Private sector slightly increases investment in Research and Development activities in Puerto Rico despite reductions in other sectors

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‍Puerto Rico Institute of Statistics to present new data on migration

In a specialized webinar today, April 30, 2026

At a time when migration continues to influence Puerto Rico's economy, demography and public planning, the Puerto Rico Institute of Statistics announced the holding of the webinar ”2023—2024 Migrant Profile”, which will present the most recent findings on population movements between Puerto Rico and the rest of the United States.

The event will be held this Thursday, April 30, 2026, at 10:00 a.m., in virtual mode, and will offer an updated analysis of changes in migratory patterns, as well as the sociodemographic characteristics of people who migrate and return to Puerto Rico. The activity is free of charge but requires registration at: https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/2574211161276128093.

The session will be led by Alberto L. VelázquezEstrada, Senior Manager of Statistical Projects at the Institute, who will present data on variables such as age, educational level, income and mobility trends. In addition, essential methodological aspects for the study of migration will be discussed both in Puerto Rico and in other jurisdictions of the United States.

The analysis is based on statistical products such as the Migrant Profile, which integrate information from official sources such as the U.S. Census Bureau Community Survey, and other population mobility metrics.

Velázquez highlighted that this type of analysis is key to understanding the impact of migration in areas such as the labor market, government planning and economic development, as well as for guiding decision-making based on data. “This webinar is part of the Institute's Academies and Workshops program, an initiative that seeks to strengthen access and use of reliable statistics among professionals, researchers, students and the general public,” said Velázquez.

To learn more about the Puerto Rico Institute of Statistics, you can access www.estadisticas.pr.gov or follow their social networks: Facebook (@estadisticas .pr), X (@EstadisticasPR), Instagram (@institutodeestadisticas) and LinkedIn (Institute of Statistics of Puerto Rico).

Author: Alejandro López Flores and Ronald G. Hernández Maldonado

Date: November 6, 2025

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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.

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