Northern Mariana Islands

The Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, usually shortened to the Northern Mariana Islands, is a group of islands in the Pacific Ocean that are a political division controlled by the United States. Its capital is Saipan.

Northern Mariana Islands
United States territory
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands Sankattan Siha Na Islas Mariånas  (Chamorro) Commonwealth Téél Falúw kka Efáng llól Marianas  (Carolinian)
Flag Seal
Anthem: "Gi Talo Gi Halom Tasi" (Chamorro) "Satil Matawal Pacifiko" (Carolinian) ("In the Middle of the Sea") (regional) "The Star-Spangled Banner" (official)
Location of the Northern Mariana Islands (circled in red)
Sovereign state	United States
Before association with the United States	Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands
Commonwealth status	January 9, 1978
End of U.N. Trusteeship	November 4, 1986
Capital and largest city	Saipan 15.19°N 145.74°E / 15.19; 145.74
Official languages	English Chamorro Carolinian
Other languages	Philippine languages
Ethnic groups (2023)[1]	35.3% Filipino 23.9% Chamorro 6.8% Chinese 4.6% Refaluwasch 4.2% Korean 6.4% other Pacific Islander 3.78% other Asian 15.1% other
Religion (2010)[2]	81.3% Christianity 10.6% Buddhism 5.3% folk religions 1.0% no religion 0.7% Islam 1.1% other
Demonym(s)	Northern Mariana Islander (formal) Northern Marianan (other) Marianan (diminutive form) Chamorro (colloquial)[3]
Government	Devolved presidential constitutional dependency
• Governor	David M. Apatang (I)
• Lieutenant Governor	Dennis C. Mendiola (R)
Legislature	Commonwealth Legislature
• Upper house	Senate
• Lower house	House of Representatives
United States Congress
• House delegate	Kimberlyn King-Hinds (R)
Area
• Total	464[4][5][6] km2 (179 sq mi)
Highest elevation (Mount Agrihan)	965 m (3,166 ft)
Population
• 2022 estimate	55,650[4] (209th)
• 2020 census	47,329[7]
• Density	113/km2 (292.7/sq mi) (97th)
GDP (PPP)	2016 estimate
• Total	$1.24 billion[4]
• Per capita	$25,516[4]
GDP (nominal)	2019 estimate
• Total	$1.18 billion[8]
• Per capita	$21,239
HDI (2017)	0.875 very high
Currency	United States dollar (US$) (USD)
Time zone	UTC+10:00 (ChST)
Date format	mm/dd/yyyy
Driving side	right
Calling code	+1-670
USPS abbreviation	MP
Trad. abbreviation	CNMI
ISO 3166 code	MP US-MP
Internet TLD	.mp
Website	gov.mp

Spain owned the islands until 1899 and sold them to the German Empire. Germany lost them to Japan in World War I and the United States took them in World War II.

Geography

The Northern Mariana Islands, together with Guam to the south, compose the Mariana Islands. The southern islands are limestone, with level terraces and fringing coral reefs. The northern islands are volcanic, with active volcanos on Anatahan, Pagan and Agrihan. The volcano on Agrihan has the highest elevation at 3,166 feet (965 m). Anatahan Volcano is a small volcanic island 80 miles (130 km) north of Saipan. It is about 6 miles (10 km) long and 2 miles (3 km) wide. Anatahan began erupting suddenly from its east crater on May 10, 2003, at about 6 p.m. (0800 UTC). It has since alternated between eruptive and calm periods. On April 6, 2005, approximately 1,800,000 cubic feet (50,970 m³) of ash and rock were ejected, causing a large, black cloud to drift south over Saipan and Tinian.

People

Census	Pop.		%±
1960	8,286		—
1970	9,436		13.9%
1980	16,780		77.8%
1990	43,345		158.3%
2000	69,221		59.7%
2010	53,883		−22.2%
2020	47,329		−12.2%

In 2020, 47,329 people lived on the Northern Mariana Islands. This was down from 69,221 in 2000.^[7]

The official languages on the Northern Mariana Islands are English, Chamorro, and Carolinian. Only a few people speak the Tanapag language. Many people also speak Philippine languages, Chinese, and other Pacific island languages. Many people still have Spanish family names, but the people do not often speak Spanish, as they did in the past.^[9]

Most people in the Northern Mariana Islands are Roman Catholic. There are also communities of Buddhist and Protestant people. Many people have traditional beliefs, also referred to as folk religion. According to the Pew Research Center, 2010:^[10]

• Roman Catholic 64.1%
• Protestants 16%
• Buddhists 10.6%
• Folk religions 5.3%
• Other Christians 1.2%
• Other religions 1.1%
• Unaffiliated 1.0%
• Eastern Orthodox <1%
• Hindu <1%
• Muslim <1%
• Jews <1%

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints reported 865 members in the Northern Mariana Islands.^[11]