Northern Mariana Islands (2001) | British Indian Ocean Territory (2008) | |
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Administrative divisions | none (commonwealth in political union with the US); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are four municipalities at the second order; Northern Islands, Rota, Saipan, Tinian | - |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
23.55% (male 8,929; female 8,639) 15-64 years: 74.72% (male 26,242; female 29,509) 65 years and over: 1.73% (male 639; female 654) (2001 est.) |
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Agriculture - products | coconuts, fruits, vegetables; cattle | - |
Airports | 6 (2000 est.) | 1 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
total: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2007) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 under 914 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
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Area | total:
477 sq km land: 477 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes 14 islands including Saipan, Rota, and Tinian |
total: 54,400 sq km
land: 60 sq km; Diego Garcia 44 sq km water: 54,340 sq km note: includes the entire Chagos Archipelago of 55 islands |
Area - comparative | 2.5 times the size of Washington, DC | land area is about 0.3 times the size of Washington, DC |
Background | Under US administration as part of the UN Trust Territory of the Pacific, the people of the Northern Mariana Islands decided in the 1970s not to seek independence but instead to forge closer links with the US. Negotiations for territorial status began in 1972. A covenant to establish a commonwealth in political union with the US was approved in 1975. A new government and constitution went into effect in 1978. | Established as a territory of the UK in 1965, a number of the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) islands were transferred to the Seychelles when it attained independence in 1976. Subsequently, BIOT has consisted only of the six main island groups comprising the Chagos Archipelago. The largest and most southerly of the islands, Diego Garcia, contains a joint UK-US naval support facility. All of the remaining islands are uninhabited. Former agricultural workers, earlier residents in the islands, were relocated primarily to Mauritius but also to the Seychelles, between 1967 and 1973. In 2000, a British High Court ruling invalidated the local immigration order that had excluded them from the archipelago, but upheld the special military status of Diego Garcia. |
Birth rate | 20.6 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | - |
Budget | revenues:
$221 million expenditures: $213 million, including capital expenditures of $17.7 million (1996) |
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Capital | Saipan | - |
Climate | tropical marine; moderated by northeast trade winds, little seasonal temperature variation; dry season December to June, rainy season July to October | tropical marine; hot, humid, moderated by trade winds |
Coastline | 1,482 km | 698 km |
Constitution | Covenant Agreement effective 4 November 1986 and the Constitution of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands effective 1 January 1978 | - |
Country name | conventional long form:
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands conventional short form: Northern Mariana Islands former: Mariana Islands District (Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands) |
conventional long form: British Indian Ocean Territory
conventional short form: none abbreviation: BIOT |
Currency | US dollar (USD) | - |
Death rate | 2.4 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | - |
Debt - external | $NA | - |
Dependency status | commonwealth in political union with the US; federal funds to the Commonwealth administered by the US Department of the Interior, Office of Insular Affairs | overseas territory of the UK; administered by a commissioner, resident in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London |
Diplomatic representation from the US | - | none (overseas territory of the UK) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | - | none (overseas territory of the UK) |
Disputes - international | none | Mauritius and Seychelles claim the Chagos Archipelago including Diego Garcia; in 2001, the former inhabitants of the Chagos Archipelago, evicted in 1967 and 1973 and now residing chiefly in Mauritius, were granted UK citizenship and the right to repatriation; in May 2006, the High Court of London reversed U.K. Government's 2004 orders of council that banned habitation on the islands; a small group of Chagossians visited Diego Garcia in April 2006; repatriation is complicated by the exclusive US military lease of Diego Garcia that restricts access to the largest viable island in the chain |
Economic aid - recipient | extensive funding from US | - |
Economy - overview | The economy benefits substantially from financial assistance from the US. The rate of funding has declined as locally generated government revenues have grown. The key tourist industry employs about 50% of the work force and accounts for roughly one-fourth of GDP. Japanese tourists predominate. Annual tourist entries have exceeded one-half million in recent years, but financial difficulties in Japan have caused a temporary slowdown. The agricultural sector is made up of cattle ranches and small farms producing coconuts, breadfruit, tomatoes, and melons. Garment production is by far the most important industry with employment of 12,000 mostly Chinese workers and sizable shipments to the US under duty and quota exemptions. | All economic activity is concentrated on the largest island of Diego Garcia, where a joint UK-US military facility is located. Construction projects and various services needed to support the military installation are performed by military and contract employees from the UK, Mauritius, the Philippines, and the US. There are no industrial or agricultural activities on the islands. When the native Ilois return, they plan to reestablish sugarcane production and fishing. The territory makes money by selling fishing licenses and postage stamps. |
Electricity - consumption | NA kWh | NA kWh |
Electricity - production | NA kWh | NA kWh; note - electricity supplied by the US military |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed location on Agrihan 965 m |
lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location on Diego Garcia 15 m |
Environment - current issues | contamination of groundwater on Saipan may contribute to disease; clean-up of landfill; protection of endangered species conflicts with development | NA |
Ethnic groups | Chamorro, Carolinians and other Micronesians, Caucasian, Japanese, Chinese, Korean | - |
Exchange rates | the US dollar is used | - |
Executive branch | chief of state:
President George W. BUSH of the US (since 20 January 2001); Vice President Richard B. CHENEY (since 20 January 2001) head of government: Governor Pedro P. TENORIO (since NA January 1998) and Lieutenant Governor Jesus R. SABLAN (since NA January 1998) cabinet: NA elections: US president and vice president elected on the same ticket for four-year terms; governor and lieutenant governor elected on the same ticket by popular vote for four-year terms; election last held in NA November 1997 (next to be held NA November 2001) election results: Pedro P. TENORIO elected governor in a three-way race; percent of vote - Pedro P. TENORIO (Republican Party) 47% |
chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952)
head of government: Commissioner Leigh TURNER (since July 2006); Administrator Tony HUMPHRIES (since February 2005); note - both reside in the UK and are represented by the officer commanding British Forces on Diego Garcia cabinet: NA elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; commissioner and administrator appointed by the monarch |
Exports | $NA | - |
Exports - commodities | garments | - |
Exports - partners | US | - |
Fiscal year | 1 October - 30 September | - |
Flag description | blue, with a white, five-pointed star superimposed on the gray silhouette of a latte stone (a traditional foundation stone used in building) in the center, surrounded by a wreath | white with six blue wavy horizontal stripes; the flag of the UK is in the upper hoist-side quadrant; the striped section bears a palm tree and yellow crown centered on the outer half of the flag |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $900 million (2000 est.)
note: GDP numbers reflect US spending |
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GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
NA% industry: NA% services: NA% |
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GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $12,500 (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | NA% | - |
Geographic coordinates | 15 12 N, 145 45 E | 6 00 S, 71 30 E; note - Diego Garcia 7 20 S, 72 25 E |
Geography - note | strategic location in the North Pacific Ocean | archipelago of 55 islands; Diego Garcia, largest and southernmost island, occupies strategic location in central Indian Ocean; island is site of joint US-UK military facility |
Heliports | 1 (2000 est.) | - |
Highways | total:
362 km paved: NA km unpaved: NA km (1991) |
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Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
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Imports | $NA | - |
Imports - commodities | food, construction equipment and materials, petroleum products | - |
Imports - partners | US, Japan | - |
Independence | none (commonwealth in political union with the US) | - |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | - |
Industries | tourism, construction, garments, handicrafts | - |
Infant mortality rate | 5.7 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | - |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1.2% (1997 est.) | - |
International organization participation | ESCAP (associate), Interpol (subbureau), SPC | - |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 0 sq km |
Judicial branch | Commonwealth Supreme Court; Superior Court; Federal District Court | - |
Labor force | 6,006 total indigenous labor force; 2,699 unemployed; 28,717 foreign workers (1995) | - |
Labor force - by occupation | NA | - |
Land boundaries | 0 km | 0 km |
Land use | arable land:
21% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 19% forests and woodland: 0% other: 60% |
arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2005) |
Languages | English, Chamorro, Carolinian
note: 86% of population speaks a language other than English at home |
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Legal system | based on US system, except for customs, wages, immigration laws, and taxation | the laws of the UK, where applicable, apply |
Legislative branch | bicameral Legislature consists of the Senate (9 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year staggered terms) and the House of Representatives (18 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve two-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 9 November 1999 (next to be held NA November 2001); House of Representatives - last held 9 November 1999 (next to be held NA November 2001) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Republican Party 6, Democratic Party 2, Reform Party 1; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Republican Party 10, Democratic Party 8 note: the Commonwealth does not have a nonvoting delegate in the US Congress; instead, it has an elected official or "resident representative" located in Washington, DC; seats by party - Republican Party 1 (Juan N. BABAUTA) |
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Life expectancy at birth | total population:
75.74 years male: 72.65 years female: 79.02 years (2001 est.) |
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Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 97% male: 97% female: 96% (1980 est.) |
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Location | Oceania, islands in the North Pacific Ocean, about three-quarters of the way from Hawaii to the Philippines | archipelago in the Indian Ocean, south of India, about one-half the way from Africa to Indonesia |
Map references | Oceania | Political Map of the World |
Maritime claims | exclusive economic zone:
200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 3 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | none (2000 est.) | - |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of the US | defense is the responsibility of the UK; the US lease on Diego Garcia expires in 2016 |
National holiday | Commonwealth Day, 8 January (1978) | - |
Nationality | noun:
NA adjective: NA |
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Natural hazards | active volcanoes on Pagan and Agrihan; typhoons (especially August to November) | NA |
Natural resources | arable land, fish | coconuts, fish, sugarcane |
Net migration rate | 18 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | - |
Political parties and leaders | Democratic Party [Dr. Carlos S. CAMACHO]; Republican Party [Benigno R. FITIAL] | - |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | - |
Population | 74,612 (July 2001 est.) | no indigenous inhabitants
note: approximately 1,200 former agricultural workers resident in the Chagos Archipelago, often referred to as Chagossians or Ilois, were relocated to Mauritius and the Seychelles in the 1960s and 1970s; in November 2000 they were granted the right of return by a British High Court ruling, though no timetable has been set; in November 2004, there were approximately 4,000 UK and US military personnel and civilian contractors living on the island of Diego Garcia |
Population below poverty line | NA% | - |
Population growth rate | 3.62% (2001 est.) | - |
Ports and harbors | Saipan, Tinian | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 3, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | NA | - |
Railways | 0 km | - |
Religions | Christian (Roman Catholic majority, although traditional beliefs and taboos may still be found) | - |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.89 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.98 male(s)/female total population: 0.92 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
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Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal; indigenous inhabitants are US citizens but do not vote in US presidential elections | - |
Telephone system | general assessment:
NA domestic: NA international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) |
general assessment: separate facilities for military and public needs are available
domestic: all commercial telephone services are available, including connection to the Internet international: country code (Diego Garcia) - 246; international telephone service is carried by satellite (2000) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 21,000 (1996) | NA |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 1,200 (1995) | - |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (on Saipan and one station planned for Rota; in addition, two cable services on Saipan provide varied programming from satellite networks) (1997) | 1 (1997) |
Terrain | southern islands are limestone with level terraces and fringing coral reefs; northern islands are volcanic | flat and low (most areas do not exceed two meters in elevation) |
Total fertility rate | 1.76 children born/woman (2001 est.) | - |
Unemployment rate | NA% | - |
Waterways | none | - |