The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1900-06-21
CENSUS OF PORTO RICO.
Bulletin Concerning Results Issued
by the War Department..

by the War Department..
The first bulletin OF the census OF Porto
Rico has been issued by the War Depart
meut. Nine thousand copies. LOCO of which
are In Spanish. will be printed for DIS
tribuhon. The bulletin was prepared by
J. p. Sanger, Inspector General. U. s. A..
and director OF the Porto Rican census.
The bulletin says: THE population OF
Porto Rico shown by the schedules OF the
present census taken with reference to
the date Of October 1s. 1899. was 953 24s.
| This was about nine-tenths Of the popula-
tion Of Maryland in 1890. the State whose
population is nearest to that OF Porto
Rico. Previous censuses of the island in
comparison with the present, have shown
| the following results:
December rs. 1860. $50. sos; December 81.
| 1877, 731. 64s; December 81, 1887, 79S, $50:
December 81, 1897. 500. 439; October 16,
| 1899 $50 2s3.
THE figures for 1860. 1887, and 1899 are
the official census returns. Those for
1877 are taken from the report of the civil
! secretary Of Porto Rico. Mr.. Coll Tosti.
Those for 1897 are taken from the same
source, but in Judging them It should be
remembered that the results OF the census
were never published or even tabulated in
| full Some of the returns have been avail
able. while portion have but Just been
discovered and small part are still miss
ing. 1t seems best. therefore. TO disre-
gard these returns in estimating the
growth Of population in Porto Rico.
From the figures given, the decennial
rate of increase has been computed with
the following result: 1S60-1SI7, 14.4; 1877
1887. 914: fsS7-1s99. 1920.
IF the figures for these earlier censuses
may be accepted. it appears that the pop
ulation of Porto Rico has been growing
through the last twelve years with greater
rapidity than before since 1850. Its pres
ent rate Of increase is about the same as
that Of Ohio. Tennessee. or the Carolinas
during the decade between 1880 and 1890
THE area of Porto Rico including the
adjacent and dependent Islands of Vieques,
Culebra, Mona, and MuertOs, has besn
measured In connection with this census
and found to be 1906 square miles. But
owing to the imperfect surveys on which
all maps of Porto Rico are based there
must lie considerable and indeterminate
margin of possible error in any such
measurement The island is about three
times the size of Long Island. which was
in 1890 perhaps the largest insular division
OF the United States. 1t is also slightly
greater than the Eastern Shore of Mary
land (3.461 square miles,.
The relative sizes of the larger West
Indies are as follows: Cuba, the greatest,
Is about equal in area to all the rest CON-
bined. Haiti. the second. is about two
thirds the size Of Cuba while on the other
hand it is seven times the size of Jamaica
and eight times the size OF Porto Rico.
Porto Rico, again. is more than double the
size Of the fifth island. Trinidad. which is
itself about three times the size of the
sixth island. Gaudeloupe.
mile. This density of population Is about
the same as In Massachusetts, twice that
in New York State. and thrice that in
Ohio. 1t is more than seven times that
OF Cuba ard not much less than twice
that of Havana province.
"Aguadilla has hardly more than twice
as many people to a square mile as
Guayama. In Cuba, on the contrary,
Havana province has over nineteen times
as many people to square mile as
Puerto Principe. This remarkable even
ness Of settlement in Porto Rico extends
70 the sixty mine municipal districts. TIE
east settled has 5S persons to a square
nile, or about the same number as Indiana.
The densities of these districts range
about 2s4, the density for the island, and
depart from it by an average amount Of
LOG units. or 40 per cent OF that number.
THE people Of Porto Rico are, In the
arge cities In the island, the two largest
icing San Juan. which. regarding the en-
ire municipal district as a city, had a
population Of 32.04S. and Ponce, which with
ts port constituted practically one city,
nth population of q, 952. These are the
My two cities exceeding $4,000 inhab-
tants. The next city of magnitude is
iayaguez. on the west coast, with a pop
lation Of 1857. The only other city ex-
eediDg 5000 inhabitants is Arecibo, with
population Of S,0Os. The total urban
opulation Of the island contained in cities
xceeding 5000 inhabitants each is 1886,
r only 81 per cent of the population of
he island. This is much smaller pro-
ortion than in Cuba. where the CORE
ponding figures are 1913 per cent, or in
he United States, where the correspond
ng proportion in 1890 was 29.2 per cent.
There are in Porto Rico fifty-seven cit
es, each having population of 900 or
lore- The total urban population of the
sland. under this definition. numbers
03. 792. or 21.4 per cent of the total num-
er Of inhabitants Of the island. Similar
cures for Cuba show All per cent of the
opulation Of that island