Is Puerto Rico a country or a state?

Answer 1

Puerto Rico is a country , not a state , even though is a U.S. territory , a country is supposed to have a government and its own language , Puerto Rico has that. Puerto Rico wouldn't be a country if it didn't have its own government and language.

Answer 2

Is a "commonwealth" of the US. The right term as today is that the island of Puerto Rico is "Estado libre asociado de PR" which means Free associated state (commonwealth) and therefore is treated by the U.S. like a territory.

The nature of Puerto Rico's political relationship with the United States is the subject of ongoing debate on and off the island. Those who support maintaining the status quo(i.e., Commonwealth status) insist that upon attaining this status, Puerto Rico entered into a voluntary association with the U.S. "in the nature of a compact", but opponents of Commonwealth, disagree: according to them, Puerto Rico is no more than an unincorporated organized territory of the U.S., subject to the plenary powers of the United States Congress.

Under Intenational Law and the US Constitution the political status as a US Territory is unchanged by what it chooses to call itself. It is and will remain a US Territory until a referendum by the voters of Puerto Rico is completed, until the US Congress approves that status and until the President of the United States signs such a bill of the US Congress into Public Law.

The debate is still going on. Will the island become a state, remain as it is or go on a path to independence only time will tell.

Answer 3

Puerto Rico is not a country and it is also not a US State. It is an unincorporated US Territory located in the Caribbean.