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.
Statistical Yearbook of the Education System 2015-2016 has been published
Study reflects decrease in the prevalence of bullying at school among girls
The Puerto Rico Statistics Institute (Institute) published the statistical profile of Puerto Rico's education system for the academic year 2015-2016. The report includes data and information on all levels of education (pre-primary, primary, secondary, post-secondary, and university), both for the public and private sectors.
For the segment that groups the pre-primary, primary and secondary levels, the study highlights that in the public system the number of schools decreased from 1,386 to 1,332; students decreased from 410,950 to 379,818; teachers increased from 31.186 to 31,993 and the student-to-teacher ratio decreased from 13.2 to 11.9. 51.1% of the students were male, and the number of students in special education decreased from 129,086 to 123,376. While for the private system the number of schools decreased from 853 to 795 and the number of students decreased from 144,034 to 142,235; the number of teachers decreased from 11,645 to 11,536. 50.7% of the students were male, the number of students in special education increased from 15,828 to 16,462, and the student-to-teacher ratio increased from 12.2 to 12.3.
The new Measurement and Evaluation for Academic Transformation tests, better known as the META, began to be implemented in the public sector in the academic year 2015-2016; these revealed that 45% and 51% of all students in the public sector were proficient in English and Spanish subjects, respectively, while in mathematics only 33% were proficient. Regarding the results of the Academic Achievement Tests, known as Learn Aid and taken by students from the private sector, they revealed that between 62% and 67% of students in all grades, in the private system, were proficient in the subjects of Spanish, English, non-verbal reasoning and mathematics.
Regarding the average scores obtained in the University Assessment and Admission Tests, tests known as the College Board, the results showed that, in the public and private sectors, the subject with the highest score was English, with 443 and 552, respectively. It should be noted that, for all subjects, including verbal and mathematical reasoning, students in the private sector scored higher compared to the public sector.
This statistical profile also revealed that the results of the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System,related to bullying, demonstrate a decrease in the prevalence of Bullying towards girls in public schools from 13.4% (2013) to 10.5% (2015).
“Achieving a statistical profile of the entire educational system in Puerto Rico, including data from both the public and private systems, requires multiple sources of information with methodologies and publication dates that vary widely from each other. It is for these reasons, among others, that this type of product is usually referred to two or three years prior to the current year. But despite this, this Statistical Yearbook is the only product in Puerto Rico that presents a standardized reference framework that contrasts with previous years and provides projections for the future, as far as education statistics are concerned,” explained Dr. Orville M. Disdier, Acting Executive Director of the Institute and lead author of the report.
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 or to access the statistical profile of Puerto Rico's education system for the academic year 2015-2016, you can visit the website: Publications or through the social networks of Facebook (@estadisticas .pr), Twitter (@EstadisticasPR) and LinkedIn (Institute of Statistics of Puerto Rico).
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