Northern Marianas profile

Map of Northern Marianas Islands

The Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, or CNMI, is a chain of 14 islands in the north-west Pacific. It is self-governing, but linked politically to the US.

The economy relies on tourist arrivals, mostly from Japan, and clothing exports. It is vulnerable to downturns in both.


Japanese three-inch gun at The Last Command Post on June 28, 2005 in Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands The Battle of Saipan was fought on the islands during World War II

The industry was dealt a blow in 2005 when, under liberalised world trade rules, the US scrapped import quotas on Chinese-made garments.

Economic woes were compounded when, months later, Japan Airlines ended flights to the territory, hitting the tourist trade.



The battle for Saipan was a turning point in the Pacific war, allowing the island of Tinian to become a staging post for the 1945 US atomic bomb attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

After the war, the Northern Marianas were governed by Washington as a UN-mandated Pacific trust territory. The islands sought political union with the US in the mid-1970s. CNMI residents are US citizens. The territory receives millions of dollars in aid from Washington.

In November 2008 Gregorio Sablan was elected as the Marianas first nonvoting delegate to the US House of Representatives. The islands are the last US territory to receive representation in Congress.

The CNMI is home to several active volcanos; Anatahan, north of Saipan, has been erupting on and off since 2003.

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