Statistics Institute and U.S. Census Bureau announce the inclusion of Puerto Rico in migration statistics between counties or municipalities in the United States

PRESS RELEASE

OFFICE OF THE ACTING EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

The Institute of Statistics develops an initiative to document compliance with the law that makes library services accessible to people with disabilities

March 20, 2019. San Juan, Puerto Rico — The Puerto Rico Statistics Institute (Institute) is carrying out an initiative to ensure that libraries at the University of Puerto Rico, as well as libraries at private universities, post-secondary education institutions and municipalities in Puerto Rico, are complying with Law No. 63, “Act to Establish Inclusive Library Services for Technological Assistance.” This law requires library services to be accessible to people with disabilities through the use of technological equipment.

The initiative, developed by the Institute, in conjunction with the Technological Assistance Program (PRATP), consists of the creation of an electronic questionnaire that each entity or municipality can access to report progress in compliance with the aforementioned law. The Institute is also responsible for data management and the possible publication of related statistics.

“Each library must select a person who is responsible for accessing the platform and providing the data relevant to compliance with Law 63. This process can be completed in approximately 30 minutes. This representative will also serve as a link between his library, the National Library of Puerto Rico, the Puerto Rico Council of Education, the Office of the Ombudsman for Persons with Disabilities of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Technological Assistance Program and the Puerto Rico Institute of Statistics,” explained Dr. Oville M. Disdier, acting executive director of the Institute.

The new system will facilitate government access to collect, analyze and disseminate data describing how effective the libraries of public universities, private universities, post-secondary education institutions and municipalities in Puerto Rico have been in implementing Law No. 63, which was signed and approved on April 15, 2011.

“We urge all agencies, municipalities and universities, which must comply with this law, to access and complete the questionnaire before March 29,” said Disdier.

For questions about technical questions related to the questionnaire, entities can contact the Institute via email at cuestionario.ley63@estadisticas.pr or by calling (787) 993-3336. Also, for questions about the programmatic content of the law, you can contact the PRATP at (787) 474-9999 or by writing to pratp@pratp.upr.edu.

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Contact: Idia Martínez
Email: imartinez@upfrontpr.net
Tel: 787/603 3200

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San Juan, Puerto Rico. April 9, 2025 — Faced with growing public interest in issues related to international trade and tariffs, the Puerto Rico Statistics Institute reminded citizens that, on its official website, www.estadisticas.pr, the “External Trade Interface” tool is available, where they can access official data on imports and exports of goods in Puerto Rico.

The Foreign Trade section of the portal contains monthly statistics on the value and volume of goods entering and leaving the jurisdiction. This information allows us to know what products Puerto Rico exports, to which countries they are going and, in turn, which products are imported and from which countries they come. This data is useful for identifying business opportunities abroad, as well as within Puerto Rico. In addition, they are an important input for the preparation of Puerto Rico's Gross Domestic Product statistics.

“At a time when issues of international trade and tariffs are an active part of the public conversation, it is essential that citizens have access to official and reliable information that allows them to carry out adequate analyses and make informed decisions,” said Dr. Orville M. Disdier Flores, Executive Director of the Puerto Rico Institute of Statistics.

The statistics are collected and processed by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection And the U.S. Census Bureau, using customs and export declaration forms that are completed when importing or exporting goods. The Institute downloads, processes, transforms and organizes data so that information is available exclusively for Puerto Rico with its business partners.

As part of his commitment to statistical education, Dr. Ronald Hernández, Manager of Statistical Projects at the Institute, indicated that those interested in learning more about this tool can access a Webinar free of charge that explains in detail how to access, interpret and use foreign trade data. The video is available at the following link: https://youtu.be/2yuAh9X6qK4.

The Foreign Trade section allows you to filter the search and download of data since July 2002, according to different classifications used in economic analysis and international trade. These classifications include HTS systems and Schedule B, aimed at the classification of goods, including their tariff component; the SITC, used for the comparative analysis of trade by type of product; and the NAICS, which allows aggregation by sector or industry of origin or destination.

To access the External Trade Interface, you can visit www.estadisticas.pr and access the Foreign Trade section under the “Applications” tab. For the best experience, we recommend that you use the Firefox browser.

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.

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