Puerto Rico (Hanover)

Puerto Rico
Flag Coat of arms
Motto: "Puerto Rico, Prosperidad Para Siempre" (Spanish) "Puerto Rico, Prosperity Forever"
Anthem: "La Borinqueña" (Spanish) (English: "The Song of Borinquen")
Capital and	San Juan
Official languages	Spanish English
Ethnic groups	By race: 49.8% Multiracial 17.1% White 7.0% Black 0.5% Native American 0.1% Asian 25.5% Other By ethnicity: 98.9% Hispanic or Latino 1.1% Non-Hispanic or Latino
Demonym(s)	Puerto Rican
Government	Unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy
• Monarch	Alexandra
• Governor-General of Puerto Rico	Arianys Mangual
• Prime Minister	Pedro Pierluisi
Legislature	Parliament
• Upper house	Senate
• Lower house	House of Representatives
Establishment
• Independence from the United Kingdom	22 March 1977
Area
•	9,104 km2 (3,515 sq mi)
• Water (%)	1.6
Population
• 2020 estimate	3,285,874 (134th)
• Density	350.8/km2 (908.6/sq mi) (39th)
GDP (PPP)	2020 estimate
• Total	$116.607 billion (94th)
• Per capita	$35,487 (54th)
GDP (nominal)	2020 estimate
• Total	$100.111 billion (69th)
• Per capita	$30,467 (37th)
Gini	53.1 high
HDI	0.850 very high (45th)
Currency	Puerto Rican dollars (PRD)
Time zone	UTC-04:00 (AST)
Date format	dd/mm/yyyy
Driving side	left
Calling code	+1 (787), +1 (939)
ISO 3166 code	PR
Internet TLD	.pr

Puerto Rico, officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Situated on the northeast of the Caribbean Sea, it is bordered to the east by the British Overseas Territories of Turks and Caicos Islands and the Virgin Islands, and the United States Virgin Islands, while to the west, it is bordered by the Dominican Republic.

Puerto Rico was settled by a succession of indigenous peoples beginning 2,000 to 4,000 years ago; these included the Ortoiroid, Saladoid, and Taíno. It was then colonised by Spain following the arrival of Christopher Columbus in 1493. Throughout the centuries that followed, Puerto Rico was hotly contested by other European powers but otherwise remained a Spanish possession for the next four centuries. An influx of African slaves and settlers primarily from the Canary Islands and Andalusia vastly changed the cultural and demographic landscape of the island. Within the Spanish Empire, Puerto Rico played a secondary but strategic role compared to wealthier colonies like Peru and New Spain. By the late 19th century, a distinctly Puerto Rican identity began to emerge, centered around a fusion of indigenous, African, and European elements. Eventually, following a short war with the United Kingdom in 1861, Puerto Rico was ceded to the British as part of the Treaty of Lisbon, effectively ending nearly three-hundred-long years of Spanish colonial rule on the island. In 1868, the centuries-long tradition of slavery on the island was abolished by the British, following in the footsteps of other British colonies in the Caribbean decades prior.

Beginning in 1954, Puerto Rico was gradually given a form of a local-led limited government, initially with British oversight, before later being given full independence in 1977. Since then, much like its Caribbean neighbours, Jamaica and Barbados (until 2021), Puerto Rico has been a constitutional monarchy, with the British monarch serving as the country's head of state, but is otherwise represented in his or her absence by a governor-general, while a prime minister serves as the country's head of government. Since independence, the country's national politics have largely been dominated by two fairly centrist parties, namely the Democratic Party of Puerto Rico (DPP) and the Puerto Rico Forward Party (PRF). The current prime minister, Pedro Pierluisi, is the leader of the DPP and has been in office since 2019.

With a GDP of around $116 billion, Puerto Rico has the fifteenth-largest economy in Latin America, while its GDP per capita is the seventh-highest in the region. On the other hand, their high levels of income inequality have been a subject of criticism, although Puerto Rico nonetheless maintains a high level of human development, which is also the highest in Latin America. Internationally, Puerto Rico has been a member of the United Nations, the Organization of American States, the Commonwealth of Nations, and others.

Government and politics

Administrative system

Since gaining independence in 1977, Puerto Rico has been a parliamentary democracy and a constitutional monarchy, similar to the likes of Jamaica, The Bahamas, and Grenada. The British monarch, currently Queen Alexandra is the country's head of state, while a popularly elected prime minister serves as the country's head of government. However, due to its considerable distance from the United Kingdom, Puerto Rico, much like several other Commonwealth countries, has a governor-general serving in the monarch's capacity as head of state, and whom is responsible for carrying out most of the monarch's traditional duties in her name. Despite formerly being a Spanish colony in the past, its colonial period under the United Kingdom leading up to its eventual independence in 1977 led it to adopt the Westminister system originating from the United Kingdom.

Meanwhile, the country's national politics have largely been dominated by two political parties, namely the Democratic Party of Puerto Rico and the Puerto Rico Forward Party. The current prime minister, Pedro Pierluisi, hails from the Democratic Party of Puerto Rico and was elected into office in 2019. Much like other parliamentary democracies, the prime minister only requires the majority support of the lower house in order to form a government. In Puerto Rico, a new prime minister is chosen every four years, and there are no term limits imposed on the office. The country's parliament is bicameral in nature, consisting of an upper house made up of approximately 20 senators (all of whom are appointed by the governor-general), and a lower house made up of 50 representatives.

Due to its mostly Spanish-speaking population, despite its later British colonial history, the Constitution of Puerto Rico formally guarantees both English and Spanish as the country's official languages. Consequently, bilingualism and mastery of the two languages are greatly promoted amongst the local population, with subsidised schools teaching either of the two languages being provided by the government, particularly for the low-income demographic.

Foreign relations

Since its independence, Puerto Rico has come to be a member of various international and regional organisations, including the United Nations, the Commonwealth of Nations, the Caribbean Community, and the Organization of American States.

Armed forces

The military of Puerto Rico, officially the Royal Puerto Rican Armed Forces (RPRAF) consists of four branches; the army, navy, air force, and the coast guard, whose equipment is largely a mix of American and British technology, due to both its geographical proximity to the United States and its close ties with the United Kingdom. While officially subordinate to the Ministry of Defence, members of the armed forces nonetheless swear allegiance to the Queen. Out of the four branches, the coast guard is the youngest of them all, having been established in 1990 by Prime Minister Rafael Hernández Colón, and is tasked with primarily dealing with drug smugglers and illegal immigrants in conjunction with those of the other Caribbean countries and the United States.

Constitutionally, the country's armed forces are tasked with "protecting and safeguarding the sovereignty of Puerto Rico", "promoting peace and prosperity abroad in line with the values outlined by the United Nations", and "ensuring regional stability in conjunction with neighbouring states".