Offshore Software Development in
Puerto Rico
100
Developers
1
Partner
High
Software Outsourcing Readiness
Overview
Puerto Rico has been described as a political paradox – a US territory in the Caribbean, with local self-government and its own distinct personality. Outsourcing rates are 20% higher than in the rest of Latin America, but benefits include Puerto Rico’s close proximity to the US mainland and cultural compatibility.
About Puerto Rico
Talent Pool & Education
The government is trying to reinvent Puerto Rico as a knowledge-based economy, using tax incentives to court international technology companies and investors to establish or expand operations on the island. A number of startup accelerator programs are helping to create jobs, and Invest Puerto Rico is attracting new business by promoting the island’s role as a hub for tech, innovation and creative industries. Helping to keep the marketplace well supplied is the Mayagüez Campus of the University of Puerto Rico, one of the best engineering schools in the US.
Language
Both Spanish and English are official languages of Puerto Rico. Spanish is dominant but English is taught in schools and widely spoken in the business community.
Economic Outlook
The borders have reopened to fully vaccinated travelers from the US mainland, after the lifting of a nightly curfew that was in place for more than a year due to the pandemic. However, Puerto Rico is still struggling to recover from back-to-back Hurricanes Irma and Maria, destructive earthquakes, climbing fiscal debt and the impact of climate change. US President Joe Biden has proposed a comprehensive recovery plan and, in June 2021, it was announced that the territory would receive nearly $4 billion in pandemic relief funds.
Political Conditions
Puerto Ricans again voted in favor of becoming a US state in a non-binding referendum at the ballot late in 2020, and elected a new governor, NPP’s Pedro Pierluisi, from the island’s main pro-statehood party. Two bills are currently before Congress to address the nation’s status and the Biden administration has said the island should be able to choose its destiny, but it remains a divisive issue.
