<Tr> <Td> <Ul> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> </Ul> </Td> </Tr> <Ul> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> </Ul> <P> The political status of Puerto Rico is that of an unincorporated territory of the United States . As such, the island is neither a sovereign nation nor a U.S. state . Because of that ambiguity, the territory, as a polity, lacks certain rights but enjoys certain benefits that other polities have or lack . For instance, in contrast to sovereign nations, Puerto Rico does not have voting rights in its federal legislature nor in electing its federal head of government . But, in contrast to U.S. states, Puerto Ricans are not subject to federal income taxes . The political status of the island thus stems from how different Puerto Rico is politically from sovereign nations and from U.S. states . </P> <P> The status of the island is the result of various political activities within both the United States and Puerto Rican governments . The United Nations removed it from the list of non-self - governing territories in 1953 . But it remains subject to the Territorial Clause of the U.S. Constitution . According to the Insular Cases, Puerto Rico is "a territory appurtenant and belonging to the United States, but not a part of the United States within the revenue clauses of the Constitution". </P>

What is the current status of puerto rico