Between 2000 and 2025, 33 of Puerto Rico’s 78 municipalities lost more than 15% of their total population, according to data shared Tuesday by the Municipal Demographic Observatory of the Puerto Rico Institute of Statistics. Topping the list are Guánica (45.8%), Ceiba (41.0%), Loíza (33.7%), Maricao (32.7%) and Yauco (31.8%). Lanselotte Oliveras Vega, statistical projects assistant in the Institute’s demography and geography area, said that when broken down by age group, every municipality has lost more than half of its children aged 0 to 9.
She noted the effect shows up elsewhere in society: today there are fewer child care centers, schools, stores and establishments geared toward that population. The interactive platform visualizes indicators on population, aging, births, deaths and migration. The dashboard draws on multiple data sources, including the Decennial Census, the Population Estimates and the Puerto Rico Community Survey from the U.S. Census Bureau, the Birth and Death Registry of the Department of Health’s Demographic Registry, and the Population Projections of the Planning Board.
The tool is available on the Puerto Rico State Data Center’s website, under the Demographic Observatory option in the main menu, in the Municipal section.