Alejandro López Flores y Ronald G. Hernández Maldonado
18 December 2025
Author: Alejandro López Flores and Ronald G. Hernández Maldonado
Date: November 6, 2025
Poverty must be contextualized with social variables to understand and address it effectively. The Backwardness Index for Puerto Rico is an indicator composed of five variables that comprise two dimensions: Economic Mobility and Demography. This index seeks to measure poverty beyond income thresholds, and to incorporate elements of social backwardness and relative deprivation. An exploratory factor analysis was carried out on a set of variables to validate the construction of the multidimensional deprivation model, and to retain the variables that best captured the phenomenon of deprivation. Then, the retained variables were normalized using thresholds. The thresholds were obtained with data from the Puerto Rico Community Survey (ECPR or PRCS in English) and the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS in English). The scores of the different variables were aggregated by dimension, using the arithmetic mean, and the scores resulting from the dimensions were aggregated using the geometric mean. The values of the index lie between 0 and 1 where, the higher the score, the worse the result of the phenomenon.42 municipalities showed a decrease in their index score between the periods compared. Of these 42 municipalities, 22 showed a decrease in their score greater than 5%. Likewise, there are concentrations of municipalities with high Lagging Index scores in the central-southwest and southeastern areas of Puerto Rico.
San Juan, Puerto Rico. May 6, 2025. The number of graduates in creative disciplines in Puerto Rico increased by 26.4% between 2021 and 2022, according to the Puerto Rico Creative Industries Report 2021-2022 published by the Puerto Rico Institute of Statistics. The report notes that 1,930 people graduated in 2022 from programs related to art, design, technology and media, with baccalaureate being the most common degree (56.2%), and graphic design the discipline with the most graduates (20.6%). This compared to 1,527 who graduated in 2021.
This educational growth, together with a 5% increase in the number of creative establishments that reached 2,227 in 2022, outlines a dynamic landscape for this key sector in Puerto Rico's economic diversification and innovation. However, the report also documents an 11.3% drop in employment in these industries, with 14,550 people employed in 2022 compared to 16,415 in the previous year. Other findings from the report include:
Creative Establishments
68.5% of the establishments are small businesses with between 1 and 4 employees.
Distribution by sector: Art (36.3%), Media (30.6%) and Creative Services (26.4%).
Opportunities
The increase in graduates and new businesses reflects a growing academic offering and greater interest in creative careers.
Sectors such as technology and advertising offer competitive salaries to attract and retain talent.
Identified Challenges
86% of establishments are micro-enterprises with less than 10 employees.
Gender gaps persist, especially in high-paying sectors, where female representation is low.
There is a geographical concentration of companies in municipalities with greater purchasing power, with peripheral areas lagging behind.
Trade deficit: the value of imports triples that of exports, although there are signs of improvement.
Despite the challenges, the report highlights significant opportunities, such as a robust academic offering and competitive salaries in technological and advertising areas.
“Creative industries integrate culture, technology, innovation and entrepreneurship, making them a strategic economic sector for Puerto Rico,” said Francisco Pesante, Manager of Statistical Projects and author of the report. “This report puts into perspective the need to strengthen public policies, invest in specialized training and support small businesses in the creative sector, to ensure inclusive and sustainable economic growth, and promote Puerto Rico's competitiveness,” said Dr. Pesante.
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.
A new episode of The Institute of Statistics: The Podcast is now available!
Discover the facts about Type 1 Diabetes in the pediatric population of Puerto Rico in Episode 8. On this occasion, Dr. Orville M. Disdier, Executive Director of the Puerto Rico Institute of Statistics, spoke with Mrs. Mariana Benítez Hilera, Executive Director of the Pediatric Diabetes Foundation. In addition, the importance of the first Pediatric Type 1 Diabetes Platform in Puerto Rico, developed by the Institute of Statistics in collaboration with the Pediatric Diabetes Foundation, was discussed.
San Juan, Puerto Rico — November 6, 2025 — The Institute of Statistics released the results of the Backwater Index for Puerto Rico, a study that offers a comprehensive look at the social and economic situation of Puerto Rico's municipalities. This index constitutes an analysis and planning tool that seeks to promote dialogue, reflection and informed action for the benefit of Puerto Rico's socioeconomic development.
El Lagging Index measures a multidimensional phenomenon using a summary data that allows us to compare the relative performance of municipalities in two dimensions: Economic Mobility and Demography. Five main variables were considered in its design: the percentage of people below the poverty level, the unemployment rate, the percentage of high school graduates (in a population aged 18 and over), the dependency rate by age and the median age.
The index was calculated for two comparative periods: 2014-2018 and 2019-2023, allowing us to observe changes in scores and relative positions of municipalities over time. Index values fluctuate between 0 and 1, with a higher score representing a higher relative level of lagging.
The analysis reveals that 42 municipalities showed a decrease in their score of the Lagging Index, which suggests a relative improvement in the conditions measured by the indicator. Of these, 22 municipalities registered a reduction of more than 5%. In the same way, there are concentrations of municipalities with higher scores —indicating greater relative lagging— in the center, south, southwest and southeast regions of Puerto Rico, while several municipalities in the metropolitan area and adjacent to it showed progress compared to the rest of the archipelago.
The municipalities of Culebra, Toa Alta, Gurabo, Juncos, Dorado, Trujillo Alto, Santa Isabel, Canóvanas, Toa Baja and Las Piedras performed better in their relative index in the last period analyzed (2019-2023). However, the Institute stresses that the index is a relative measure and not an absolute measure, so the results must be analyzed within the context and used as a basis for the development of more specific analyses.
“The value of the index is not in pointing out which municipality is better or worse, but in providing an objective basis for analysis, planning and decision-making. It is an opportunity for mayors and officials who participate in decision-making to know their social and economic reality and to develop strategies that respond to the specific needs of their municipalities,” said Dr. Ronald Hernández, Manager of Statistical Projects at the Institute of Statistics of Puerto Rico.
For the elaboration of the Lagging Index, the Institute applied rigorous statistical methods —including exploratory factor analysis, normalization and aggregation of variables—using data from the five-year estimates of the Community Survey of the U.S. Census Bureau And the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Data
Table 1 shows the results of the Lagging Index at the municipal level for the periods 2014 - 2018 and 2019 - 2023. The table is ordered according to the position of the municipalities based on their index value for the period 2019 — 2023. The higher the index score, the worse or less favorable the outcome of the phenomenon.
Table 1: Lagging Index Results
According to Dr. Hernández, the results of the study highlight the need to design comprehensive public policies that address both the economic aspects and the demographic transformations of Puerto Rico. “The improvements seen in several municipalities are encouraging, but it is essential that socio-economic development efforts are integrated with strategies to respond to the ongoing demographic transition. This includes strengthening geriatric health services, care policies, retention of young people and urban planning adapted to long-lived communities,” said the Institute.”
Hernández indicated that, the Municipal Backwater Index seeks to promote an evidence-based dialogue between the different sectors of Puerto Rico. Its purpose is to serve as a planning and evaluation instrument, which facilitates the identification of areas of opportunity and guides investment decisions, municipal planning and public policy at the central and local levels.”
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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