,430 identified as Whites; and 41,736 were slaves.[156] During the 19th century hundreds of Corsican, French, Lebanese, Chinese, and Portuguese families arrived in Puerto Rico, along with large numbers of immigrants from Spain (mainly from Catalonia, Asturias, Galicia, the Balearic Islands, Andalusia, and the Canary Islands) and numerous Spanish loyalists from Spain's former colonies in South America. Other settlers included Irish, Scots, Germans, Italians and thousands others who were granted land by Spain during the Real Cedula de Gracias de 1815 ("Royal Decree of Graces of 1815"), which allowed European Catholics to settle in the island with land allotments in the interior of the island, provided they agreed to pay taxes and continue to support the Catholic Church. Between 1960 and 1990, the census questionnaire in Puerto Rico did not ask about race or ethnicity. However, the 2000 United States Census included a racial self-identification question in Puerto Rico. According to the census, most Puerto Ricans self-identified as White and few declared themselves to be Black or some other race.[157] A recent study conducted in Puerto Rico suggests that between 52.6% and 84% of the population possess some degree of Amerindian mtDNA, usually in a combination with other ancestries[158][159][160] The official languages[162] of the executive branch of government of Puerto Rico[163] are Spanish and English, with Spanish being the primary language. Spanish is, and has been, the only official language of the entire Commonwealth judiciary system, even despite a 1902 English-only language law.[164] All official business of the U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico is conducted in English. Although English is one of the two official languages in Puerto Rico, it is spoken by a small minorityless than 10%-- of the population. Spanish is the dominant language of business, education and daily life on the island, spoken by over 95% of the population.[147] Public school instruction in Puerto Rico is conducted entirely in Spanish. There are, however, pilot programs in about a dozen of the over 1,400 public schools aimed at conducting instruction in English only.[165] English is taught as a second language and is a compulsory subject from elementary levels to high school.