Puerto Rico is located in the northeastern Caribbean Sea, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Quick Scoop: Where is Puerto Rico Located?

Think of Puerto Rico as a Caribbean island group that also belongs to the North American region.

It sits on the eastern edge of the Greater Antilles island chain.

Basic Location Facts

  • In the northeastern Caribbean Sea , with its north coast facing the Atlantic Ocean.
  • East of the Dominican Republic (about 50 miles / 80 km).
  • West of the Virgin Islands (about 40 miles / 65 km).
  • Roughly 1,000 miles (1,600 km) southeast of Florida (near Miami).
  • Part of the wider North American continent and the Caribbean region at the same time.

Map-style Coordinates

If you look it up by coordinates on a map or GPS:

  • Around 18.2° N latitude and 66.6° W longitude.
  • This puts Puerto Rico in the Northern Hemisphere and the Western Hemisphere.

Island Group, Not Just One Island

Puerto Rico is actually an archipelago , not just a single island.

It includes:

  • The main island of Puerto Rico.
  • Smaller islands such as Vieques , Culebra , and Mona , plus many tiny islets and cays.

Quick “Picture It on a Map” Guide

If you’re trying to visualize it:

  1. Find Florida on a map.
  2. Move your eye southeast into the Caribbean about 1,000 miles.
  1. Look just east of the Dominican Republic and just west of the U.S. Virgin Islands – that’s Puerto Rico.

In simple terms: Puerto Rico is a U.S.-associated Caribbean island group in the northeastern Caribbean Sea, between the Dominican Republic and the Virgin Islands, within the North American region.

TL;DR: Puerto Rico is a Caribbean archipelago in the northeastern Caribbean Sea, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of the Virgin Islands, in the North American region.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.