Profile
Background and figures as recorded in the CIA World Factbook.
Austronesian people settled the Northern Mariana Islands around 1500 B.C. These people became the indigenous Chamorro and were influenced by later migrations, including Micronesians in the first century A.D. and island Southeast Asians around 900. Spanish explorer Ferdinand MAGELLAN sailed through the Mariana Islands in 1521, and Spain claimed them in 1565. Spain formally colonized the Mariana Islands in 1668 and administered the archipelago from Guam. Spain’s brutal repression of the Chamorro, along with new diseases and intermittent warfare, reduced the indigenous population by about 90% in the 1700s.
- Capital
- Saipan
- Government
- a commonwealth in political union with and under the sovereignty of the US;
- Population
- 51,118
- Area
- 464 sq km
- Location
- Oceania, islands in the North Pacific Ocean, about three-quarters of the way from Hawaii to the Philippines
- Climate
- tropical marine; moderated by northeast trade winds, little seasonal temperature variation;
- Natural resources
- arable land; fish
- Languages
- Philippine languages 32.8%; Chamorro (official) 24.1%; English (official) 17%; other Pacific island languages 10.1% (includes Carolinian (official)…
- Religions
- Christian (Roman Catholic majority; although traditional beliefs and taboos may still be found)
- Independence
- none (commonwealth in political union with the US)
- Administrative divisions
- no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US government, but 4 municipalities are considered second-orde…
- Export partners
- Sweden 21%; Singapore 20%; Hong Kong 12%; UK 8%…
- Import partners
- Singapore 63%; Japan 12%; Hong Kong 8%; Taiwan 4%…
Source: CIA World Factbook — a work of the US government, in the public domain