PRESS RELEASE

Study presents sociodemographic characteristics and contrasts between the Dominican and Puerto Rican populations

The Puerto Rico Statistics Institute (Institute) presented the study: Dominican population in Puerto Rico: Sociodemographic characteristics and contrasts with the Puerto Rican population, 2015-2019, which focuses on detailing the sociodemographic traits that characterize the Dominican population living in Puerto Rico, as well as the differences between these by sex characteristics. As part of this research, various characteristics of the Dominican population compared to the Puerto Rican population were examined, providing contrasts between the sociodemographic scenarios of both populations.

The study begins by highlighting that the minority population with the highest presence among the inhabitants of Puerto Rico is the Dominican one with 59%, followed by the Cuban (13%), Mexican (9%), Colombian (4%) and Spanish (3%), being the five populations of non-Puerto Rican Hispanic origin that predominate in the jurisdiction of Puerto Rico.

The Institute's senior manager of Statistical Projects and author of this study, Alberto L. Velázquez Estrada, indicated that the data presented show, among others, that the Dominican population in general is older than the Puerto Rican population, which has been an old population for several decades. “This suggests a possible increase in the needs for health services that the Dominican population will require, due to conditions related to aging. In the near future, both the Dominican and Puerto Rican populations will be moving, in significant proportional terms, to seventy-year-old ages, which typically lead to the onset or worsening of certain health conditions,” Velázquez said. On the other hand, “the gender disparity in the Dominican population in terms of income, poverty and people outside the labor force is prominent. The differences point to a more complicated or difficult situation for Dominicans compared to Dominicans living in Puerto Rico,” added Velázquez.

For his part, the executive director of the Institute of Statistics, Dr. Orville Disdier, indicated that “for years the Dominican population has contributed significantly to the demographic diversity of Puerto Rico, so knowing data about their sociodemographic traits and their contrasts with the Puerto Rican population is important for the development of initiatives that improve the quality of life of both populations.”

Other data included in this study show that:

• Over the past three decades, the average annual number of air passengers from the Dominican Republic to Puerto Rico decreased from 335,000 (1990-1999) to 324,000 (2000-2009), and then to 214,000 in the most recent decade (2010-2019).
• The geographical distribution indicates a marked concentration in the northern area of San Juan, which is home to about 35% of the Dominican population.
• The Dominican population residing in Puerto Rico and born in the Dominican Republic comprised 90%, and those born in Puerto Rico were 7%.
• The majority of the Dominican population in Puerto Rico was female, being around 58% compared to 42% men.
• The median age of the Dominican population (49 years old) is 8 years older than the Puerto Rican population (41 years old).
• The total Dominican population was characterized by having the highest percentage of married marital status at 40%, followed by 32% never married, traits that are reversed in their order in contrast to the Puerto Rican population.
• The education attained and by sex of Dominicans showed:
  • Higher percentages in the trait of people with less than high school education, being higher in men (44%) than in women (38%).
  • In turn, there is a notable difference by sex in people with a high school level, with women accounting for 14% compared to men with 8%.

• With regard to the Dominican and Puerto Rican populations that achieved some post-secondary education, the data indicate that women in both populations are characterized by having a higher percentage of educational level attained.
• The percentage of Dominicans who were out of the labor force was much lower among men (26%) than among women (44%).
• In contrast to the Puerto Rican population, the percentage of people out of the labor force was much lower among the Dominican population than in the Puerto Rican population.
• Among the most common occupations of the Dominican population were household cleaners (9.2%), construction work (6.0%), janitors or building cleaners (4.4%), cooks (4.0%) and personal care assistants (3.6%).
• The Dominican population reflected a median income with a marked difference by sex of about four (4) thousand dollars ($4,011), being lower for Dominicans with a median of $10,842 compared to Dominicans with $14,853.
• This disparity of income by sex compared to the Puerto Rican population presents a similar pattern; Puerto Rican women reflected a lower median income than Puerto Rican men, in this case by about three (3) thousand dollars ($3,099).
• Just over half of the Dominican population in Puerto Rico (51%) was in poverty. Among Dominican residents, the percentage in poverty was higher than among Dominicans at 54% and 48%, respectively.
• Related to the health aspect, people with some difficulty hearing, seeing, cognitive, outpatient and/or self-care, reflected that out of every (10) Dominican people, two (2) of them have a disability, a finding quite similar to that shown by the Puerto Rican population.

To access the report, you can visit Publications.

About the Puerto Rico Institute of Statistics

To learn more about the Institute of Statistics, you can access the website: www.estadisticas.pr.gov. On social media through Facebook accounts (@statistics.pr), Twitter (@EstadisticasPR), Instagram (@institutodeestadisticas) and LinkedIn (Puerto Rico Institute of Statistics).

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Contact: Idia M. Martinez, R-28, 787-603-3200

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PRESS RELEASE

Significant advances in the structure of the Puerto Rico Institute of Statistics

A Strategic Plan that will allow the Puerto Rico Statistics Institute to be a more effective and effective one, the signing of a collaboration agreement with UNA-USA Puerto Rico to generate the first 13 indicators of the Sustainable Development Goals for Puerto Rico, the updating of the section on studies related to Hurricane Maria, as well as offering support and guidance to those interested in applying for job opportunities in the 2020 Census, are some of the advances made by the Statistics Institute of Puerto Rico during this year 2019.

Aware of the responsibility to coordinate the government's statistical production service to ensure that data is reliable and quickly and universally accessible, during this year the institute also completed and presented important publications such as: the Yearbook of the Puerto Rico Education System: 2015-2016, the World Values Survey for Puerto Rico 2018, the Migrant Profile 2017, the Food Security Report for Puerto Rico 2015, and the Student Health and Safety Profile in Puerto Rico: Years 2015-2017. The Puerto Rico Statistics Institute added to the achievements of 2019 to complete the data for the year 2017 of the Puerto Rico Violent Death Surveillance System, which received an excellent score in all quality criteria and ranked number one among the 42 participating jurisdictions.

“It has been a year of great progress for the Puerto Rico Institute of Statistics, because not only are we fulfilling our role of coordinating the production of complete and reliable statistics, but we have also established important alliances with various sectors that allow us to continue advancing our mission, while presenting opportunities to strengthen the research methodologies we carry out. For next year 2020, we will provide continuity with updates to the Puerto Rico Education System Yearbook, the Migrant Profile, and the Student Health and Safety Profile in Puerto Rico, among other products”, said the acting executive director of the Puerto Rico Institute of Statistics, Dr. Orville M. Disdier.

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The Puerto Rico Statistics Institute is an autonomous governmental entity tasked with 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 accessible quickly and universally. The most significant achievements of the Puerto Rico Institute of Statistics during this year are available at: Most Significant Achievements of the Puerto Rico Statistics Institute 2019.

To learn more about the Institute of Statistics, you can access the website: www.estadisticas.pr.gov. On social media through Facebook (@estadisticas .pr), Twitter (@EstadisticasPR) and LinkedIn (Institute of Statistics of Puerto Rico) accounts.

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Contacts:

Idia M. Martinez, R-28

787-603-3200

imartinez@upfrontpr.net

Lourdes Burgos, R-27

787-562-2932

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PRESS RELEASE

Statistics Institute releases first results on the Study of the Needs of the Deaf Community in Puerto Rico

84% of totally deaf people surveyed who needed public safety services and 75% of those who needed services in government agencies faced barriers

July 21, 2022: The executive director of the Puerto Rico Statistics Institute (Institute), Dr. Orville M. Disdier, presented the first results of the Study of the Needs of the Deaf Community in Puerto Rico, through an interactive digital report. This new product, called “Study of the Needs of the Deaf Community: Interactive Report”, presents the first results of the Population Survey that the Institute conducted, both to deaf and partially deaf people, and to the general public. In addition, the interactive report presents the results of focus group interviews with teachers of students with hearing difficulties. The platform presents, for both deaf and partially deaf people, data and statistics on socio-demographic aspects, on the difficulties presented when requesting services, both governmental and non-governmental, on the communication methods used by this community and on the difficulties in accessing information offered by various means of communication, among other findings.

“The data and statistics presented in this interactive report serve as an empirical basis to justify various initiatives and the development of new public policies that promote quality services and better integration of deaf people into the rest of society, while promoting equity and social justice,” said Dr. Disdier.

Some of the most relevant results of the Deaf Community Needs Study:

• 9% of all respondents indicated that they were completely deaf.
• 14% of all respondents indicated that they are partially deaf.
• 62% of the totally deaf people who participated in the survey were deaf at birth, while the remaining 38% became deaf sometime after their birth.
• 66% of the partially deaf who participated in the survey have a level of severe or profound deafness.
• 86% of the totally deaf people surveyed said they often feel discriminated against (41% very often and 45% sometimes). On the other hand, 68% of the partially deaf people surveyed said they often feel discriminated against (20% very often and 48% sometimes).
• 84% of the totally deaf people surveyed, who needed public safety services, faced barriers.
• 75% of the totally deaf people surveyed, who needed services from government agencies, faced barriers.
• On the other hand, 53% of the partially deaf people surveyed, who needed services from government agencies, faced barriers.
• Other places where the totally deaf people surveyed mentioned that they have faced difficulty receiving services, integrating or participating, are:
  • Hospitals (55%)
  • Medical offices (46%)
  • Restaurants (42%)
  • Banks or cooperatives (42%)
  • Place of employment (34%)
  • Cinema or theater (28%)
  • Supermarkets (24%)
  • Concerts or festivals (22%)
  • Gas stations (22%)
• The communication methods used by the totally deaf people surveyed are:
  • Lip reading (83%)
  • ASL signs (64%)
  • Writing (65%)
  • Verbal (59%)
  • Creole signs (56%)
  • Interpreter (45%)
  • Non-formal signs (26%)
• On the other hand, the communication methods most used by partially deaf people surveyed are verbal (87%), lip reading (59%) and written (43%).
• 51% of the totally deaf people surveyed reported using one of the following headphone devices:
  • Behind the ear or behind the ear (64%)
  • CROS hearing aid — BI-CROS (14%)
  • In the ear — Intra shell (11%)
  • Cochlear implant (8%)
  • Open ear — miniature size (3%)
• 58% of partially deaf people surveyed reported using one of the following headphone devices:
  • Behind the ear or behind the ear (53%)
  • CROS hearing aid — BI-CROS (26%)
  • In the channel — Intracanal (11%)
  • In the ear — Intra shell (5%)
  • Other (6%)
• 10% of all respondents indicated that they are hearing people (who are not deaf or partially deaf) but who live with a deaf person.
• 43% of the listeners surveyed, who live with a deaf person, have not taken sign language courses.
• On the other hand, 42% of all respondents indicated that they are hearing people (who are not deaf or partially deaf) but who know a deaf person.
• 25% of all respondents indicated that they are hearing people (who are not deaf or partially deaf) who do not live with a deaf person and who do not know a deaf person.
• In general terms, the educators who participated in the focus groups agreed that there are not many materials adapted for deaf students, so sometimes the teachers themselves have to modify the materials.

In the same way, the educators who participated in the focus groups agreed that in general, parents and/or guardians are not given the necessary support at the time the child is diagnosed. Dr. Disdier explained that the final sample of the survey consisted of 739 adults, 18 years of age or older, living in Puerto Rico, and it was accessible for more than sixty (60) days. A total of 21 educators were part of several focus groups, in which in-depth conversations were held about the needs of deaf students. In this regard, Dr. Disdier argued that “The data collected by educators of deaf students alert us that, like deaf adults, deaf children and adolescents also face challenges and needs, and that these challenges and needs are different and require actions adapted to that demographic sector.”

For his part, Manuel Mangual, Evaluation Specialist, who managed the study, explained that there are still some survey questions that are being processed and whose data will eventually be added to the interactive report. Likewise, in the coming weeks, additional focus group interviews will be conducted, whose results will also be included in the report, expanding and strengthening it. “Working on this project, for the benefit of deaf and partially deaf people, has been a lot of learning, enthusiasm and pride. The study participants gave us the confidence to be part of one voice when it came to their needs. During the next phases, we will continue to produce information aimed at promoting a more inclusive society,” emphasized Mangual.

The Study of the Needs of the Deaf Community: Interactive Report, resides on the website of the Puerto Rico Institute of Statistics and can be accessed at any time by interested parties at the following e-mail address: Outcomes and Needs Deaf Community.

For technical questions about this report, you can send an email to: preguntas@estadisticas.pr.

To learn more about the Institute of Statistics, you can access the website: www.estadisticas.pr.gov. On social media through Facebook accounts (@statistics.pr), Twitter (@EstadisticasPR), Instagram (@institutodeestadisticas) and LinkedIn (Puerto Rico Institute of Statistics).

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