Institute of Statistics publishes Creative Industries of Puerto Rico 2016

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IEPR
26 December 2025

INSTITUTE OF STATISTICS PUBLISHES CREATIVE INDUSTRIES OF PUERTO RICO 2016

This is the second statistical report made on the subject and it shows that the largest number of related establishments (59%) has between 1 and 4 employees

San Juan, PR, May 17, 2018 — The Puerto Rico Statistics Institute (Institute) released today Creative Industries in Puerto Rico 2016, which is the second publication that presents statistics on creative industries, with the purpose of supporting their development, in accordance with Law No. 173 of October 13, 2014, also known as the Law to Promote Creative Industries.

The purpose of this second report is to capture some indicators that in the long term serve as metrics of the execution of Creative Industries in the production of goods and services for the local market and their export. There is currently no consensus on the type of industries that should be classified as “creative”. However, Article 3 of Law 173-2014 defines creative industries based on the following list of industries:

  • Design (graphic, industrial, fashion and interiors)
  • Arts (music, visual and performing arts and publications)
  • Media (application development, video games, online media, digital content and multimedia)
  • Creative Services (architecture and creative education)

The published compendium presents all the statistics already available on these industries. But, in addition, statistics are presented on several additional industries that have been classified as “creative” in previous UNESCO studies, among others, and these, together with those defined by Law 173-2014, are referred to in the report as “Law 173+”:

  • other Arts (cinematography, jewelry, sewing)
  • other media (radio, television, cable, books)
  • other Creative Services (advertising, drawing)
  • Heritage (libraries, museums and historic sites)

Below are some of the publication's key findings:

1) The largest concentration of Creative Industries in the Ley 173+ group took place in establishments with 1 to 4 employees, who brought together 58.5% of them. An experience that was most strongly repeated in the sectors of Law 173, which comprised 71.7% of the establishments (County Business Patterns, CBP). In the case of 173+ sectors, those dedicated to Jewelry, followed by Computer system design and Advertising agencies (in that order) were the ones with the highest number of establishments in the sources consulted. In the specific case of Law 173, it was the establishments dedicated to System design Computer scientists and Computer Programming Services (CBP and Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, QCEW).

2) The line of number of employees by industry, for the sectors of Law 173+, followed the same pattern as the previous line, with establishments dedicated to Jewelry, Computer system design and Agencies of publicity (in that order) those who employed the largest number of employees. The second of these, Computer system design, was the one who occupied the first position under Law 173, followed by Computer Programming Services (QCEW).

3) In the analysis of number of employees by occupation The first position in the entirety of Law 173+ corresponds to Wired telecommunications service operators with 3,148 employees, followed by those dedicated to Computer system design, with 2,030 employees. For Law 173, specifically, people employed in Computer system design (2,030) and Services of computer programming (1,842) ranked first and second (QCEW).

4) In the distribution of employees by sex, the industry of the Ley 173+ group with the highest percentage of employed women was Libraries and archives (87%) and in the lower position was the Sound industry with 12%. The most even distribution by sex occurred in Advertising Industries with 50%. In the case of jobs grouped under Law 173, the jobs of Editing and dissemination of content over the internet and search services was the one with the highest percentage of female participation (62%). The jobs of Software publishing was the one with the most even distribution (42%), being those of the Sound industry, mentioned above, those with the lowest female participation (Public Use Microdata Sample of the Puerto Rico Community Survey, PRCS-PUMS).

5) For both Law 173+ and Law 173 sectors, the Average revenue by industry The highest was $118,665 for the line of Software publishing (QCEW).

6) For both Law 173+ and Law 173 sectors, the Average annual wage by occupation The highest corresponded to System software developers with $67,530 (Occupational Employment Statistics, OES).

7) In the presentation of creative establishments per inhabitant for the Ley 173+ group The median number of establishments grouped under the creative industries by municipalities It was 2 establishments per 10,000 inhabitants. San Juan had approximately 25 establishments per 10,000 inhabitants (QCEW).

8) As for the value of imports and exports of assets of the Creative Industries in the Law 173+ sectors, in 2016 there was a trade balance of -$200 million (Institute).

To view the full report you can visit: Creative-Industries-of-Puerto Rico-2016.

In this second edition of the Creative Industries in Puerto Rico report, the secondary data sources and methodologies developed in the first report continued to be used. Industrias_Creativas_en_Puerto_Rico_2014.pdf. Since most of the available sources provide data up to 2016, it was decided to title this report with that reference date.

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. The IEPR has in its inventory, accessible through https://estadisticas.pr.gov, about 300 statistical products. In addition, it is a custodian and provides access to over 100 data sets or “data sets” through https://data.pr.gov and to over 40 tables and more than 6 thousand indicators through: https://www.indicadores.pr.

In addition, as the leading entity of the Puerto Rico SDC, the IEPR manages the SDC portal, where you can find the main statistical reports and publications of the U.S. Census Bureau on Puerto Rico, specifically those that are most in demand, such as annual population estimates; the Puerto Rico Community Survey (Puerto Rico Community Survey) and official statistics on Puerto Rico's 10-year population and housing censuses, among others. The Puerto Rico SDC portal can be accessed through: https://censo.estadisticas.pr.

For more information you can visit our website: https://estadisticas.pr.gov. In addition, you can follow us on social networks through Facebook accounts (https://www.facebook.com/estadisticas.pr), Twitter (https://twitter.com/estadisticaspr) and LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/instituto-de-estadisticas-de-puerto-rico).

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Press Contact: Sandra Morales Blanes/(787) 688-0401

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Institute of Statistics publishes Creative Industries of Puerto Rico 2016

INSTITUTE OF STATISTICS PUBLISHES CREATIVE INDUSTRIES OF PUERTO RICO 2016

This is the second statistical report made on the subject and it shows that the largest number of related establishments (59%) has between 1 and 4 employees

San Juan, PR, May 17, 2018 — The Puerto Rico Statistics Institute (Institute) released today Creative Industries in Puerto Rico 2016, which is the second publication that presents statistics on creative industries, with the purpose of supporting their development, in accordance with Law No. 173 of October 13, 2014, also known as the Law to Promote Creative Industries.

The purpose of this second report is to capture some indicators that in the long term serve as metrics of the execution of Creative Industries in the production of goods and services for the local market and their export. There is currently no consensus on the type of industries that should be classified as “creative”. However, Article 3 of Law 173-2014 defines creative industries based on the following list of industries:

  • Design (graphic, industrial, fashion and interiors)
  • Arts (music, visual and performing arts and publications)
  • Media (application development, video games, online media, digital content and multimedia)
  • Creative Services (architecture and creative education)

The published compendium presents all the statistics already available on these industries. But, in addition, statistics are presented on several additional industries that have been classified as “creative” in previous UNESCO studies, among others, and these, together with those defined by Law 173-2014, are referred to in the report as “Law 173+”:

  • other Arts (cinematography, jewelry, sewing)
  • other media (radio, television, cable, books)
  • other Creative Services (advertising, drawing)
  • Heritage (libraries, museums and historic sites)

Below are some of the publication's key findings:

1) The largest concentration of Creative Industries in the Ley 173+ group took place in establishments with 1 to 4 employees, who brought together 58.5% of them. An experience that was most strongly repeated in the sectors of Law 173, which comprised 71.7% of the establishments (County Business Patterns, CBP). In the case of 173+ sectors, those dedicated to Jewelry, followed by Computer system design and Advertising agencies (in that order) were the ones with the highest number of establishments in the sources consulted. In the specific case of Law 173, it was the establishments dedicated to System design Computer scientists and Computer Programming Services (CBP and Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, QCEW).

2) The line of number of employees by industry, for the sectors of Law 173+, followed the same pattern as the previous line, with establishments dedicated to Jewelry, Computer system design and Agencies of publicity (in that order) those who employed the largest number of employees. The second of these, Computer system design, was the one who occupied the first position under Law 173, followed by Computer Programming Services (QCEW).

3) In the analysis of number of employees by occupation The first position in the entirety of Law 173+ corresponds to Wired telecommunications service operators with 3,148 employees, followed by those dedicated to Computer system design, with 2,030 employees. For Law 173, specifically, people employed in Computer system design (2,030) and Services of computer programming (1,842) ranked first and second (QCEW).

4) In the distribution of employees by sex, the industry of the Ley 173+ group with the highest percentage of employed women was Libraries and archives (87%) and in the lower position was the Sound industry with 12%. The most even distribution by sex occurred in Advertising Industries with 50%. In the case of jobs grouped under Law 173, the jobs of Editing and dissemination of content over the internet and search services was the one with the highest percentage of female participation (62%). The jobs of Software publishing was the one with the most even distribution (42%), being those of the Sound industry, mentioned above, those with the lowest female participation (Public Use Microdata Sample of the Puerto Rico Community Survey, PRCS-PUMS).

5) For both Law 173+ and Law 173 sectors, the Average revenue by industry The highest was $118,665 for the line of Software publishing (QCEW).

6) For both Law 173+ and Law 173 sectors, the Average annual wage by occupation The highest corresponded to System software developers with $67,530 (Occupational Employment Statistics, OES).

7) In the presentation of creative establishments per inhabitant for the Ley 173+ group The median number of establishments grouped under the creative industries by municipalities It was 2 establishments per 10,000 inhabitants. San Juan had approximately 25 establishments per 10,000 inhabitants (QCEW).

8) As for the value of imports and exports of assets of the Creative Industries in the Law 173+ sectors, in 2016 there was a trade balance of -$200 million (Institute).

To view the full report you can visit: Creative-Industries-of-Puerto Rico-2016.

In this second edition of the Creative Industries in Puerto Rico report, the secondary data sources and methodologies developed in the first report continued to be used. Industrias_Creativas_en_Puerto_Rico_2014.pdf. Since most of the available sources provide data up to 2016, it was decided to title this report with that reference date.

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. The IEPR has in its inventory, accessible through https://estadisticas.pr.gov, about 300 statistical products. In addition, it is a custodian and provides access to over 100 data sets or “data sets” through https://data.pr.gov and to over 40 tables and more than 6 thousand indicators through: https://www.indicadores.pr.

In addition, as the leading entity of the Puerto Rico SDC, the IEPR manages the SDC portal, where you can find the main statistical reports and publications of the U.S. Census Bureau on Puerto Rico, specifically those that are most in demand, such as annual population estimates; the Puerto Rico Community Survey (Puerto Rico Community Survey) and official statistics on Puerto Rico's 10-year population and housing censuses, among others. The Puerto Rico SDC portal can be accessed through: https://censo.estadisticas.pr.

For more information you can visit our website: https://estadisticas.pr.gov. In addition, you can follow us on social networks through Facebook accounts (https://www.facebook.com/estadisticas.pr), Twitter (https://twitter.com/estadisticaspr) and LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/instituto-de-estadisticas-de-puerto-rico).

##

Press Contact: Sandra Morales Blanes/(787) 688-0401

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Generosity Report 2015-2023

Donations to non-profit organizations in Puerto Rico increased 136.5% in eight years

Report from the Institute of Statistics and UPR reveals that donations deducted from payroll exceeded $329 million in 2023

The Puerto Rico Institute of Statistics and the Graduate School of Public Administration (EGAP) of the University of Puerto Rico published the new Generosity Report 2015-2023, an analysis that reveals sustained growth in monetary donations reported by taxpayers in Puerto Rico over the past eight years.

The report, based on official data from the Department of Treasury on deductions claimed for donations to non-profit organizations, shows that total monetary donations increased from $139.5 million in 2015 to $329.8 million in 2023, representing a cumulative increase of 136.5%.

The analysis also reveals that, during the period studied, taxpayers in Puerto Rico claimed an average of $231.9 million annually in deductions for donations. The largest annual increase occurred between 2020 and 2021, when deductions grew 19.6%, a behavior that coincides with the period after the pandemic and multiple emergencies that impacted Puerto Rico.

“The report confirms that in Puerto Rico there is a culture of support and solidarity that deserves to be documented and studied in greater depth. This data allow us to begin to measure Puerto Rico's philanthropic behavior, using official and comparable information,” said Dr. Luz Mairym López-Rodríguez, associate professor at EGAP and project manager.

The doctor added that “the preparation of this report represents an opportunity for Puerto Rico to join the discussion on generosity, particularly in the context of Latin America and the Caribbean. In addition, it will make it possible to promote academic research based on concrete data.” He also expressed his gratitude to Omar Álvarez González, the Institute's statistical project assistant, for his collaboration in the development of the report.

“In many jurisdictions around the world, there are efforts to measure and document the ecosystem of generosity. In Puerto Rico, there is still little statistical information on this topic, so this report represents an important step in generating comparable data and bringing a new dimension to the economic and social analysis of Puerto Rico,” said Dr. Orville M. Disdier Flores, executive director of the Institute of Statistics.

Disdier also mentioned that “non-profit organizations and philanthropy are an important part of the social and economic fabric of Puerto Rico, and having official statistics on generosity allows us to better understand how people support community, educational, cultural and health causes, among others. That is why we welcomed the collaboration proposed by Dr. Luz Mairym López-Rodríguez to develop this analysis.”

The report also includes interactive graphics and maps that allow us to visualize trends and compare the behavior of deductions for donations over time. Although the total amount of donations increased, the study points out that the number of taxpayers who claimed deductions for donations showed a reduction during the period analyzed, suggesting that the average contributions claimed are higher than a decade ago.

The report is available at: Generosity Report 2015-2023.

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