PRESS RELEASE

OFFICE OF THE ACTING EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

The Institute of Statistics develops an initiative to document compliance with the law that makes library services accessible to people with disabilities

March 20, 2019. San Juan, Puerto Rico — The Puerto Rico Statistics Institute (Institute) is carrying out an initiative to ensure that libraries at the University of Puerto Rico, as well as libraries at private universities, post-secondary education institutions and municipalities in Puerto Rico, are complying with Law No. 63, “Act to Establish Inclusive Library Services for Technological Assistance.” This law requires library services to be accessible to people with disabilities through the use of technological equipment.

The initiative, developed by the Institute, in conjunction with the Technological Assistance Program (PRATP), consists of the creation of an electronic questionnaire that each entity or municipality can access to report progress in compliance with the aforementioned law. The Institute is also responsible for data management and the possible publication of related statistics.

“Each library must select a person who is responsible for accessing the platform and providing the data relevant to compliance with Law 63. This process can be completed in approximately 30 minutes. This representative will also serve as a link between his library, the National Library of Puerto Rico, the Puerto Rico Council of Education, the Office of the Ombudsman for Persons with Disabilities of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Technological Assistance Program and the Puerto Rico Institute of Statistics,” explained Dr. Oville M. Disdier, acting executive director of the Institute.

The new system will facilitate government access to collect, analyze and disseminate data describing how effective the libraries of public universities, private universities, post-secondary education institutions and municipalities in Puerto Rico have been in implementing Law No. 63, which was signed and approved on April 15, 2011.

“We urge all agencies, municipalities and universities, which must comply with this law, to access and complete the questionnaire before March 29,” said Disdier.

For questions about technical questions related to the questionnaire, entities can contact the Institute via email at cuestionario.ley63@estadisticas.pr or by calling (787) 993-3336. Also, for questions about the programmatic content of the law, you can contact the PRATP at (787) 474-9999 or by writing to pratp@pratp.upr.edu.

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Contact: Idia Martínez
Email: imartinez@upfrontpr.net
Tel: 787/603 3200

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Eliminated overestimation of statistics that marketed COFINA bonds

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San Juan, Puerto Rico — June 17, 2025. The Puerto Rico Statistics Institute released the results of the Cost of Living Index (COLI) for the first quarter of 2025 (January-March). The data reveals that in the urban area of Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) in San Juan-Bayamón-Caguas, public services registered an index of 161.0 (position 5 out of 282), equivalent to a cost 61% higher than the average of the participating jurisdictions. The main factor behind this gap is the residential electricity rate, whose price was 90.5% above the average of the urban areas participating in the study.

More expensive foods

In the supermarket category, the data reveal that the urban area of San Juan-Bayamón-Caguas is ranked 13th out of 282 participating urban areas in the United States, with an index of 110.7. This indicates that the cost of food in this urban area is 10.7% higher than the average for the rest of the participating areas.

Among the supermarket items considered for the COLI study, several products registered particularly high price gaps compared to the average of the participating jurisdictions.

Here are some selected items:

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An MSA is delimited according to demographic and economic criteria, considering the degree of socioeconomic integration measured by the daily movements of individuals within the urban area to their urban core. This metropolitan area has more than 2 million people, about two-thirds of the total population of Puerto Rico, so its prices affect the well-being of most households in the country.

The San Juan-Bayamón-Caguas MSA, as defined by the United States Census Bureau, is comprised of 40 municipalities. Of these municipalities, 15 meet the characteristics for price collection according to the established methodology. These are: Bayamón, Caguas, Canovanas, Carolina, Cataño, Cidra, Dorado, Gurabo, Guaynabo, Rio Grande, San Juan, Toa Alta, Toa Baja, Trujillo Alto and Vega Alta.

General MSA Indicators

Below are the overall results of the 6 categories considered for COLI.

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“The fact that the residential electricity rate in Puerto Rico is 90.5% higher than the average of the urban areas participating in the COLI shows a structural distortion in the energy system. This situation directly makes the daily lives of households more expensive and reduces their financial room for maneuver. Combined with the increase in the cost of food, this translates into a clear deterioration in the standard of living of citizens,” explained Dr. Ronald G. Hernández Maldonado, Manager of Statistical Projects at the Institute.

“The composite index reflects very high costs in public services and food, partially offset by relatively low prices in health care, transportation and other miscellaneous goods,” Hernández said.

The COLI, developed since 1968 by the Council for Community and Economic Research (C2ER), measures quarterly the relative cost of living in participating urban areas of the United States, including Puerto Rico.

The Puerto Rico Statistics Institute offers an interactive calculator to compare the cost of living between the San Juan-Bayamón-Caguas MSA and other participating cities: https://apps.estadisticas.pr/coli/.

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.

For more information you can write to preguntas@estadisticas.pr. They can also follow social networks through Facebook (@estadisticas .pr), X (@EstadisticasPR), LinkedIn (Institute of Statistics of Puerto Rico) and Instagram (@institutodeestadisticas) accounts.

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