Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Spain instead of Puerto Rico, you would:
Health
live 2.0 years longer
In Puerto Rico, the average life expectancy is 82 years (78 years for men, 85 years for women) as of 2024. In Spain, that number is 84 years (81 years for men, 86 years for women) as of 2024.
be 63.9% less likely to be obese
In Puerto Rico, 42.4% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Spain, that number is 15.3% of people as of 2024.
be 60.9% more likely to die by suicide
Puerto Rico has a suicide rate of 5.4 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Spain, it is 8.7 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
be 73.3% more likely to be unemployed
In Puerto Rico, 6.0% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Spain, that number is 10.4% as of 2025.
Life
be 72.7% less likely to die during childbirth
In Puerto Rico, approximately 11.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Spain, 3.0 women do as of 2023.
be 57.0% less likely to die during infancy
In Puerto Rico, approximately 6.0 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2022. In Spain, on the other hand, 2.6 children do as of 2024.
have 14.0% more children
In Puerto Rico, there are approximately 5.7 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Spain, there are 6.5 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Geography
see 9.9 times more coastline
Puerto Rico has a total of 501 km of coastline. In Spain, that number is 4,964 km.
Safety
be 95.3% less likely to be murdered
Puerto Rico has a homicide rate of 14.6 per 100,000 people as of 2023. In Spain, that number is 0.7 per 100,000 as of 2023.
be 72.0% less likely to die in a road accident
In Puerto Rico, road accidents kill 12.5 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Spain, they kill 3.5 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
find 40.2% more home broadband
Puerto Rico has 28.0 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Spain has 39.2 as of 2024.
live with 2.2 times more strain on fresh water
Puerto Rico withdraws 20% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Spain withdraws 43% as of 2022.
Sources: World Bank (2021–2025), The World Factbook (2022), World Health Organization (2024), United Nations SDG Indicators (2021). How we calculate this
Compare further: Puerto Rico vs. Spain
Spain: At a glance
How big is Spain compared to Puerto Rico? See an in-depth size comparison.