Overview: Puerto Rico has one of the most dynamic economies in the Caribbean region. Industry has surpassed agriculture as the primary sector of economic activity and income. Encouraged by duty free access to the US and by tax incentives, US firms have invested heavily in Puerto Rico since the 1950s. US minimum wage laws apply. Important industries include pharmaceuticals, electronics, textiles, petrochemicals, and processed foods. Sugar production has lost out to dairy production and other livestock products as the main source of income in the agricultural sector. Tourism has traditionally been an important source of income for the island, with estimated arrivals of nearly 3 million tourists in 1989. Unemployment remains a severe problem at 18%.

National product: GNP - purchasing power equivalent - $26.8 billion (1992 est.)

National product real growth rate: NA%

National product per capita: $7,100 (1992 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2.1% (1992 est.)

Unemployment rate: 18% (1993 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $5.8 billion
expenditures: $5.8 billion, including capital expenditures of $258 million (1989 est.)

Exports: $21.8 billion (1992)
commodities: pharmaceuticals, electronics, apparel, canned tuna, rum, beverage concentrates, medical equipment, instruments
partners: US 88.3% (1990)

Imports: $14.8 billion (1992)
commodities: chemicals, clothing, food, fish, petroleum products
partners: US 68.8% (1990)

External debt: $NA

Industrial production: growth rate 1.2% (FY92)

Electricity:
capacity: 5,040,000 kW
production: 16.1 billion kWh
consumption per capita: 4,260 kWh (1992)

Industries: manufacturing accounts for 55.5% of GDP: manufacturing of pharmaceuticals, electronics, apparel, food products, instruments; tourism

Agriculture: accounts for only 3% of labor force and less than 2% of GDP: crops - sugarcane, coffee, pineapples, plantains, bananas; livestock - cattle, chickens; imports a large share of food needs (1992)

Economic aid: none

Currency: 1 United States dollar (US$) = 100 cents
Exchange rates: US currency is used

Fiscal year: 1 July - 30 June

NOTE: The information regarding Puerto Rico on this page is re-published from the 1995 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Puerto Rico Economy 1995 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Puerto Rico Economy 1995 should be addressed to the CIA.