Puerto Rico has more than twice as many adults 65 and older as children under 15. Some 26% of residents, or 828,673 people, are 65 or older, 92,000 more than in 2020, which puts Puerto Rico third in the world behind Japan (30%) and Monaco (36%), according to World Bank data. The Statistics Institute’s Aging Index, which compares both groups, rose from 168 seniors per 100 children in 2020 to 237 in 2025, a 41% increase.
In Hormigueros, the highest in Puerto Rico, there are four people over 65 for each child under 15. Alberto Velázquez Estrada, senior statistical projects manager at the Institute, attributed the shift to fewer births (nearly 60,000 in 2000 versus about 18,000 now), baby boomers reaching retirement age and mass migration. Towns with the highest index are Hormigueros (380.2), Rincón (328.6), Patillas (325), Yabucoa (301.3) and Lajas (297.8), followed by Mayagüez, Yauco and Maunabo.
José Roberto Acarón, AARP’s state director, said Puerto Rico "already aged" and that governments and businesses still plan for a young population; he called for rethinking housing, transportation, health, employment and the care economy, and cited estimates that people 60 and older will make up 40–45% of the population by 2030. Elder Affairs Ombudsman Yolanda Varela Rosa said her office runs more than 110 multiple-activity and services centers, and warned in written statements that it cannot serve a growing population with the same resources and that a lack of state funds would endanger the federal matching funds.