72,000 net passengers returned on domestic flights in the first 4 months of the year

Announcements
IEPR
26 December 2025

72,000 net passengers returned on domestic flights in the first 4 months of the year

The data confirms the return of people after the passage of Hurricane Maria

San Juan, PR, July 13, 2017 — The Puerto Rico Statistics Institute (Institute) today released updated data on the movement of air passengers on domestic flights up to the month of April 2018, as reported by airlines to U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS). Here's a summary of the most striking results:

  • In the last 4 months of last year (September to December 2017), during the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, about -200,000 net passengers departed on domestic flights.

  • In contrast, in the first 4 months of the year (January to April 2018), about 72,000 people arrived in Puerto Rico in net terms on domestic flights.

  • This represents a notable change from previous years. For example, for the same period last year (January to April 2017), instead of experiencing a net passenger arrival, almost -40,000 net air passengers had departed.

  • In the first 10 months of fiscal year 2017-18, there was a net movement of air passengers on domestic flights of almost -155 thousand air passengers. In the last 3 calendar years (2014, 2015 and 2016), the net movement of air passengers on domestic flights was an average departure of -89,000 passengers per year.

“We have been trying to identify a return pattern after Hurricane Maria for some time. Finally, these data confirm that trend. Although the figure does not indicate that a similar number of people have returned among those who left after the Hurricane, the data suggests that this return process has begun. We will have to see how the movement of passengers behaves during this summer to get a more complete picture. But, for now, these data suggest that for fiscal year 2017-18 there will be a net migration of approximately -150 to -170 thousand people. If so, this will represent an increase in the migratory wave that Puerto Rico had been experiencing before the Hurricane, which was around -90,000 people a year before the passage of Hurricane Maria. But, at the same time, it will represent a substantially lower increase than the -250,000 people that had been projected in the last Fiscal Plan,” said Dr. Mario Marazzi-Santiago, executive director of the Institute.

Data on the net movement of air passengers can be downloaded from: https://indicadores.pr/dataset/vuelos-pasajeros-aereos-y-carga-puerto-rico.

The Puerto Rico Statistics Institute is an autonomous governmental entity responsible for coordinating the Government's statistical production service to ensure that the data collection and statistics systems, on which public policies are based, are complete, reliable, and have quick and universal access. The IEPR has in its inventory, accessible through www.estadisticas.pr.gov, over 300 statistical products. In addition, it is a custodian and provides access to over 100 data sets or “data sets” through www.data.pr.gov and to over 40 tables and more than 6 thousand indicators through: www.indicadores.pr.

In addition, as the leading entity of the Puerto Rico SDC, the IEPR manages the SDC portal, where you can find the main statistical reports and publications of the U.S. Census Bureau on Puerto Rico, specifically those that are most in demand, such as annual population estimates; the Puerto Rico Community Survey (Puerto Rico Community Survey) and official statistics on Puerto Rico's 10-year population and housing censuses, among others. The Puerto Rico SDC portal can be accessed through: https://censo.estadisticas.pr/.

For more information you can visit our website: www.estadisticas.pr.gov. In addition, you can follow us on social networks through Facebook (estadisticas.pr), Twitter (@EstadisticasPR) and LinkedIn (Institute of Statistics of Puerto Rico) accounts.

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Press Contact: Sandra Morales Blanes (787) 688-0401

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Authorized statements by the Executive Director regarding the final approval of P. de la C. 1403

PRESS RELEASE
DR. MARIO MARAZZI-SANTIAGO
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

AUTHORIZED STATEMENTS BY THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE INSTITUTE OF STATISTICS REGARDING THE FINAL APPROVAL OF P. C. 1403 BY THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF PUERTO RICO

Last night, the Legislative Assembly agreed on the Conference Committee and approved the House Project 1403 after deleting Chapter XII related to the Puerto Rico Institute of Statistics.

We thank and congratulate both the House and the Senate for having completed the approval of the reorganization of the Department of Economic Development and Commerce, after having accepted our recommendation as well as the request of thousands of individuals and scientists, 47 world-renowned scientific organizations, 16 congressmen, the Puerto Rican National Agenda, the Private Sector Coalition, the Transparency Network, the Network of Foundations, the Academy for the Advancement of the Sciences, the American Statistical Association, the Royal Statistical Society, among many others, who publicly called for the Puerto Rico Institute of Statistics to remain an autonomous entity of the Government of Puerto Rico.

We reiterate our best willingness to hold an open dialogue regarding the future of the Institute of Statistics, its role within the Government of Puerto Rico and our society, so that we are allowed to continue working to ensure that the systems for collecting data and statistics, on which public policies are based, are complete, reliable and accessible quickly and universally.

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Press Contact: Sandra Morales Blanes (787) 688-0401

Recruiting for the 2020 Census begins

PRESS RELEASE

RED STATE DATA CENTER OF PUERTO RICO

RECRUITING FOR THE 2020 CENSUS BEGINS

San Juan, PR, February 5, 2019 — The Institute of Statistics of Puerto Rico (Institute) announced today that the platform for applying for employment opportunities, related to the next Decennial Census 2020 in Puerto Rico, is now operational. The recruitment carried out by the Federal Census Bureau (U.S. Census Bureau) emerges as part of the planning of the important census operation that is coming. As the leading entity of the Network State Data Center (SDC) of the U.S. Census Bureau in Puerto Rico, the Institute urges all interested persons to complete the employment application. The 2020 Census job application platform is available online at the following email address: https://tinyurl.com/ybsulewp.

To apply for employment with the Census Bureau, applicants must complete three steps: 1) Create an applicant profile, 2) Provide personal information, and 3) Complete an evaluation, depending on employment preference. For general questions about the application process, you can consult the employment applications section at: https://tinyurl.com/yd9hu5vo. If you have questions about the operations of the U.S. Census Bureau in Puerto Rico, you can contact us at: https://estadisticas.pr.gov/contacto.

“Given the complexity of a Decennial Census, activities and projects intensify as we approach the date of the enumeration (April 1, 2020). We are already a little more than a year away from the event, and in this case the application and evaluation phase of candidates for the various positions offered by the Census Bureau begins. Timely recruitment is vital, since the positions involve specialized training that will result in the best possible enumeration of the population,” said Alberto L. Velázquez Estrada, Manager of Statistical Projects at the Institute.

For his part, Dr. Orville M. Disdier, Acting Executive Director, noted that “The preparation of the Decennial Census is a complex and very precise task, which is carried out in a relatively short time. Fortunately, at the Institute we are coordinating and managing all the work processes that need to be completed before April 1, 2020. All of the Institute's demographic and statistical work, vital for the economic and social development of Puerto Rico, is up to date.”

As the leading entity of the Puerto Rico SDC, the Institute manages the SDC portal, which contains the main statistical reports and publications of the U.S. Census Bureau about Puerto Rico, specifically those that are most in demand. These publications include: Annual population estimates, the Puerto Rico Community Survey (Puerto Rico Community Survey), and official statistics on Puerto Rico's 10-year population and housing censuses, among others. The Puerto Rico SDC portal can be accessed through: https://censo.estadisticas.pr/.

The Puerto Rico Statistics Institute is an autonomous governmental entity responsible for coordinating the Government's statistical production service to ensure that the data collection and statistics systems, on which public policies are based, are complete, reliable, and have quick and universal access. The Institute has in its inventory, accessible through www.estadisticas.pr.gov, over 300 statistical products. In addition, it is a custodian and provides access to over 100 data sets or “data sets” through https://data.pr.gov/ and to over 40 tables and more than 6,000 indicators through: www.indicadores.pr.

For more information you can visit our website: www.estadisticas.pr.gov. In addition, you can follow us on cyber social networks through Facebook (estadisticas.pr), Twitter (@EstadisticasPR) and LinkedIn (Institute of Statistics of Puerto Rico) accounts.