Jeffrey Schorr Keith Aughenbaugh |
Office of Insular Affairs |
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Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands
OverviewOIA Field Office in Saipan
History
The first people to come to the Marianas arrived over 3500 years ago, probably from Southeast Asia through the Philippines. The south islands were occupied early, the north later. The ancient people evolved into Chamorro people. An ancient trading route between the central Carolinian islands brought ancestors of the Carolinians to Saipan. The first European to arrive in these islands was the Portuguese navigator, Ferdinand Magellan, who came to Guam and Rota in 1521 during his circumnavigation of the world in an attempt to find a route across the Pacific. Spain took possession of the archipelago in 1565 and ruled it for more than 300 years. The first permanent Spanish colony was established in 1668. Spain ceded Guam to the United States following the Spanish-American War, then sold the Northern Mariana Islands to Germany in 1899. Germany acquired these islands primarily to increase their international prestige. German economic development was based on the copra industry. Japan took control of the Northern Mariana Islands in 1914, the first year of World War I. By ratification of the League of Nations in 1920, Japan received a mandate over the islands. This mandate lasted until 1945 with 30,000 Japanese nationals residing on Saipan. The Japanese developed the island largely for sugar production and processing.World War II came to the Marianas in 1941. Major American battles occurred in the Northern Marianas in 1944, including the pivotal Marianas campaign which signaled the end of the War in the Pacific. The Emperor of Japan surrendered to the Allied Forces on August 15, 1945, ending World War II, and a U.S. military government was instituted in the Northern Mariana Islands.
Political Status
On December 22, 1990, the Security Council of the United Nations terminated the TTPI as it applied to the CNMI and five other [the Marshall Islands and the Federated States of Micronesia (Chuuk, Kosrae, Pohnpei and Yap)] of the TTPI's original seven districts. Under the Covenant, in general, Federal law applies to CNMI. However, the CNMI is outside the customs territory of the United States and, although the internal revenue code does apply in the form of a local income tax, the income tax system is largely locally determined. According to the Covenant, the federal minimum wage and federal immigration laws "will not apply to the Northern Mariana Islands except in the manner and to the extent made applicable to them by the Congress by law after termination of the Trusteeship Agreement:"
GovernmentThe CNMI constitution provides for a governor, a lieutenant governor, a bicameral legislature (18 members in the House of Representatives and 9 members in the Senate), and a local court system including Superior and Supreme Courts. The incumbent administration is led by Governor Juan Nekai Babauta and Lieutenant Governor Diego T. Benavente. Their four year terms in office began January 14, 2002. The U.S. District Court for the District of the Northern Mariana Islands operates in the CNMI with the Honorable Alex Munson presiding. The CNMI has an elected Resident Representative in Washington, D.C., who represents the Commonwealth before the Congress and the Federal Government. The current Resident Representative is Pedro A. Tenorio. His four year term in office began January 14, 2002.
Geography
Located just north of Guam, the CNMI is a three-hundred mile archipelago consisting of 14 islands, with a total land area of 183.5 square miles. The principal inhabited islands are Saipan, Rota and Tinian. The northern, largely uninhabited islands are Farallon de Medinilla, Anatahan, Sariguan, Gudgeon, Alamagan, Pagan, Agrihan, Asuncion, Maug Islands, and Farallon de Pajaro. Saipan is 3,300 miles from Honolulu; 5,625 from San Francisco; 1,272 miles from Tokyo; and 3,090 miles from Sydney. The Mariana Islands are on the edge of the Philippine Plate. They were formed by underwater volcanoes along the Marianas Trench. The northern islands are high volcanic islands and the southern islands are raised limestone. Anatahan is currently an active volcano with the first recorded volcanic eruption on May 10, 2003.
Click here to visit the Anatahan Volcano home page.
PopulationAccording to the 2000 census, the population was about 69,000, an increase of about 80 percent since 1990 and about 4.7 times the 1980 population of 16,780. The majority of the population increase is accounted for by non-resident workers and their families. Non-US citizens now comprise slightly over half of the population.
Culture
The U.S. citizen population of the Northern Marianas is predominantly of Chamorro cultural extraction, although a number of Carolinians (Chuukese, Kosraeans, Pohnpeians and Yapese) and immigrants from other areas of East Asia and Micronesia have also settled in the islands. English is the official language of the CNMI, but Chamorro and Carolinian are the spoken native tongues. The Spanish culture, which influenced the Chamorro culture for nearly four centuries, is still present today. Japanese is also spoken in many of the hotels and shops, reflecting the heavy tourism industry. The non-citizen population is made up primarily of Filipino and Chinese, with some representation from several other Asian countries.
Economy
The CNMI experienced dramatic economic growth over the past decade. However, the shift from Tourism to Garment manufacturing as the dominant industry let to a decline in government revenues during the second half of the decade. Tourist arrivals increased to over 700,000 in 1996, but then declined to about 500,000 annually, the level of the early 1990's, as Japanese recession and the Asian economic crisis took hold. Garments produced or substantially transformed in the CNMI enter into the United States customs territory free of quotas and duties. Under the Covenant, imports into the U.S. from the CNMI receive the same treatment as imports from Guam; however, the CNMI was able to develop a garment assembly industry because it is not subject to U.S. immigration laws, as is Guam. Garment shipments to the United States increased from under $200 million in 1990 to over $1 billion in each of 1998 and 1999. The low value added and lack of employment of local residents in the garment industry contributed to an increase in unemployment among local residents from 6.6 percent in 1990 to 16.1 percent in 1999. Government revenues peaked in 1997 at $248 million and have declined since Government expenditures peaked in the same year at $268 million, resulting in a $20 million deficit. Most government revenues are locally generated, under tax laws that take the place of the application of the internal revenue code. In addition, the CNMI is eligible for most federal program grants and it receives $11 million annually in "Covenant funding" for infrastructure projects (of which $2 million is earmarked for labor and immigration enforcement).
TransportationA large percentage of Saipan's and Tinian's roads were paved either during the Second World War or shortly afterward when the islands were under U.S. Navy administration. There are about 225 miles of roads throughout the CNMI. The first traffic lights were installed on Saipan in 1994. Airport facilities are in Saipan, Rota and Tinian. Saipan International Airport is the air gatewayto the CNMI and serves as the primary airport. Terminal facilities are modern and well maintained. The 8,700-foot runway is capable of handling DC-10 and B-747 aircraft. Tinian and Rota each have modern terminal facilities. Tinian airfield has a 5,986-foot runway and an apron capable of handling two B-727 aircraft. Tinian airport is equipped with navigational aids and can now support night flights. Rota's airfield has a single 6,000-foot runway and is also equipped with navigational aids. The CNMI's primary seaport has been expanded to accommodate increases in ocean cargo arriving at the port in Saipan. Rota has two harbors with the West Harbor being the most modern port facility in the Commonwealth. It has an 800-foot channel leading to a turning basin and wharf. Tinian Harbor was constructed by U.S. Naval engineers during World War II. The harbor is protected by a 3,500-foot breakwater which needs rehabilitation. The dock is 750 feet long and partially constructed of reinforced concrete.
Health Services
The Department of Public Health is the sole provider of comprehensive health services in the CNMI. There are several small, private medical and dental clinics on Saipan, none on Rota or Tinian. Rota and Tinian have government-run health centers and each of the inhabited other islands has one dispensary. A dispensary has been opened in the heavily populated southern village of San Antonio on Saipan; a full-time nurse provides public health services (immunization, prenatal, referral services, etc.) The Commonwealth Health Center is located on Saipan and is the principal health care facility in the CNMI. The hospital is a 76-bed inpatient, full service facility, and includes a 10-bed Psychiatric Unit and a 13-unit Hemodialysis service center. Recent expansion included a respiratory therapy unit and CAT Scan unit. The Rota and Tinian Health Centers have holding beds, laboratory, x-ray, pharmacy, dental, emergency, and public health services.
Land OwnershipUnder the CNMI Constitution, only persons of Northern Marianas descent may own land in the CNMI. Leases of up to 55 years are available.
Travel RequirementsAll travellers to and from the CNMI must carry a valid passport.
FocusUpdate on Guam and CNMI Economies (May 2004) News ItemsApril 27, 2007 — 2006 State of the Washington Office Report by Pedro A. Tenorio, CNMI Resident Representative to the United States |
In 1947, the Northern Mariana Islands became part of the post-World War II United Nations'Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands (TTPI). The United States became the TTPI's administering authority under the terms of a trusteeship agreement. In 1976, Congress approved the mutually negotiated Covenant to Establish a Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) in Political Union with the United States. The CNMI Government adopted its own constitution in 1977, and the constitutional government took office in January1978. The Covenant was fully implemented on November 3, 1986, pursuant to Presidential Proclamation no. 5564, which conferred United States citizenship on legally qualified CNMI residents.
