GANNETT.] 
A GAZETTEEE OF PORTO RICO. 
9 
The population of Porto Rico in 1899 was little short of a million— 
953,243. The following table gives the population at various periods: 
Year. 
Population. 
Rate of in- 
crease per 
decade. 
1765. 
44, 883 
70, 250 
155, 426 
220, 892 
330, 051 
447, 914 
583, 308 
731,648 
798, 565 
953, 243 
Per cent. 
1775 
57 
1800.... . 
1815 
1832 
37 
26 
27 
1846 . . 
24 
1860 ... . 
21 
1877 
14 
1889 . . . 
09 
1899 . 
16 
The density of population, or the number of inhabitants to a square 
mile, was in 1899, 264. The island is very thickly populated, especially 
when one considers that nearly all the population is rural. Few of 
the States of this country are as densely populated. 
The following table gives the area, population, and density, by 
departments, in 1899. 
Departments. 
Area. 
Population. 
Density of 
population. 
Aquadilla 
Square miles. 
240 
621 
542 
561 
413 
407 
822 
99, 645 
162, 308 
160, 046 
111,986 
88, 501 
127, 566 
203, 191 
415 
Arecibo - 
261 
Bavamon 
295 
Guay ama _. 
200 
Htunacao . - 
214 
Mayaguez 
Ponce 
313 
247 
The urban population forms but a small element, there being but 
four cities of more than 8,000 inhabitants each — San Juan, the capi- 
tal, with 32,048; Ponce, on the south coast, 27,952; Mayaguez, on the 
west coast, 15,187, and Arecibo, 8,008. These cities had a combined 
population of 83,195, or only 8.7 per cent of the total population. 
In respect to sex, females outnumbered males by 8,721 only, the 
proportions being 49.5 per cent males and 50.5 per cent females. 
As to race, there were 589,426 whites and 363,817 colored, or 61.8 
per cent white and 38.2 per cent colored. These proportions have 
differed greatly at different times in the past, the colored having in 
early days been in the majority, as may be seen by the folio wing- 
table. 
