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POLITICS

Ten Facts About Puerto Rico and its Citizens

By Fox News
Published | Updated
de606677-Gingrich 2012

Elizabeth Cuevas-Neunder holds a Puerto Rican flag and asks Republican presidential candidate former House Speaker Newt Gingrich a question during the Hispanic Leadership Network conference at the Doral Golf Resort and Spa, Friday, Jan. 27, 2012, in Miami, Fla. Romney and Gingrich square off over immigration and other issues as they look to woo Hispanics a day after a feisty, final debate before Tuesday’s Florida primary. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke) ((AP Photo/Matt Rourke))

• Puerto Rico is a U.S. territory with Commonwealth status whose residents are U.S. citizens by birth since 1917 (CIA World Factbook, 2012).

• While its residents are U.S. citizens, Puerto Ricans cannot vote in the U.S. general presidential elections because Puerto Rico is not a state (U.S. Constitution).

• Currently, more than 10,000 active duty military personnel from Puerto Rico serve across the branches of the U.S. Armed Forces (Puerto Rico Federal Affairs Administration).

• Since 1917, more than 200,000 American citizens from Puerto Rico have served in the U.S. Armed Forces, serving in every conflict since World War I (Puerto Rico Federal Affairs Administration).

• Puerto Rico will award a total of 23 delegates after Sunday's primary -- 20 at-large delegates will be allocated proportionally while the last three will remain unbound to any candidate (CBS, 2012).

• Puerto Rico's total population is 3,998,905 (CIA World Factbook, 2012).

• The unemployment rate in Puerto Rico is 15.1 percent (U.S. Department of Labor, 2012).

• More than half - 51.6 percent - of Puerto Ricans have private insurance coverage (U.S. Census Bureau, 2010).

• More than 20 percent of Puerto Ricans have a bachelor's degree, whereas only 16 percent of Puerto Ricans residing in the mainland have a bachelor's degree (Pew Hispanic Center, 2010).

• Florida is gaining a net 7,300 Puerto Ricans a year, far more than any other U.S. state (U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey, 2011).

List compiled by the Hispanic Leadership Network. Website: http://hispanicleadershipnetwork.org

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