Resident Commissioner initiates congressional bill for the inclusion of Puerto Rico's statistics

Announcements
IEPR
26 December 2025

PRESS RELEASE

DR. MARIO MARAZZI-SANTIAGO

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

RESIDENT COMMISSIONER LAUNCHES CONGRESSIONAL BILL TO PROMOTE PUERTO RICO'S INCLUSION IN FEDERAL STATISTICS

The bill also requires that the Fiscal Oversight Board submit to Congress

an annual report on the budget allocated to the Puerto Rico Institute of Statistics

San Juan, PR, June 28, 2018 — The resident commissioner, Hon. Jennifer A. González Colón, filed this week in the United States Congress the H.R. 6211 project, better known as the Puerto Rico Data Collection Equality Act of 2018, which seeks to improve the collection and publication of statistics related to Puerto Rico, through the inclusion of Puerto Rico in federal statistics.

The project was created to follow up on the recommendations made in the Final report of the Task Force bipartisan congressional representative created under the federal PROMESA Act of December 2016, some of which are based on recommendations made by the Puerto Rico Institute of Statistics (Institute). For example, that report recommended that the Chief Statistician of the United States to develop a plan, in coordination with the Interagency Council on Statistical Policy, to collect and publish statistics on Puerto Rico, in a similar way as is done for states. He also recommended including Puerto Rico in several surveys of the U.S. Census Bureau, such as the Government Census, the American Housing Survey, among others, and at the same time proposed to seek to include Puerto Rico in the statistics prepared by several federal agencies, including the National Center for Education Statistics, The National Center for Health Statistics, The National Agricultural Statistical Service, the Bureau of Justice Statistics, The Energy Information Administration, among others.

As for the Institute, the above-mentioned congressional report recommended that it remain an independent entity of the Government of Puerto Rico and that its budget be increased, in accordance with its important duties. For these purposes, the new project filed by the Resident Commissioner requires that the Fiscal Oversight Board (JSF) provide the United States Congress with an annual report on the budget allocated to the Institute, specifically justifying the level of funds it provided for the Institute, in the general budget of the Government of Puerto Rico.

“We congratulate the Resident Commissioner for the initiation of this important project. In Washington, they are attentive to the actions being taken in Puerto Rico regarding the future of the Institute and its budget, because the problem with Puerto Rico's statistics also affects the United States. It would be counterproductive to deepen the crisis of credibility of our Government by consolidating the Institute within the Government,” said Dr. Mario Marazzi-Santiago, executive director of the Institute.

In the coming days, the Senate and House of Representatives of Puerto Rico will seek to agree on a version of consensus regarding P. de la C. 1403, which consolidates the Institute within the Department of Economic Development and Commerce (DDEC). This project eliminates all of the Institute's independent governance structures, and in effect eliminates the Institute by converting it into the DDEC Statistics Program. In addition, the project orders the DDEC to outsource Puerto Rico's statistics system.

Thousands of people and scientists, 47 world-renowned scientific organizations, 16 congressmen, the Private Sector Coalition, the Transparency Network, the National Academy for the Advancement of the Sciences, the American Statistical Association, the Royal Statistical Society and the JSF, among many others, have recommended that the Institute be maintained as an independent entity of the Government of Puerto Rico, free from political intervention.

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, about 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 State Data Center (SDC) of Puerto Rico, the Institute manages the SDC portal, which contains 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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Puerto Rico public service census database released

Puerto Rico public service census database released

Six municipalities with at least 60% of their population living in poverty

PRESS RELEASE

PUERTO RICO STATE DATA CENTER NETWORK (SDC-PR)

Six municipalities with at least 60% of their population living in poverty

They are located in the center and south-west according to the Map Series of the Puerto Rico Census Data Network

San Juan, PR, November 17, 2020 — The percentage of people living in poverty shows that six municipalities have between 60% and 64% of their population with this characteristic. The geographical distribution shows that they are located in the center and southwest of Puerto Rico, these being Maricao, Guánica, Adjuntas, Lajas, Jayuya and Comerío. La Selected Indicator Map Series includes the information collected during the period 2014-2018 through the Community Survey carried out by U.S. Census Bureau. This series includes ten indicators on demographic, social and economic topics at the level of municipalities and neighborhoods in Puerto Rico.

In addition, with information from the same period (2014-2018), the Socio-Demographic Profiles of Puerto Rico's Electoral Districts Which are divided volume I and II, with the 8 Senate Districts and with the 40 Representative Districts respectively. These provide a detailed photograph of each electoral district with essential information to know the particularities of the population that resides in each of them.

Both new products (Map and Profile Series) are part of the publications of the Puerto Rico Census Data Network (SDC-PR by its acronym in English). All of them can be accessed free of charge on the SDC-PR censo.estadisticas.pr. As a local liaison entity with the U.S. Census Bureau, the Institute of Statistics shares several findings from the Selected Indicator Map Series:

  • Among the 10 municipalities with the highest percentage of children under 18, eight of them were in the southern and central region of Puerto Rico. On the other hand, the 4 municipalities with the lowest percentage of minors were Guaynabo, and to the west Rincón, Mayagüez and Hormigueros.
  • The highest percentages of the 18-64 year old population were in 7 municipalities, these being Toa Alta, Aguada, Morovis, and in the central-eastern area Cidra, Gurabo, Juncos and San Lorenzo. On the other hand, the municipalities with the lowest percentages of the population aged 18-64 are located mainly in the southwest (Hormigueros, San Germán, Sabana Grande, Lajas and Guánica) and to the east (Fajardo, Ceiba and Culebra).
  • The municipalities with the highest percentage of elderly people (65+) are shown to be in the western area of Hormigueros, San Germán, Lajas and Rincón.
  • Municipalities with the highest percentages (80%-84%) of people with a higher education level or higher are geographically concentrated in the metropolitan area, in addition to Santa Isabel on the south coast. On the other hand, the two municipalities with the lowest percentage of education attained are located in the midwest (Maricao and Las Marías).
  • As for the population with disabilities (reported on their own account), 6 of the 10 municipalities with the highest percentages (Cayey, Cidra, Comerío, Aguas Buenas, Naranjito and Orocovis) are geographically concentrated in the central area, and the other 4 municipalities are located in the south-west (Guánica, Sabana Grande, Hormigueros and Yauco). On the other hand, a concentration of municipalities in the south-east region reflected hundreds of children with disabilities (< 15%), with 9 of the 13 municipalities in this category including the island municipalities of Vieques and Culebra.
  • In the metropolitan region, east and south, most of the municipalities with the highest percentage (50%-74%) of households with access to broadband internet are clustered. In a situation of lower access, some 4 municipalities in the western region showed that they had less than 35% of their homes with internet access, these being Lajas, Cabo Rojo, Maricao and Las Marías.
  • In percentage terms, the population in 37 municipalities around Puerto Rico was shown to have half of its population or more (50% +) living in poverty. Municipalities with the lowest percentage of people in poverty are located in the metropolitan area with the exception of the municipalities of San Juan and Cataño.
  • Regarding family income across municipalities, this indicates that about 7 municipalities (Gurabo, Trujillo Alto, Dorado, Carolina, Toa Alta, Culebra and Bayamón) showed a median of between $30,000 and $39,000 in family income. The municipality with the highest median household income was Guaynabo ($44,000).
  • The highest percentage of people in the workforce (50%-57%) are mostly municipalities in the metropolitan area and the Northeast, where 11 of the 13 municipalities with this characteristic are located, Culebra and Juana Diaz the only ones outside these regions.

“The series of maps provides a geographical perspective on features of interest within Puerto Rico. The behavior of geographical patterns could support government and community management, analysis for decision-making, and stimulate research. In the same sense, the profiles of the electoral districts serve as basic metrics for current and future public policy that affects the residents of these regions.” said Alberto L. Velázquez-Estrada, Manager of Statistical Projects at the Institute.

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. In addition, as the leading entity of the SDC in Puerto Rico, the Institute manages the SDC portal, which contains 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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For questions:

https://preguntas.estadisticas.pr/

Statistics Institute Creates Resource Section on COVID-19

PRESS RELEASE

Statistics Institute creates resource section on COVID-19

The section includes sources from Puerto Rico and other jurisdictions around the world

San Juan, Puerto Rico, May 11, 2020 — The website of the Puerto Rico Statistics Institute (Institute) has a new section where you can access data and information related to the impact of COVID-19 in Puerto Rico and other jurisdictions around the world. As reported by the executive director, Dr. Orville M. Disdier, the objective is to provide access to the information that various organizations have been producing on this subject from a single electronic portal.

At the moment, the section has information on topics such as tests, positive and negative cases, mortality, demographic and socioeconomic data, surveillance and response, among others. It is contained in links that direct the user to information or data portals of institutions such as the Puerto Rico Department of Health, Red Cross, Johns Hopkins University, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Department of State, Federal Emergency Management Agency, Center for Disease Control and Prevention and several private entities.

Disdier clarified that the content of the section, which can be found on the page www.estadisticas.pr.gov, in the COVID-19 section and under the name COVID-19 Resources, is solely for reference and research on this topic and has not necessarily been reviewed or evaluated by the Institute, so they cannot guarantee that all information is complete or reliable. The section will be reviewed periodically to add new sources.

About the Puerto Rico Institute of Statistics

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. In addition, as the leading entity of the SDC in Puerto Rico, 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, 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 the website: https://estadisticas.pr.gov/. In addition, you can follow the Institute on social networks, through Facebook (@estadisticas .pr), Twitter (@EstadisticasPR) and LinkedIn (Institute of Statistics of Puerto Rico) accounts.

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Press Contact:

Idia Martínez

787-603-3200

imartinez@upfrontpr.net