By The Star Staff
The population in Puerto Rico was 3,205,691 in 2023, continuing the trend of population decline for the island, according to the new Vintage 2023 population estimates released this week by the U.S. Census Bureau.
However, the rate of population decline has slowed, with a loss of 0.4%, or 14,422 people, in 2023 compared to a loss of 1.3%, or 42,580 people, in 2022.
Puerto Rico had its first year of positive net migration since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, adding 1,872 people via migration in 2023.
Meanwhile, births declined by 4.5% and deaths increased by 2.8%, resulting in a loss of 16,294 residents from natural decrease, curtailing Puerto Rico’s growth.
According to the report released Tuesday, population trends are returning to pre-pandemic norms as the number of annual deaths decreased last year and migration reverted to patterns not seen since before 2020. Meanwhile, more states experienced population growth in 2023 than in any year since the start of the pandemic.