Economy of Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico's gross domestic product (GDP) by economic sector.
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| Currency | United States Dollar (USD$) |
|---|---|
| 1 July – 30 June | |
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Trade organizations
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CARICOM (observant), Interpol (sub-bureau), IOC, ITUC, UNWTO (associate), UPU |
| Statistics | |
| GDP | US$101.5 billion (2012) |
| GDP rank | 60th (nominal) |
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GDP growth
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 –0.6% (2013)
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GDP per capita
|
 34,938 (PPP) (2013) |
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GDP by sector
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Manufacturing: 46.4%, Finance, insurance and real estate: 19.6%, Services: 12.5%, Government: 8.6%, Trade: 8%, Transportation and other public utilities: 2.9%, Construction and Mining: 1.7%, Agriculture: 0.6% (2010) |
| 2.47%(FY 2010) | |
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Population below poverty line
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45% (2009) |
| 0.537 (2010) | |
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Labor force
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1.286 million(Mar 2012) |
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Labor force by occupation
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Services: 29.9%, Government: 23.7%, Trade: 21.8%, Manufacturing: 9.2%, Transportation and other public utilities: 5.2%, Construction and mining: 4.9%, Finance, insurance and real estate: 3.7%, Agriculture: 1.6%. (2010) |
| Unemployment |
 13.7% (December 2014)
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Average gross salary
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$27,190 annual (May 2011) |
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Main industries
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Pharmaceuticals, electronics, apparel, food products, tourism. (2010) |
| 55th (2017) | |
| External | |
| Exports | $64.88 billion FOB (2011 est.) |
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Export goods
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Chemicals, electronics, rum, beverage concentrates, medical equipment, canned tuna, apparel. |
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Main export partners
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 United States 90.3%, United Kingdom 1.6%, Dominican Republic 1.4%, Netherlands 1.4%,among others. (2010) |
| Imports | $44.67 billion CIF (2011 est.) |
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Import goods
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chemicals, machinery and equipment, food, petroleum products, clothing, fish |
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Main import partners
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United States 55%, Ireland 23.7%, Japan 5.4%,among others. (2010) |
| Public finances | |
 $67.7 billion (66% of GDP)(FY 2012) |
|
|
$1.1 billion |
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| Revenues |
$31.3 billion (FY2010)
|
| Expenses |
$29.1 billion (FY2010)
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Standard & Poor's Ba2 Outlook Negative |
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All values, unless otherwise stated, are in US dollars. |
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Standard & Poor's
BB+
Outlook Negative
The economy of Puerto Rico is classified as a high income economy by the World Bank and as the most competitive economy in Latin America by the World Economic Forum. The main drivers of its economy are manufacturing, primarily pharmaceuticals, textiles, petrochemicals, and electronics; followed by the service industry, notably finance, insurance, real estate, and tourism. The geography of Puerto Rico and its political status are both determining factors on its economic prosperity, primarily due to its relatively small size as an island; its lack of natural resources used to produce raw materials, and, consequently, its dependence on imports; as well as its suzerainty to the United States which controls its foreign policies while exerting trading restrictions, particularly in its shipping industry.
At the macroeconomic level Puerto Rico has been experiencing an economic depression for 11 consecutive years, starting in 2006 after a series of negative cash flows and the expiration of the section 936 that applied to Puerto Rico of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code. This section was critical for the economy of the island as it established tax exemptions for U.S. corporations that settled in Puerto Rico and allowed its subsidiaries operating in the island to send their earnings to the parent corporation at any time, without paying federal tax on corporate income. Puerto Rico has, however, surprisingly been able to maintain a relatively low inflation in the past decade. Academically, most of Puerto Rico's economic woes stem from federal regulations that expired, have been repealed, or no longer apply to Puerto Rico; from its inability to become self-sufficient and self-sustainable throughout history; from its highly politicized public policy which tends to change whenever a political party gains power; as well as from its highly inefficient local government which has accrued a public debt equal to 66% of its gross domestic product throughout time.
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