Puerto Rico, the United States' Caribbean island

SAN JUAN: Puerto Rico is the latest Caribbean island to be hit by Hurricane Maria, with the situation there being officially declared a disaster.
Here are some things to know about the US territory:
A part of the United States
The former Spanish colony was annexed by the United States after the 1898 Spanish-American War.
Its people have had US nationality since 1917 but are not able to vote in US presidential elections, although they can be called up to serve in the US Army.
Puerto Rico also elects one non-voting delegate to the US House of Representatives.
The closest US mainland city is Miami, about 1,660km to the northwest.
With its own government
The territory retains a proud cultural identity and has had its own government and constitution since 1952, when it adopted the status of a "free associated state" of the United States.
It also has its own flag and national anthem.
Two parties have alternated in power since the 1950s — current governor Ricardo Rossello's New Progressive Party and the opposition Popular Democratic Party — each blaming the other for the island's dire financial woes.
Economic downturn
The 9,000-square-kilometer island has been locked in recession for more than a decade.
Unemployment hovers around 12%, more than double that for the United States as a whole, with the poverty level at around 46%.
The lack of work and the recession have seen Puerto Ricans leaving the island in droves. The population has fallen from 3.8 million in 2006 to well under 3.5 million in 2016, according to World Bank figures.
There are some hopes for the growth of tourism: Puerto Rico hosted 1.7 million tourists in 2015, and tourism accounts for 6% of its total GDP, according to the US Senate Finance Committee.
The pop hit Despacito by Puerto Rican artists is the most watched video on YouTube and has put the part of the capital San Juan where it was filmed on the tourist trail.
Basically bankrupt
Puerto Rico declared bankruptcy in early May, unable to repay its creditors and crushed under a US$70 billion (RM294 billion) debt.
In July 2016 then president Barack Obama signed the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act (Promesa), which establishes a financial control board to restore fiscal discipline on the island. It also blocks potential litigation between the island and its creditors. — AFP