Northern Mariana Islands , officially Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, a self-governing entity in association with the United States (2010 pop. 53,883), c.185 sq mi (479 sq km), comprising 16 islands (6 inhabited) of the Marianas chain (all except Guam ), in the W Pacific Ocean. The islands lie E of the Philippines and S of Japan and extend 350 mi (563 km) from north to south. The most important are Saipan (capital), Rota, and Tinian . The northern islands are composed of volcanic rock, the southern islands of madrepore limestone covering a volcanic base. All the Marianas are mountainous, with the highest peak (3,166 ft/965 m) on Agrihan. There are active volcanoes, and the islands are subject to typhoons. More than two fifths are Pacific Islanders (mainly Chamorros), and Asians form nearly as large a portion of the inhabitants; there are minorities of Caucasians and persons of mixed descent. Most of the people are Roman Catholics. Chamorro, Philippine languages, Chinese, English, and other languages are spoken.

Livestock, coconuts, breadfruit, tomatoes, and melons are the chief agricultural products. Tourism, especially from Japan, is a major industry, employing roughly 50% of the workforce. Construction also is critical to the economy. Clothing was formerly the major export, but the liberaliztion of U.S. garment import restrictions in 2005 led to demise of the once significant garment manufacturing industry by 2009. The islands experienced a significant population loss (more than one fifth between 2000 and 2010) when many Asian garment workers returned to their native countries as a result. The Northern Marianas receive substantial financial assistance from the United States.

The Marianas Islands are governed under the constitution of 1978. The president of the United States is the head of state. The government is headed by a governor, who is popularly elected for a four-year term and is eligible for a second term. There is a bicameral legislature. Members of the nine-seat Senate serve four-year terms, while members of the 18-seat House of Representatives serve two-year terms; all legislators are elected by popular vote. Administratively, the Northern Marianas are divided into four municipalities. Residents are U.S. citizens but do not vote in U.S. presidential elections; they do elect a nonvoting delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives.

Settlement of the islands, by people of Indo-Malayan stock, dates back to c.1500 BC The Latte Culture, beginning c.AD 800, is noted for the surviving large stone pillars and foundations of what are believed to have been ruling class houses, but the nature of the sites had been forgotten by the indigenous Chamorros at the time of European contact. The islands were visited in 1521 by Ferdinand Magellan , who named them the Ladrones Islands (Thieves Islands). They were renamed the Marianas by Spanish Jesuits who arrived in 1668.

Nominally a possession of Spain until 1898, the islands were sold to Germany in 1899, except for Guam, which was ceded to the United States. The islands belonging to Germany were seized by Japan in 1914 and were mandated to Japan by the League of Nations in 1920. U.S. forces occupied the Marianas (1944) during World War II, and in 1947 the group (exclusive of Guam) was included in the U.S. Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands . Residents approved separate status for the Northern Marianas as a U.S. commonwealth in 1975. They became internally self-governing under U.S. military protection in 1978, and trust territory status was officially ended in 1986. Benigno Fitial has been governor since Jan., 2006.

Northern Mariana Islands

The Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) is a U.S. territory that is a 300-mile archipelago comprised of 14 islands. Although the U.S. Congress approved a covenant to establish a commonwealth in 1976, it did not become a territory until 1986. Unlike the 12 outlying territories of the United States (Guam, Virgin Islands, etc.), the people of CNMI adopted a constitution for its government functions. Federal funds to CNMI are administered by the U.S. Department of Interiors, Office of Insular Affairs. CNMI is divided into four municipalities: Northern Mariana Island, Rota, Saipan, and Tinian.

The population, as of July 2000, was 71,912 people with 24 percent being under the age of 14. About 28,000 inhabitants are alien workers due mostly to an increase in the tourism and manufacturing (clothing) industries. The resident population is made up mostly of Chamorro, Carolinians, and Micronesians. The three main languages spoken are English, Chamorro, and Carolinian. Some 86 percent of the inhabitants speaks a language other than English at home.

The CNMI educational system is similar to that of the U.S. public school system. Accreditation started in 1987 and is through the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC). Education is compulsory from the ages of 6 to 18.

In early 2001 the public school system of CNMI had 15 facilities with plans to build two more. Of these, 11 served the primary level. The school year runs from August to June with class hours from 7:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. in elementary school and 8:15 a.m. to 3:10 p.m. for high school. Teachers are required to have certification. There are also 15 private schools offering education in the primary and secondary levels. In 1995 the pupil-teacher ratio was nearly 21:1.

Numerous programs are offered by the public school system, such as the provision of childcare for 190 families (380 children) whose parents are in school; bilingual education; and Head Start for children under six years of age. The country uses the Stanford Achievement Test 9 (SAT9) as their form of student assessment.

The Commonwealth has one postsecondary institution, Northern Mariana College, that offers programs such as associate of arts or science; adult, vocational, and continuing education; and professional development. For further studies students go to the University of Guam or the University of Hawaii.

CNMI faces three main issues to resolve: a 14 percent unemployment rate, an immigration problem, and reports of industrial worker abuse. A report from the U.S. Congress in 1998 estimates that there are at least 10,000 illegal aliens in the Commonwealth. Additionally, in 1999 several American clothing makers agreed to pay some $1.25 million as a settlement on behalf of more than 50,000 workers forced to work in undesirable conditions. Part of this settlement fund goes to an education campaign to create awareness for better work conditions.

—Juanita Villena-Alvarez and Victoria Villena

Northern Mariana Islands

Basic Data

The Northern Mariana Islands, located in the North Pacific Ocean between Hawaii and the Philippines, were settled by ancestors of the Chamorros Indians around 2000 B.C. In 1521, explorer Ferdinand Magellan claimed the islands for Spain, which ruled them until selling them to Germany in 1899. At the start of World War I, Japan seized the islands until the close of World War II, when they became part of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands administered by the United States via a United Nations mandate. The islands became self-governing in 1975, and in the 1980s, its citizens received both U.S. citizenship and the civil and political rights of the U.S. Constitution. In 1990, the UN terminated the Trust Territory, but the U.S. remains responsible for foreign affairs and defense. Although the official language is English, most of the population speaks another language at home, such as Chamorro or Carolinian. The population is approximately 72,000, and the literacy rate is 97 percent. The U.S. President serves as the Chief of State, but the Head of Government is local. There is a bicameral legislature with a Senate and a House of Representatives. The garment industry is the most important segment of the economy, but tourism, mostly from Japan, also plays a major role, as does agriculture.

The media enjoy freedom of the press and speech. Two newspapers print Monday through Friday: the Saipan Tribune and the Marianas Variety. Both are available online. The Saipan Tribune publishes in English. The Marianas Variety print edition features both English and Chamorro, but its online edition is English only.

There are five radio stations, two AM and three FM. There is one television station and one Internet service provider.

Bibliography

"Annual Survey of Freedom Related Territory Scores," Freedom House (2000). Available from http://www.freedomhouse.org.

"Country Profile," Worldinformation.com (2002). Available from http://www.worldinformation.com.

"Northern Mariana Islands," CIA World Fact Book (2001). Available from http://www.cia.gov.

Saipan Tribune, (1998) Home Page. Available from http://www.tribune.com.

Jenny B. Davis

Northern Mariana Islands Islas das Veles, Islas dos Ladrões Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands since 1986. Discovered in 1521 by Ferdinand Magellan^†, who named them, first, the ‘Island of Sails’ and then, with disgust, ‘Thieves’ Islands' from the Portuguese ladrão ‘thief’. Only settled in 1668, to mark the impending conversion of the inhabitants that year, Spanish Jesuits renamed them the Islas Marianas after their patroness, Mariana ( Maria Anna) of Austria, then regent of Spain after the death of her husband, Philip IV (1621–65). They were sold to Germany by Spain in 1899, occupied by Japan in 1914 and became a Japanese League of Nations mandate in 1920. They were captured by US forces in 1944 and administered by the USA as a UN Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands in 1946–86. The Trusteeship ended in 1986 when the islands became a US Commonwealth Territory in the Pacific.

Northern Mariana Islands, Commonwealth of, see Micronesia