Profiles of US Territories and Outlying Areas
http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0108295.html
Adios, Puerto Rico; Hola, United States
Every family in Puerto Rico seems to have a son, a daughter, a parent, or another relative who has relocated to the U.S. mainland, making the island’s bond with the States personal as well as political. After decades of migration, there are now 30% more Puerto Ricans residing on the U.S. mainland than in Puerto Rico (not all four million residing in Puerto Rico are Puerto Ricans). By 2003, the Puerto Rican population on the mainland had reached 4.9 million, according to Geoscape International, a Miami firm that provides multicultural and multinational market intelligence. Add to this the estimated 3.6 million Puerto Ricans residing in Puerto Rico, according to the 2000 U.S. census, the total Puerto Rican population stands at about 8.5 million.
The difference in the standard of living between Puerto Rico and the U.S. mainland, combined with the freedom of movement all Puerto Ricans enjoy as U.S. citizens, has led to the rise in migration, wrote Francisco L. Rivera-Batiz and Carlos E. Santiago in their book “Island Paradox.” The continuous net migration of Puerto Ricans to the U.S. mainland confirms the commonwealth’s inability to provide adequate economic opportunities and a better quality of life to its residents. It is also depriving Puerto Rico of people who could help to advance the island’s economic development, including potential taxpayers. Migration contributes to a continuous brain drain and to the loss of billions of dollars invested in the education and training of those who migrate.
More at:
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