Puerto Rico

Population: 3,937,316 (July 2001 est.)

Languages: Spanish, English

Background: Discovered by Columbus in 1493, the island was ceded by Spain to the US in 1898 following the Spanish-American War. A popularly elected governor has served since 1948. In plebiscites held in 1967 and 1993, voters chose to retain commonwealth status.

Currency: U.S. Dollar (USD, US$1 = US$1)

Data from CIA World Factbook. Click on CIA link for more. Click on map or flag for larger images.