72,000 net passengers returned on domestic flights in the first 4 months of the year

The data confirms the return of people after the passage of Hurricane Maria

San Juan, PR, July 13, 2017 — The Puerto Rico Statistics Institute (Institute) today released updated data on the movement of air passengers on domestic flights up to the month of April 2018, as reported by airlines to U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS). Here's a summary of the most striking results:

• In the last 4 months of last year (September to December 2017), during the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, about -200,000 net passengers departed on domestic flights.

• In contrast, in the first 4 months of the year (January to April 2018), about 72,000 people arrived in Puerto Rico in net terms on domestic flights.

• This represents a notable change from previous years. For example, for the same period last year (January to April 2017), instead of experiencing a net passenger arrival, almost -40,000 net air passengers had departed.

• In the first 10 months of fiscal year 2017-18, there was a net movement of air passengers on domestic flights of almost -155 thousand air passengers. In the last 3 calendar years (2014, 2015 and 2016), the net movement of air passengers on domestic flights was an average departure of -89,000 passengers per year.

“We have been trying to identify a return pattern after Hurricane Maria for some time. Finally, these data confirm that trend. Although the figure does not indicate that a similar number of people have returned among those who left after the Hurricane, the data suggests that this return process has begun. We will have to see how the movement of passengers behaves during this summer to get a more complete picture. But, for now, these data suggest that for fiscal year 2017-18 there will be a net migration of approximately -150 to -170 thousand people. If so, this will represent an increase in the migratory wave that Puerto Rico had been experiencing before the Hurricane, which was around -90,000 people a year before the passage of Hurricane Maria. But, at the same time, it will represent a substantially lower increase than the -250,000 people that had been projected in the last Fiscal Plan,” said Dr. Mario Marazzi-Santiago, executive director of the Institute.

Data on the net movement of air passengers can be downloaded from: https://indicadores.pr/dataset/vuelos-pasajeros-aereos-y-carga-puerto-rico.

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 www.estadisticas.pr.gov, over 300 statistical products. In addition, it is a custodian and provides access to over 100 data sets or “data sets” through www.data.pr.gov and to over 40 tables and more than 6 thousand indicators through: 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: www.estadisticas.pr.gov. In addition, you can follow us on social networks through Facebook (estadisticas.pr), Twitter (@EstadisticasPR) and LinkedIn (Institute of Statistics of Puerto Rico) accounts.

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

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PRESS RELEASE September 13, 2018

RED STATE DATA CENTER OF PUERTO RICO

97,000 PEOPLE IMMIGRATED TO THE UNITED STATES IN 2017

The figure includes only a few of the people who migrated after Hurricane Maria.

San Juan, PR — El U.S. Census Bureau published today the most recent estimates of the Puerto Rico Community Survey known as Puerto Rico Community Survey (PRCS). These statistics refer to information collected during the 2017 calendar year and include social, economic and housing characteristics for Puerto Rico and municipalities with a population of 65,000 people or more. As the leading entity of the Network State Data Center Of U.S. Census Bureau in Puerto Rico, the Puerto Rico Statistics Institute (Institute) presents this brief summary of several findings from this disclosure:

1. During 2017, 97,000 people moved from Puerto Rico to the United States, while 20,000 people moved in the opposite direction, resulting in a net migratory movement of -77,000 people. Since the PRCS began to be carried out in 2005, this migratory movement, both in absolute and in net terms, represents the highest. These data will be described in greater depth in the Institute's 2017 Migrant Profile, which will be published in the coming months.
2. The median household income in Puerto Rico decreased by 3.7% between 2016 ($20,078) and 2017 ($19,343). Household income categories showed that 60% of households had incomes under $25,000. Of these, nearly half (29%) had incomes of less than $10,000.
3. In 2017, 44% of people and 41% of families were below the poverty level. In families where women are heads of household without a husband present, the percentage was 59%.
4. Puerto Rico had a GINI index of 0.55, ranking as the jurisdiction with the highest inequality in income distribution compared to other jurisdictions in the United States. The GINI index measures inequality, where a value of 0 is a perfect distribution of income and a value of 1 is a completely unequal distribution.

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“Although again in 2017 emigration broke records in the Community Survey, this was to be expected after the passage of Hurricane Maria. On the other hand, when analyzing these figures, it is important to recognize that the Community Survey is not designed to adequately capture the population displacement that can occur rapidly and volcanically following a natural disaster. As a result, we warned that these numbers only include some of the people who moved in the wake of Hurricane Maria. Many other people who may have moved temporarily or permanently are not captured in this Survey, either because they moved to other foreign countries, relocated to temporary housing where the Survey questionnaire does not arrive, or are even staying in the homes of family members who were living in the United States before 2017, among other possible reasons. In that sense, it will be necessary to wait to see the results of the Survey for 2018 to have a more complete picture of post-Maria migration,” explained Dr. Mario Marazzi-Santiago, executive director of the Institute.

More statistics on the Community Survey estimates can be obtained at: http://factfinder2.census.gov/. If you need assistance using this tool to obtain data, you may find the self-study guide for using this available tool useful: https://censo.estadisticas.pr/fact-finder. Information on the methodology used to produce the estimates can be accessed hither. More details on the characteristics of migrants between Puerto Rico and the United States 2017 will be available at the end of 2018 in the publication of the 2017 Migrant Profile. The Migrant Profile is an annual publication published by the Institute. To view the published Profiles press hither.

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/.

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

For more information you can visit our website: www.estadisticas.pr.gov. In addition, you can follow us on social networks through Facebook (estadisticas.pr), Twitter (@EstadisticasPR) and LinkedIn (Institute of Statistics of Puerto Rico) accounts.

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

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