territory of the US located in the Pacific From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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 | |
---|---|
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands Sankattan Siha Na Islas Mariånas (Chamorro) Commonwealth Téél Falúw kka Efáng llól Marianas (Carolinian) | |
| |
Anthem: "Gi Talo Gi Halom Tasi" (Chamorro) "Satil Matawal Pacifiko" (Carolinian) ("In the Middle of the Sea") | |
Sovereign state | United States[lower-alpha 1] |
Before belonging to 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 |
Official languages | |
Ethnic groups (2010)[1] |
|
Religion (2010)[2] |
|
Demonym(s) | Northern Mariana Islander (formal) Northern Marianan (other) Marianan (diminutive form) Chamorro (colloquial)[3] |
Government | Devolved presidential constitutional dependency |
• Governor | Arnold Palacios (I) |
David Apatang (I) | |
Legislature | Commonwealth Legislature |
Senate | |
House of Representatives | |
United States Congress | |
• House delegate | Gregorio Sablan (D) |
Area | |
• Total | 464[4][5] km2 (179 sq mi) |
• Water (%) | negligible |
Highest elevation (Mount Agrihan) | 965 m (3,166 ft) |
Population | |
• 2022 estimate | 55,650[6] (209th) |
• 2020 census | 47,329[7] |
• Density | 113/km2 (292.7/sq mi) (97th) |
GDP (PPP) | 2016 estimate |
• Total | $1.24 billion[6] |
• Per capita | $25,516[6] |
GDP (nominal) | 2019 estimate |
• Total | US$1,182,000,000[8] |
• Per capita | $21,239 |
Currency | United States dollar (US$) (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 |
|
Internet TLD | .mp |
Website | gov |
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.
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.
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]
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints reported 865 members in the Northern Mariana Islands.[11]
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Every time you click a link to Wikipedia, Wiktionary or Wikiquote in your browser's search results, it will show the modern Wikiwand interface.
Wikiwand extension is a five stars, simple, with minimum permission required to keep your browsing private, safe and transparent.