A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | CH | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9
Northern Mariana Islands | |
|---|---|
| Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands[b] 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") | |
_(small_islands_magnified).svg) Location of the Northern Mariana Islands (circled in red) | |
| Sovereign state |  United States[a] |
| 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°11′N 145°44′E / 15.19°N 145.74°E |
| Official languages | |
| Ethnic groups (2023)[1] |
|
| Religion (2010)[2] |
|
| Demonym(s) | Northern Mariana Islander (formal) Northern Marianan (other) Marianan (diminutive form) Chamorro (colloquial)[3] |
| Government | Devolved presidential constitutional dependency |
| Joe Biden (D) | |
• Governor | Arnold Palacios (I) |
| David M. Apatang (I) | |
| Legislature | Commonwealth Legislature |
| Senate | |
| House of Representatives | |
| United States Congress | |
| Gregorio Sablan (D) | |
| Area | |
• Total | 464[4][5][6] km2 (179 sq mi) |
• Water (%) | negligible |
| Highest elevation | 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 | $21,239 |
| Currency | United States dollar (US$) (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 |
The Northern Mariana Islands, officially the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands[b] (CNMI; Chamorro: Sankattan Siha Na Islas Mariånas; Carolinian: Commonwealth Téél Falúw kka Efáng llól Marianas), is an unincorporated territory and commonwealth of the United States consisting of 14 islands in the northwestern Pacific Ocean.[10] The CNMI includes the 14 northernmost islands in the Mariana Archipelago; the southernmost island, Guam, is a separate U.S. territory. The Northern Mariana Islands were listed by the United Nations as a non-self governing territory until 1990.[11]
During the colonial period, the Northern Marianas were variously under the control of the Spanish, German, and Japanese empires. After World War II, the islands were part of the United Nations trust territories under American administration, before formally joining the United States as a territory in 1986, with their population gaining United States citizenship.
The United States Department of the Interior cites a landmass of 183.5 square miles (475.26 km2).[12] According to the 2020 United States Census, 47,329 people were living in the CNMI at that time.[7] The vast majority of the population resides on Saipan, Tinian, and Rota. The other islands of the Northern Marianas are sparsely inhabited; the most notable among these is Pagan, which was left largely uninhabited since a 1981 volcanic eruption.[13]
The administrative center is Capitol Hill, a village in northwestern Saipan. The current governor of the CNMI is Arnold Palacios, who entered office in January 2023. The legislative branch has a 9-member Senate and a 14-member House of Representatives.
History
The islands were settled around 1500 BCE, when various peoples migrated there. Eventually the islands were claimed by Spain in 1521.[4] In the 18th century the people of the northern Marianas were forced by Spain to relocate, and when they returned new peoples had migrated there. In 1899 Spain sold the Northern Marianas to Germany in the Spanish-German Treaty of 1899, while Guam went to the United States. At the end of World War I, with the defeat of Germany, the islands became a part of the Japanese Mandate under the League of Nations, starting in 1918. The islands were liberated from the Japanese in the Battle of Saipan in 1944, and after the war became part of the UN Trust Territory called the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands (TTPI). Over the decades integration with Guam was rejected and eventually the islands left the TTPI and became a part of the US in 1986. The Northern Marianas then became the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) and its residents are US citizens. In 2009, they elected a non-voting delegate to the US Congress.[4]
Arrival of humans
The Mariana Islands were the first islands settled by humans in Remote Oceania. Incidentally their settlement was the first and longest of the ocean-crossing voyages of the Austronesian peoples, separate from the later Polynesian settlement of the rest of Remote Oceania. The islands were first settled around 1500 to 1400 BC by people from the Philippines. This was followed by a second migration from the Caroline Islands by the first millennium AD, and a third migration from Island Southeast Asia (likely the Philippines or eastern Indonesia) by 900 AD.[14][15]
After their first contact with Spaniards, the islanders eventually became known as the Chamorros, a Spanish word similar to Chamori, the name of the indigenous caste system's higher division.
The ancient people of the Marianas raised colonnades of megalithic capped pillars called latte stones upon which they built their homes. The Spanish reported that by the time of their arrival, the largest of these were already in ruins, and that the Chamorros believed the ancestors who had erected the pillars lived in an era when people possessed supernatural abilities.
In 2013 archaeologists posited that the first people to settle in the Marianas may have made what was at that point the longest uninterrupted ocean-crossing voyage in human history. Archeological evidence indicates that Tinian may have been the first Pacific island to be settled.[16]
Spanish possession
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The Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan, sailing under the Spanish flag, arrived in 1521. He and his crew were the first Europeans to arrive in the Mariana Islands. He landed on Guam, the southernmost island of the Marianas, and claimed the archipelago for Spain. The Spanish ships were met offshore by the native Chamorros, who delivered refreshments and then helped themselves to a small boat belonging to Magellan's fleet. This led to a cultural clash: in Chamorro tradition, little property was private and taking something one needed, such as a boat for fishing, did not count as stealing. The Spanish did not understand this custom and fought the Chamorros until the boat was recovered. Three days after he had been welcomed on his arrival, Magellan fled the archipelago. Spain regarded the islands as annexed and later made them part of the Spanish East Indies in 1565. In 1734, the Spanish built a royal palace, the Plaza de España, in Guam for the governor of the islands. The palace was largely destroyed during World War II, but portions of it remain.
Guam operated as an important stopover between the Philippines and Mexico for Manila galleon carrying trading between Spanish colonies.
In 1668, Father Diego Luis de San Vitores renamed the islands Las Marianas in honor of his patroness the Spanish regent Mariana of Austria (1634–1696), widow of Felipe IV (reigned 1621–1665).[17]
Most of the islands' native population (90–95%)[18] died from European diseases carried by the Spaniards or married non-Chamorro settlers under Spanish rule. New settlers, primarily from the Philippines and the Caroline Islands, were brought to repopulate the islands. The Chamorro population gradually recovered, and Chamorro, Filipino, and Refaluwasch languages and other ethnic groups remain in the Marianas.
During the 17th century, Spanish colonists forcibly moved the Chamorros to Guam, to encourage assimilation and conversion to Roman Catholicism. By the time they were allowed to return to the Northern Marianas, many Carolinians from present-day eastern Yap State and western Chuuk State had settled in the Marianas.[citation needed] Both languages, as well as English, are now official in the commonwealth.
In 1720 the Spanish moved the remaining islanders, whose population had been decimated by diseases, from the Marianas to Guam.[19] By 1741, there was about 5000 remaining Chamorros.[19]
Carolinian immigration
The Northern Marianas experienced an influx of immigration from the Carolines (Micronesia region) during the 19th century. Both this Carolinian sub-ethnicity and Carolinians in the Carolines archipelago refer to themselves as the Refaluwasch. The indigenous Chamorro word for the same group of people is gu'palao. They are usually referred to simply as "Carolinians", though unlike the other two monikers, this can also mean those who actually live in the Carolines and who may have no affiliation with the Marianas.
The conquering Spanish did not focus attempts at cultural suppression against Carolinian immigrants, whose immigration they allowed during a period when the indigenous Chamorro majority was being subjugated with land alienation, forced relocations and internment. Carolinians in the Marianas continue to be fluent in the Carolinian language, and have maintained many of the cultural distinctions and traditions of their ethnicity's land of ancestral origin.[20][need quotation to verify]
German possession and Japanese mandate
Following its loss during the Spanish–American War of 1898, Spain ceded Guam to the United States and sold the remainder of the Marianas (i.e., the Northern Marianas), along with the Caroline Islands, to Germany under the German–Spanish Treaty of 1899. The United States could have taken the entire Marianas but beyond Guam saw no need for the group.[21] Germany administered the islands as part of its colony of German New Guinea and did little in terms of development.
Germany built an office on Saipan to administer the island, and the head administrator was Georg Fritz.[21] San Jose church was built during the German period.[22] The Germans established a public school system and homesteading program, and some efforts were put into copra production; there was an overall effort to grow the economy with roads being built and vocational/trades training.[23] Pagan and Alamagan were leased to a company called Pagan Gesellschaft, which planned to produce copra there, although its goals were hampered by numerous typhoons. Eight islands were leased to bird hunters, which used the feathers for hats.[19]
Early in World War I, Japan declared war on Germany and invaded the Northern Marianas. In 1919 after the war concluded, the League of Nations (LoN) awarded all of Germany's islands in the Pacific Ocean located north of the Equator, including the Northern Marianas, under mandate to Japan. Under this arrangement, the Japanese thus administered the Northern Marianas as part of the South Seas Mandate. During the Japanese period, sugar cane became the main industry of the islands. Garapan on Saipan was developed as a regional capital, and numerous Japanese (including ethnic Koreans and Okinawan and Taiwanese) migrated to the islands. In the December 1939 census, the total population of the South Seas Mandate was 129,104, of whom 77,257 were Japanese (including ethnic Taiwanese and Koreans). On Saipan the pre-war population comprised 29,348 Japanese settlers and 3,926 Chamorro and Caroline Islanders; Tinian had 15,700 Japanese settlers (including 2,700 ethnic Koreans and 22 ethnic Chamorro). The Japanese built military constructions on the island in the 1930s and in December 1941 used it as staging area to invade Guam, which was part of the U.S. at that time.
During the Japanese mandate, the main economic focus was sugar productions, and for example about 98% of Tinian island was used to grow sugarcane.[24]
World War II
On December 8, 1941, hours after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Japanese forces from the Marianas launched an invasion of Guam. Chamorros from the Northern Marianas, which had been under Japanese rule for more than 20 years, were brought to Guam to assist the Japanese administration. This, combined with the harsh treatment of Guamanian Chamorros during the 31-month occupation, created a rift that would become the main reason Guamanians rejected the referendum on reunification of Guam with the Northern Marianas that was approved by the Northern Marianas in the 1960s.[citation needed]
On June 15, 1944, the United States military invaded the Mariana Islands, starting the Battle of Saipan, which ended on July 9. Of the 30,000 Japanese troops defending Saipan, fewer than 1,000 remained alive at the battle's end.[25] Many civilians were also killed, by disease, starvation, enemy fire, or suicide; about 1,000 civilians killed themselves by jumping off cliffs.[26] U.S. forces then recaptured Guam on July 21, and invaded Tinian on July 24. A year later Tinian was the takeoff point for the Enola Gay, the plane that dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. Rota was left untouched (and isolated) until the Japanese surrender in August 1945, owing to its military insignificance and U.S. forces' strategy of "island hopping" in which they did not invade islands that they did not need. The story of the holdouts on Anatahan was told in 1953 by Josef von Sternberg in his film The Saga of Anatahan.
The war did not end for everyone with the signing of the armistice. The last group of Japanese holdouts surrendered on Saipan on December 1, 1945. However, as mentioned, a group of about 30 held out until 1951 on Anahatan. The bizarre story has been the subject several movies and writings including The Saga of Anatahan. On a related note, on Guam, Japanese soldier Shoichi Yokoi, unaware that the war had ended, hid in a jungle cave in the Talofofo area until 1972.
Japanese nationals were eventually repatriated to the Japanese home islands. After World War II, the people of Marianas were able to return to the Northern Marianas, under protection of the United Nations Trusteeship administered by the United States. During this time a series of referendums took place.
United Nations trusteeship ends, Commonwealth begins
After Japan's defeat in World War II, the Northern Marianas were administered by the United States pursuant to Security Council Resolution 21 as part of the United Nations Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, which assigned responsibility for defense and foreign affairs to the United States as trustee.[10] Four referendums offering integration with Guam or changes to the islands' status were held in 1958, 1961, 1963 and 1969. On each occasion, a majority voted in favor of integration with Guam, but this did not happen: Guam rejected integration in a 1969 referendum.[27]: 188
In the 1975 Northern Mariana Islands status referendum nearly 80% voted to become a commonwealth of the United States, and in 1977 over 93% approved the constitution of the CNMI.[28][29]
The people of the Northern Mariana Islands decided in the 1970s not to seek independence, but instead to forge closer links with the United States. Negotiations for commonwealth status began in 1972 and a covenant to establish a commonwealth in political union with the United States[30] was approved in a 1975 referendum.[27]: 188 A new government and constitution came into effect in part on January 9, 1978[27]: 188 after being approved in a 1977 referendum.[4] The United Nations approved this arrangement pursuant to Security Council Resolution 683. The Northern Mariana Islands came under U.S. sovereignty on November 4, 1986, and the islanders became US citizens.[27][31] Also on November 4, 1986, the Northern Mariana Islands constitution became fully effective under the Covenant.[4]
In May 1981, volcanic eruptions led to evacuation of the island of Pagan.[27]: 185–86 Most residents of Pagan have not yet returned to Pagan due to ongoing volcanic activity.
In the 1960s and 1970s agriculture and ranching became an important activity with thousands of beef cattle, dairy cows, and hogs, as well as many crops such as pineapple. The food production became an important source of food supply for the Marianas region.[24]
The Chamorro-Carolinian Language Policy Commission was created in 1982 to carry out policies in support of the Chamorro and Carolinian languages and cultures.[32][33][34]
In December 1986, 20 percent of the homes on Saipan were destroyed by Typhoon Kim, trees were stripped of foliage, thousands of coconut trees were knocked down, roads were blocked, and there was no electricity or public water supply for weeks.[27]: 186
In April 1990, the inhabitants of the western coast of Anatahan were evacuated after earthquake swarms and active fumaroles indicated that an eruption might be imminent, but no eruption occurred at that time. A further earthquake swarm occurred in May 1992. The first historical eruption of Anatahan occurred in May 2003, when a large explosive eruption with a VEI of 4 took place forming a new crater inside the eastern caldera and causing an ash plume 12 km (7.5 mi) high which impaired air traffic to Saipan and Guam.[35]
21st century
The Northern Mariana Islands does not have voting representation in the United States Congress, but, since 2009, has been represented in the U.S. House of Representatives by a delegate;[36] congressional delegates may participate in debates and serve on congressional committees but may not cast decisive votes on the House floor.[37] In the United States, a non-voting delegate is not a new concept, but rather goes back to before 1800. Territorial delegates represent their region's interest in Congress, and their powers have been established over time, beginning in 1795. A major power of the territorial delegates (which have also been called Resident Commissioners), besides serving on committees, is speaking on the floor.[38] Perhaps more importantly, the position is seen as a precursor to establishing voting rights, and discussion about granting a delegate voting rights have occurred.[38]
In 2018, 18 people embarked on a mission to repopulate the northern islands of Alamagan and Agrihan. They left Saipan aboard the M/V Super Emerald; the families involved originally had come from Alamagan. The months-long project was coordinated by the Mayor's office: plans include a clean water supply, establishment of radio contact, and hopefully sending more families to the two islands.[39] One returning Marianan remarked, "I was born and raised on Saipan but my family is from Alamagan. We are going to live there for a long time."[39] The 2020 United States Census reported a total of 7 people living on Alamagan and Agrihan.[40]
Typhoon Yutu caused widespread damage in October 2018, and was the strongest typhoon known to hit the islands.[41] Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) personnel deployed to both Tinian and Saipan ahead of the storm. U.S. President Donald Trump declared an emergency for the Northern Islands on October 24, 2018.[42]
Geography
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The Northern Mariana Islands, together with Guam to the south, compose the Mariana Islands archipelago. The southern islands are limestone, with level terraces and fringing coral reefs. The northern islands are volcanic, with active volcanoes on several islands, including Anatahan, Pagan, and Agrihan. The volcano on Agrihan, Mount Agrihan, has the highest elevation at 3,166 feet (965 m).[43] An expedition organized by John D. Mitchler and Reid Larson made the first complete ascent to the summit of this peak on June 1, 2018.[44]
The islands going from north to south comprise 14 main islands, but some smaller islands are often grouped together. Also, Zealandia Bank can be an island at times depending on the tide. In terms of area, it is smaller than Guam, however as an island change its hundreds of kilometers/miles from northern most to southernmost. Many islands have multiple names, due to popular nicknames; the names are usually Spanish, Chamorro, or English origin. Many of the islands have had to be evacuated due to volcanic activity.
- Farallon de Pajaros (or Uracus),
- Maug Islands (actually three islands, North, East, and West)
- Supply reef, about 10 km from Maug has an active submarine volcano and various corals, it rises to within 8 meters of the surface.[19]
- Asuncion Island
- Agrihan
- Pagan (Mostly uninhabited since a 1981 eruption)
- Alamagan
- Guguan
- Zealandia Bank, mostly submerged rocky outcops break the surface at low tide.
- Sarigan
- Anatahan, eruptions in 2003 and 2007–8
- Farallon de Medinilla
- Saipan
- Mañagaha (small island West of Saipan)
- Bird Island (Partially connected island on East of Saipan)
- Forbidden Island (Partially connected island on South East of Saipan)
- Tinian, quiet rural island with many cattle ranches and historical sites
- Aguijan (Goat Island) (This uninhabited island south of Tinian is filled with birds and goats)
- Naftan Rock
- Rota, (also known as Friendly Island) Also inhabited.
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 from its east crater on May 10, 2003. It has since alternated between eruptive and calm periods.[43] On April 6, 2005, an estimated 50,000,000 cubic feet (1,416,000 m3) of ash and rock were ejected, causing a large, black cloud to drift south over Saipan and Tinian.[45]
- Northernmost point – Farallon de Pajaros
- Easternmost point – Farallon de Medinilla
- Southernmost point – Puntan Malikok, Rota
- Westernmost point – Farallon de Pajaros
The islands lie in the Marianas tropical dry forests terrestrial ecoregion.[46]
The area of ocean to the east of the islands, along with parts of the islands themselves, is part of the Marianas Trench Marine National Monument. This area includes three northernmost islands; the "Arc of Fire" refuge, which includes 21 underwater volcanic sites; and the trench region, which goes to the maximum limit of the EEZ. The nature preserve aims to protect the unique marine life which includes seabirds, sea turtles, unique coral reefs, and life around under-sea vents. The Marianas Trench itself includes the deepest ocean water on the planet, along with other underwater wonders, including a pool of liquid sulfur located at Daikoku, which is an underwater volcano.[47] (see also Challenger Deep)
Heading south from the CNMI, south of Rota is Guam. To the east is Wake island, then further east is the island of Midway, and eventually the start of the Hawaiian island chain. American Samoa is located to the east and south, and lies below the Equator. To the north and east, lies Alaska, which is a string of islands known as the Aleutians. To the west of the CNMI is the Philippines, and to the south and west is Palua, home to Chamorro people. To the south and east is Micronesia, which is home to the Carolinian people, many of which also settled on the CNMI centuries ago.
Saipan has some additional semi-attached islets, one of which being Bird Island, a nature reserve for birds. It is connected to Saipan only at low tide.[48] Forbidden Island is similar, but larger on the south east side of Saipan.[49]
Climate
The Northern Mariana Islands have a tropical rainforest climate (Köppen: Af) moderated by seasonal northeast trade winds, with little seasonal temperature variation. The dry season runs from December to June; the rainy season runs from July to November and can include typhoons. The Guinness Book of World Records has said Saipan has the most equable climate in the world.[50]
| Climate data for Saipan International Airport (1991–2020 normals, extremes 2000–present) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 89 (32) |
90 (32) |
91 (33) |
93 (34) |
96 (36) |
94 (34) |
99 (37) |
95 (35) |
94 (34) |
92 (33) |
92 (33) |
90 (32) |
99 (37) |
| Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 84.1 (28.9) |
84.0 (28.9) |
84.9 (29.4) |
87.1 (30.6) |
88.2 (31.2) |
88.4 (31.3) |
87.8 (31.0) |
87.2 (30.7) |
87.2 (30.7) |
86.6 (30.3) |
86.5 (30.3) |
85.7 (29.8) |
86.5 (30.3) |
| Daily mean °F (°C) | 79.5 (26.4) |
79.1 (26.2) |
80.0 (26.7) |
82.0 (27.8) |
83.1 (28.4) |
83.4 (28.6) |
82.9 (28.3) |
82.4 (28.0) |
82.2 (27.9) |
81.8 (27.7) |
81.9 (27.7) |
81.0 (27.2) |
81.6 (27.6) |
| Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 74.8 (23.8) |
74.1 (23.4) |
75.2 (24.0) |
76.9 (24.9) |
78.0 (25.6) |
78.5 (25.8) |
78.1 (25.6) |
77.5 (25.3) |
77.2 (25.1) |
77.1 (25.1) |
77.3 (25.2) |
76.4 (24.7) |
76.8 (24.9) |
| Record low °F (°C) | 70 (21) |
69 (21) |
69 (21) |
70 (21) |
73 (23) |
72 (22) |
71 (22) |
69 (21) |
72 (22) |
69 (21) |
69 (21) |
69 (21) |
69 (21) |
| Average rainfall inches (mm) | 3.65 (93) |
2.50 (64) |
1.96 (50) |
2.75 (70) |
3.12 (79) |
4.24 (108) |
7.43 (189) |
12.86 (327) |
11.42 (290) |
10.72 (272) |
5.21 (132) |
3.78 (96) |
69.64 (1,769) |
| Average rainy days (≥ 0.01 in) | 17.4 | 15.3 | 14.2 | 16.4 | 17.9 | 20.2 | 24.3 | 23.9 | 23.3 | 24.5 | 20.7 | 18.9 | 237.0 |
| Source: NOAA[51][52] | |||||||||||||
Politics and government
The Northern Mariana Islands have a multiparty presidential representative democratic system. They are a commonwealth of the United States. Federal funds to the commonwealth are administered by the Office of Insular Affairs of the U.S. Department of the Interior.
Replicating the separation of powers elsewhere in the United States, the executive branch is headed by the governor of the Northern Mariana Islands; legislative power is vested in the bicameral Northern Mariana Islands Commonwealth Legislature and the judicial power is vested in the CNMI Supreme Court and the trial courts inferior to it.
Some critics, including the author of the political website Saipan Sucks, say that politics in the Northern Mariana Islands is often "more a function of family relationships and personal loyalties" where the size of one's extended family is more important than a candidate's personal qualifications. They charge that this is nepotism carried out within the trappings of democracy.[53][54]
In April 2012, anticipating a loss of funding by 2014, the commonwealth's public pension fund declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy.[55] The retirement fund is a defined benefit-type pension plan and was only partially funded by the government, with only $268.4 million in assets and $911 million in liabilities. The plan experienced low investment returns and a benefit structure that had been increased without raises in funding.[56]
In August 2012, cries for impeachment[57] arose, as the sitting governor Benigno Fitial was being held responsible for withholding payments from the pension fund,[58] not paying the local utility (Commonwealth Utilities or "CUC") for government offices,[59] cutting off funding to the only hospital in the Northern Marianas,[60][61] interfering with the delivery of a subpoena to his attorney general,[62] withholding required funds from the public schools,[63][64] and for signing a sole source $190 million contract for power generation.[65][66]
Northern Mariana Islands' delegation to the 2016 Republican National Convention boasted about being "the most Republican territory" in the U.S.[67] In 2017, the Republican Party had large majorities in both the Northern Mariana Islands Senate and the Northern Mariana Islands House of Representatives, though no party has a majority in either chamber as of 2023.
Administrative divisions
The islands total 179.01 square miles (463.63 km2). The table gives an overview, with the individual islands listed from north to south:[4][5]