Northern Mariana Islands

	Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands
	Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands
flag	coat of arms
Official language	English , Chamorro , Carolinian
Capital	Saipan
Form of government	Unincorporated U.S. Territory
Head of state	President Donald Trump
Head of government	Governor Ralph Torres
surface	477 km²
population	55,144 (2017)
Population density	173 inhabitants per km²
currency	US dollar (USD)
National anthem	Gi Talo Gi Halom Tasi
Time zone	UTC + 10
License Plate	United States
Internet TLD	.mp
Telephone code	+1 (670) see NANP

The Northern Mariana Islands , with full name Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands ( English Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands ), a part of the archipelago of the Mariana Islands , are a non-incorporated outer area of the United States of America in the Pacific Ocean , south of Japan and north of Guam .

geography

The area consists of 16 islands stretching for over 500 kilometers, of which Saipan , Tinian and Rota are the largest. In 2009, the Marianas Trench Marine National Monument was designated there.

population

86 percent of the population speak a language other than English in their private lives. a. Micronesian and Polynesian languages . The population growth is 2.8 percent per year. The Northern Mariana Islands used to be the country with the largest female surplus in the world at 1: 0.77 due to mostly female guest workers in the textile sector, but are no longer today after the collapse of the textile industry . The population has decreased in recent years, to an estimated 55,000 in 2017.

development

year	population
1950	6,999
1960	10,035
1970	13,127
1980	16,920
1990	42,538
2000	69.094
2010	54,424
2017	55.144

Source: UN

history

1521 saw Ferdinand Magellan was the first European the islands and named them Islas de Ladrones , Ladronen- or thief islands because the local residents after European view things from Magellan's ships had stolen. In 1667 it was taken over by Spain and named after the Spanish Queen Maria Anna of Austria .

After the Spanish-American War , Spain ceded the southern part to the United States and, with the German-Spanish Treaty of 1899, sold the northern part to the German Empire , making it part of German New Guinea .

After the First World War the Marianas were placed under Japanese control by the League of Nations , after the Second World War by the UN under the control of the USA, which in 1978 granted them the status of a state associated with the USA as the Northern Marianas, with the exception of Guam , which was called “dependent territory ”is under direct colonial rule by the USA and has only a certain degree of internal autonomy, since it serves as an important military base for the USA.

The Northern Mariana Islands have been in the Commonwealth with the USA since 1975, with internal independence since 1986.

politics

The Northern Mariana Islands are an “unincorporated, organized territory” of the USA with internal autonomy since 1986 and their own constitution since 1978. The political system consists of a bicameral parliament - a Senate with nine and a House of Representatives with 18 members - and an elected governor . The head of state is the President of the United States , the current head of government is Governor Ralph Torres after his predecessor Eloy Inos passed away on December 28, 2015. The citizens of the Mariana Islands are US citizens but do not have the right to vote in the US presidential election . You don't have to pay federal taxes.

In 2018, the Northern Mariana Islands became the first US territory to legalize the possession and licensed production of cannabis products for recreational and medicinal purposes.

The official languages are English , Chamorro and Carolinian , and Korean and Japanese are also spoken on the island .

economy

The main source of income is tourism .

Statistical data on the islands

The Northern Mariana Islands consist of 14 larger islands with a total area of 463.6 square kilometers. The following overview lists the islands from north to south:

Map of the Northern Mariana Islands

No.	island	Area (km²)	Population ( 2010 census )	Height ( m )	summit	Coordinates
Northern Islands (1 municipality)
1	Farallon de Pajaros (Urracas)	2.55	uninhabited	360		20 ° 33 ' N , 144 ° 54' E20.55 144.9 360
2	Maug Islands	2.13	uninhabited ¹⁾	227	(North Island)	20 ° 1 ' N , 145 ° 13' E20.016666666667 145.21666666667 227
3	Asuncion	7.31	uninhabited	891	Asuncion	19 ° 42 ' N , 145 ° 24' E19.7 145.4 891
4th	Agrigan (Agrihan)	43.51	uninhabited ²⁾	965	Mount Agrigan	18 ° 47 ' N , 145 ° 40' E18.783333333333 145.66666666667 965
5	Pagan	47.23	uninhabited ³⁾	579	South Pagan Volcano	18 ° 9 ' N , 145 ° 48' E18.15 145.8 579
6th	Alamagan	11.12	uninhabited	744	Alamagan	17 ° 35 ' N , 145 ° 50' E17.583333333333 145.83333333333 744
7th	Guguan	3.87	uninhabited	301		17 ° 19 ' N , 145 ° 51' E17.316666666667 145.85 301
8th	Zealandia Bank	0.002	uninhabited	2		16 ° 45 ' N , 145 ° 42' E16.75 145.7
9	Sarigan	4.97	uninhabited ⁴⁾	549		16 ° 43 ' N , 145 ° 47' E16.716666666667 145.78333333333 549
10	Anatahan	31.21	uninhabited ²⁾	787		16 ° 22 ' N , 145 ° 40' E16.366666666667 145.66666666667 787
11	Farallon de Medinilla	0.85	uninhabited	81		16 ° 1 ' N , 146 ° 4' E16.016666666667 146.06666666667 81
Southern Islands (3 parishes)
12	Saipan	115.39	48,220	474	Mount Tagpochau	15 ° 11 ' N , 145 ° 44' E15.185 145.74111111111 474
13	Tinian	101.01	3.136	170	Kastiyu (Lasso Hill)	14 ° 57 ' N , 145 ° 39' E14.953333333333 145.64833333333 170
14th	Aguijan (Agiguan) ⁵⁾	7.09	uninhabited	157	Alutom	14 ° 42 ' N , 145 ° 18' E14.7 145.3 157
15th	rota	85.38	2,527	491	Mount Manira	14 ° 9 ' N , 145 ° 11' E14.143611111111 145.18555555556 491
	Northern Mariana Islands	463.63	53,883	965	Mount Agrihan	14 ° 08 ′ to 20 ° 33 ′ N, 144 ° 54 ′ to 146 ° 04 ′ E
¹⁾ Japanese occupation 1939 to 1944
²⁾ evacuated in 1990 because of feared volcanic eruptions
³⁾ evacuated in 1981 due to volcanic eruptions
⁴⁾ previously inhabited (1935 population of 21, 1968 still 2)
⁵⁾ to Tinian Parish

The islands are divided into four municipalities: The ten islands in the north form the municipality of the Northern Islands Municipality. The other islands are called the "Southern Islands" and consist of the municipalities of Saipan, Tinian (including Aguijan Island) and Rota. Only Saipan, Tinian and Rota have a port; they are the only permanently inhabited islands in the Northern Mariana Islands.

Because of the threat of volcanic eruptions on several northern islands, these were evacuated from the 1980s. The traditional administrative seat of the Northern Islands Municipality is Shomushon on Pagan . Because of the complete evacuation of the island the mayor resides (Engl. Mayor ), however, until further notice on Saipan.

literature

Joseph E. Hore: The Right of Self-Government in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands , in: Asian-Pacific Law & Policy Journal 4 (2003), pp. 180–245 ( Link ( Memento of December 28, 2003 on the Internet Archives )).
Victoria King: The Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands' Rights Under United States and International Law to Control its Exclusive Economic Zone , in: University of Hawaii Law Review 13 (1991), pp. 477-504.
Pascal Horst Lehne, Christoph Gäbler: About the Marianas . Lehne-Verlag, Wohldorf 1972. 47 pages with references, 10 outline maps, 10 photographs
Howard P. Willens, Deanne C. Siemer: An Honorable Accord: The Covenant between the Northern Mariana Islands and the United States . Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press 2002.