mortality

A report published by the U.S. Census Bureau in January on population estimates shows that Puerto Rico’s population shrank in 2025 compared with the previous year. It also marks the third consecutive year in which the loss of residents was driven primarily by deaths rather than net migration, a measure calculated by subtracting the number of people leaving from the number arriving.

A month after Gov. Pedro Pierluisi eliminated the key protection measures related to COVID-19, virus-related deaths in Puerto Rico saw a rebound that nearly reached the level of the highest peak of mortality of the entire pandemic.