A review of current population databases on Puerto Rico

Abstract

Population studies of Puerto Rico have recently gained salience as recent environmental and economic shocks have affected demographic behavior. In this review, we describe the major population databases on Puerto Rico and discuss the strengths and weaknesses of each. These databases include three from the US Census Bureau—the Decennial Population Census, the Puerto Rico Community Survey, and the Population Estimates Program—and three additional databases used to study migration (the Bureau of Transportation Statistics), health (the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System), and labor (the Puerto Rico Labor Survey). These databases can be used to study emerging demographic topics, as well as inequities in population outcomes.