Puerto Rico is facing a demographic crisis – preventing it is key to boost the economy and prevent brain drain

Rodríguez is one of the hundreds of thousands of Puerto Ricans who have left the island in the last decade, a migration propelled by an economic crisis and a string of natural disasters that have devastated Puerto Rico in recent years. “We love Puerto Rico. It’s our country. However, objectively speaking, we need to recognize that it’s a country in deterioration and at a political crossroads. If it doesn’t come out of it, things could get much worse,” she said. Carmen Morales Rivera, director of the Unemployment Office in San Juan, Puerto Rico, with Mónica Rodríguez and Kevin Marengo in the Department of Labor building, after Maria’s passage. Carmen Morales Rivera, director of the Unemployment Office in San Juan, Puerto Rico, with Mónica Rodríguez and Kevin Marengo in the Department of Labor building, after Maria’s passage. [ DAVID SANTIAGO | Miami Herald ] The island’s population declined 11.8 percent between 2010 and 2020, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, whose results are used to determine billions of dollars in public funding. Demographers say that steady migration, coupled with a declining birth rate that’s lower than the death rate, is creating a “demographic crisis” that will fundamentally alter Puerto Rico’s society, economy and culture, as family structures change and there are fewer workers to pay for government services.