Territory's Full Name: Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, Commonwealth of Puerto Rico

Brief History: Presently part of United States, the Puerto Rico archipelago (Vieques, Culebra, and Mona are other islands) were initially a part of Spanish Empire. Spanish acquired it during second voyage of Columbus in 1493, ruling it for almost 400 years. Arawak Indians or Tainos were the original inhabitants losing their prominence and were slowly eradicated. The Spanish-American war in 1898 led to the independence of this group of islands. In 1917 the residents were granted US citizenship. The islands enjoy the semi-autonomous commonwealth status under the US congress. However, much heated political debate continues on US dominance on these islands. Plebiscites were held thrice to know the continuance of commonwealth status, statehood or complete independence. The people voted for commonwealth status in all the times.

What is the territory known for: Puerto Rico is the major tourist attraction. It also holds geo-strategic position in the Caribbean Sea becoming a major port.
Many pharmaceutical and electronic industries have sprung up in the island.

Main industries:
Pharmaceuticals, electronics, apparel, food products, tourism

Main Trading Partners:
Exports - partners: US 90.3%, UK 1.6%, Netherlands 1.4%, Dominican Republic 1.4% (2006)
Exports: $46.9 billion f.o.b. (2001)
Exports - commodities: chemicals, electronics, apparel, canned tuna, rum, beverage concentrates, medical equipment

Imports - partners: US 55.0%, Ireland 23.7%, Japan 5.4% (2006)
Imports: $29.1 billion c.i.f. (2001)
Imports - commodities: chemicals, machinery and equipment, clothing, food, fish, petroleum products

Major Cities: San Juan (capital) 433,412; Bayamón, 224,670; Ponce, 186,112; Carolina, 187,468

Location:
Geographic coordinates: 18 28 N, 66 07 W
San Juan the capital city is an important port in the Panama Canal. The islands of Puerto Rico are located between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean.

Size:
total: 13,790 sq km
land: 8,870 sq km
water: 4,921 sq km
slightly less than three times the size of Rhode Island

Time Zone:
Atlantic Standard Time: UTC - 4 hours

Type of Government: Puerto Rico holds the commonwealth status in the US federation. Under the commonwealth status Puerto Ricans don't elect the President of US but get the military and economic benefits. The governor is elected for four-year term. The bicameral legislature has the senate (29 members), and the house of representatives (51 members). The senate and house of representative members are elected for four-year term.
Head of government: Governor Anibal Acevedo Vila

National Holidays: All US federal holidays are observed.

2010
1 Jan New Year's Day.
6 Jan Epiphany.
14 Jan Birthday of Eugenio María de Hostos.
18 Jan Martin Luther King Day.
15 Feb President's Day.
22 Mar Emancipation of the Slaves.
2 Apr Good Friday.
21 Apr José de Diego Day.
24 May Memorial Day.
4 Jul US Independence Day.
19 Jul Luis Muñoz Rivera's Birthday.
25 Jul Constitution Day.
27 Jul José Celso Barbosa's Birthday.
6 Sep Labour Day.
11 Oct Columbus Day.
11 Nov Veterans' Day.
19 Nov Discovery of Puerto Rico Day.
25 Nov Thanksgiving Day.
25 Dec Christmas Day.

2011
1 Jan New Year's Day.
6 Jan Epiphany.
11 Jan Birthday of Eugenio María de Hostos.
21 Feb President's Day.
22 Mar Emancipation of the Slaves.
16 Apr José de Diego Day.
22 Apr Good Friday.
30 May Memorial Day.
4 Jul US Independence Day.
25 Jul Constitution Day.
27 Jul José Celso Barbosa's Birthday.
5 Sep Labour Day.
10 Oct Columbus Day.
11 Nov Veterans' Day.
19 Nov Discovery of Puerto Rico Day.
24 Nov Thanksgiving Day.
25 Dec Christmas Day.

Note
Each town celebrates a festival or fiesta in honour of a local patron saint. These can last up to 10 days.

Population: 3,944,259 (July 2007 est.)
White (mostly Spanish origin) 80.5%, black 8%, Amerindian 0.4%, Asian 0.2%, mixed and other 10.9%

0-14 years: 21% (male 422,635/female 403,887)
15-64 years: 65.9% (male 1,247,314/female 1,352,139)
65 years and over: 13.1% (male 223,508/female 294,776) (2007 est.)
Life expectancy total population: 78.54 years
male: 74.6 years/female: 82.67 years (2007 est.)

Religion: Roman Catholic 85%, Protestant and other 15%.

Language: Spanish and English

Local Customs: Taino, Spanish and Caribbean culture has dominated Puerto Rico. Most of the etiquettes, cuisine, dance, music are borrowed from Spanish colonizers. African slaves also brought in their culture, dance and music. Salsa the dance form emerged from Puerto Rico.

Best time to go: The temperature remains hot and humid round the year in Puerto Rico. If you like hurricanes visit between May and November. Or if you want to join others do come between December and April.

Currency:
1 USD = 0.67 Euro
1 USD = 0.507 British Pound

Customs Regulations:
US citizens can travel freely in the islands. If you are from other part of the world, you can bring as much as two liters of alcohol and two cartons of cigarettes to Puerto Rico.

Tipping:
In restaurants service charges of 10-15 percent are included. Tipping remains at your discretion.
Bell boys expect $1 USD per bag and leave maids $2 USD per bag.
Tipping your taxi driver 15-20 percent of the fare is customary.