GDP for Puerto Rico

Real gross domestic product (GDP) for Puerto Rico decreased 2.5 percent in 2022 after increasing 4.1 percent in 2021. The decrease in real GDP in 2022 reflected an increase in imports—which are a subtraction item in the calculation of GDP—as well as decreases in private fixed investment and exports. Personal consumption expenditures, private inventory investment, and government spending increased.

Real gross domestic product (GDP) for Puerto Rico increased 4.0 percent in 2021 after decreasing 6.2 percent in 2020. The increase in real GDP in 2021 primarily reflected an increase in personal consumption expenditures. Private fixed investment also increased. These increases were partly offset by decreases in exports, private inventory investment, and government spending. Imports, which is a subtraction item in the calculation of GDP, increased.

Real gross domestic product (GDP) for Puerto Rico decreased 6.0 percent in 2020 after increasing 0.2 percent in 2019 (table 1.3), according to statistics released today by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). The decrease in real GDP in 2020 primarily reflected a decrease in exports of goods and services (table 1.4). Personal consumption expenditures, government spending, and private fixed investment also decreased. These decreases were partly offset by an increase in private inventory investment. Imports of goods and services, which is a subtraction item in the calculation of GDP, declined.

Real gross domestic product (GDP) increased 0.3 percent in 2019 after decreasing 2.4 percent in 2018, according to estimates released today by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). The statistics released today are BEA’s first official release of GDP for Puerto Rico. The release includes updated estimates for 2012 to 2018 that incorporate new and additional source data and methodology improvements to the prototype GDP statistics that were released in September 2020.

Today, the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) released prototype annual estimates of gross domestic product (GDP) for Puerto Rico for 2012 to 2018. This release represents another major step by the Bureau to develop comprehensive economic accounts for Puerto Rico that are consistent with international guidelines and that are directly comparable to data for other states and countries.

The prototype estimates showed that the Puerto Rico economy, as measured by inflation-adjusted (or “real”) GDP, expanded from 2012 to 2014, before turning down in 2015 and continuing to decrease through 2018. Exports of goods and services was a key contributor to changes in real GDP over this period.

The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) released for the first time prototype statistics for consumer spending, business investment, and trade in goods for Puerto Rico. These new economic data lay the groundwork for BEA to estimate the island's GDP. Currently, the annual statistics cover the time period from 2012 to 2017 and can be used to better gauge the performance of the Puerto Rico economy over that period.