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.

NOTE: The information regarding Puerto Rico on this page is re-published from the 2001 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Puerto Rico Introduction 2001 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Puerto Rico Introduction 2001 should be addressed to the CIA.