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).

###

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

‍

Culebra's poverty rate exceeds that of Vieques.

9 de diciembre de 2022:  El Instituto de Estadísticas de Puerto Rico publicó el Compendio Estadístico de Escuelas Privadas PK-12 en Puerto Rico 2021-2022, y el Compendio Estadístico de Instituciones Postsecundarias Técnico-Vocacionales en Puerto Rico 2021-2022.  Ambos compendios fueron producidos en colaboración con la Oficina de Registro y Licenciamiento de Instituciones de Educación, la cual forma parte del Departamento de Estado del Gobierno de Puerto Rico.  Estos compendios proveen información estadística importante, como lo es la matrícula, cantidad de docentes, tasa de promoción, graduación o egresados, entre otros.

Se destacan como resultados relevantes del Compendio Estadístico 2021-2022 del sector de Educación Básica (PK-12) Privada:

• La matrícula de estudiantes aumentó de 108,178 (año escolar 2020-2021) a 109,979 (año escolar 2021-2022).
• El 51% de los estudiantes eran del sexo masculino y el 49% del sexo femenino.
• La cantidad de maestros y maestras aumentó de 9,554 (año escolar 2020-2021) a 9,749 (año escolar 2021-2022).
• El 80% de la facultad eran maestras, mientras que el 20% eran maestros.
• El costo promedio del pago mensual fluctuó entre $313 y $408.
• De los 313 incidentes de acoso reportados, el 49.5% consistieron en acoso verbal y el 25.6% en acoso cibernético.

Asimismo, se destacan como resultados relevantes del Compendio Estadístico 2021-2022 de sector de Instituciones Postsecundarias Técnico-Vocacionales:

• La matrícula de estudiantes aumentó de 17,700 (año académico 2020-2021) a 24,089 (año académico 2021-2022).
• El 49% de los estudiantes eran del sexo masculino y el 51% del sexo femenino.
• La cantidad de profesores y profesoras disminuyó de 2,791 (año escolar 2020-2021) a 2,609 (año escolar 2021-2022).
• El 52% de la facultad eran profesoras, mientras que el 48% eran profesores.
• El 68% de la facultad trabajaba a tiempo parcial, mientras que el 32% a tiempo completo.

“Durante la pasada década, el sistema educativo ha experimentado importantes cambios en todos los niveles.  Estos cambios no solo se reflejan en el sector público, sino también en el sector privado de prekínder a duodécimo grado y en el sector postsecundario técnico-vocacional.  Contar con información cuantitativa sobre estos cambios es primordial para, ante estos retos, tomar decisiones basadas en la evidencia, y planificar las acciones a futuro”, expresó el Dr. Orville M. Disdier.

Damaris Nolasco, directora de la Oficina de Registro y Licenciamiento de Instituciones de Educación del Departamento de Estado, expresó que, “Aunque la matrícula de estudiantes del sector privado PK-12 demostró un aumento en comparación con el año anterior 2020-2021, es importante esperar a los próximos compendios, pues, debido a la pandemia, el año 2020-2021 fue uno atípico y confirmar si esta tendencia de aumento se mantiene.  Definitivamente, es importante recopilar, producir y publicar los compendios estadísticos en colaboración con el Instituto de Estadísticas de Puerto Rico”.

Tanto el Compendio Estadístico de Escuelas Privadas PK-12 en Puerto Rico, como el Compendio Estadístico de Instituciones Postsecundarias Técnico-Vocacionales en Puerto Rico 2021-2022, se puede acceder, en cualquier momento a través de la siguiente dirección electrónica:

Compendios estadísticos sobre la educación privada no universitaria

Para preguntas técnicas sobre este informe, pueden enviar un correo electrónico a: preguntas@estadisticas.pr.

Para conocer más sobre el Instituto de Estadísticas, pueden acceder la página web: www.estadisticas.pr.gov.  En las redes sociales a través de las cuentas de Facebook (@estadisticas.pr), Twitter (@EstadisticasPR), Instagram (@institutodeestadisticas) y LinkedIn (Instituto de Estadísticas de Puerto Rico).

‍