Environment - current issues:
erosion; occasional drought causing water shortages
Geography - note:
important location along the Mona Passage - a key shipping lane to
the Panama Canal; San Juan is one of the biggest and best natural
harbors in the Caribbean; many small rivers and high central
mountains ensure land is well watered; south coast relatively dry;
fertile coastal plain belt in north
People Puerto Rico
Population:
3,916,632 (July 2005 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 22% (male 441,594/female 421,986)
15-64 years: 65.5% (male 1,228,583/female 1,337,066)
65 years and over: 12.4% (male 211,283/female 276,120) (2005 est.)
Median age:
total: 34.23 years
male: 32.5 years
female: 35.87 years (2005 est.)
Population growth rate:
0.47% (2005 est.)
Birth rate:
13.93 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Death rate:
7.86 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Net migration rate:
-1.38 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)