World Wednesday: Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico is a territory of the United States and is officially known as The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. Being a territory means that Puerto Rico functions similarly to a US state, but there are some major differences. People born in Puerto Rico are US citizens, but do not pay federal income taxes (they do pay taxes to Puerto Rico and US payroll taxes; they also receive much less federal money from the US). They can vote in primary elections for US government, but have no electoral votes in general elections and have no representation in Congress.

Some facts on Puerto Rico:

-Made up of the main island and several smaller islands (vocabulary word: archipelago)

-Spanish is the primary language and English is taught as a second language in the schools

-San Juan is the capital

-Currency is the US dollar

More information from a reader, andrea (Thanks so much!):
Puerto Rico also has it's own national identity (national flag, anthem, culture...etc).
Puerto Rico has it's own national olympic team as well. Other fact is that Ms. Puerto Rico has won the Ms. Universe pageant 5 times.
Puerto Rico has voted 3 times (1967,1993,1998)to remain a Self governing commonwealth associated voluntarily with the US, rejecting annexation as a US statehood or becoming a complete independent republic.

National Anthem and Flag

Official Puerto Rico government website (site is in Spanish)

Puerto Rico Tourism official website