]! ^! 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, and came into force on 24 March 1976. A new government and constitution went into effect in 1978. 
]" ^" Oceania, islands in the North Pacific Ocean, about three-quarters of the way from Hawaii to the Philippines ^# 15 12 N, 145 45 E ^$ Oceania ^% `! 477 sq km `" 477 sq km `# 0 sq km `* includes 14 islands including Saipan, Rota, and Tinian ^& 2.5 times the size of Washington, DC ^' 0 km ^( 1,482 km ^) `$ 12 nm `N 200 nm ^* tropical marine; moderated by northeast trade winds, little seasonal temperature variation; dry season December to June, rainy season July to October ^+ southern islands are limestone with level terraces and fringing coral reefs; northern islands are volcanic ^, `% Pacific Ocean 0 m `& unnamed location on Agrihan 965 m ^- arable land, fish ^. `' 13.04% `( 4.35% `) 82.61% (2005) ^/ NA ^0 active volcanoes on Pagan and Agrihan; typhoons (especially August to November) ^1 contamination of groundwater on Saipan may contribute to disease; clean-up of landfill; protection of endangered species conflicts with development ^2 strategic location in the North Pacific Ocean 
]# ^3 84,546 (July 2007 est.) ^4 `+ 18.9% (male 8,354/female 7,612) `, 79.5% (male 27,334/female 39,860) `- 1.6% (male 717/female 669) (2007 est.) ^5 `! 29.7 years `. 31.8 years `/ 28.7 years (2007 est.) ^6 2.461% (2007 est.) ^7 19.27 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) ^8 2.29 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) ^9 7.64 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) ^: `0 1.06 male(s)/female `1 1.097 male(s)/female `, 0.686 male(s)/female `- 1.072 male(s)/female `2 0.756 male(s)/female (2007 est.) ^; `! 6.85 deaths/1,000 live births `. 6.8 deaths/1,000 live births `/ 6.89 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) ^< `2 76.29 years `. 73.7 years `/ 79.05 years (2007 est.) ^= 1.21 children born/woman (2007 est.) ^> NA ^? NA ^@ NA ^A `3 NA (US citizens) `4 NA ^B Asian 56.3%, Pacific islander 36.3%, Caucasian 1.8%, other 0.8%, mixed 4.8% (2000 census) ^C Christian (Roman Catholic majority, although traditional beliefs and taboos may still be found) ^D Philippine languages 24.4%, Chinese 23.4%, Chamorro 22.4%, English 10.8%, other Pacific island languages 9.5%, other 9.6% (2000 census) ^E `5 age 15 and over can read and write `2 97% `. 97% `/ 96% (1980 est.) 
]$ ^F `6 Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands `7 Northern Mariana Islands `] CNMI `\ Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, Mariana Islands District ^G commonwealth in political union with the US; federal funds to the Commonwealth administered by the US Department of the Interior, Office of Insular Affairs ^H commonwealth; self-governing with locally elected governor, lieutenant governor, and legislature ^I `8 Saipan `9 15 12 N, 145 45 E `: UTC+10 (15 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) ^J 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 ^K none (commonwealth in political union with the US) ^L Commonwealth Day, 8 January (1978) ^M Constitution of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands effective 1 January 1978; Covenant Agreement fully effective 4 November 1986 ^N based on US system, except for customs, wages, immigration laws, and taxation ^O 18 years of age; universal; indigenous inhabitants are US citizens but do not vote in US presidential elections ^P `; President George W. BUSH of the US (since 20 January 2001); Vice President Richard B. CHENEY (since 20 January 2001) `< Governor Benigno R. FITIAL (since 9 January 2006); Lieutenant Governor Timothy P. VILLAGOMEZ (since 9 January 2006) `= the cabinet consists of the heads of the 10 principal departments under the executive branch who are appointed by the governor with the advice and consent of the Senate; other members include Special Assistants to the governor and office heads appointed by and reporting directly to the governor `> under the US Constitution, residents of unincorporated territories, such as the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, do not vote in elections for US president and vice president; governor and lieutenant governor elected on the same ticket by popular vote for four-year terms (eligible for a second term); election last held 5 November 2005 (next to be held in November 2009) `? Benigno R. FITIAL elected governor in a four-way race; percent of vote - Benigno R. FITIAL 28.07%, Heinz HOFSCHNEIDER 27.34%, Juan BABAUTA 26.6%, Froilan TENORIO 17.99% ^Q 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) `> Senate - last held 5 November 2005 (next to be held in November 2009); House of Representatives - last held 5 November 2005 (next to be held in November 2007) `? Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - Covenant Party 3, Republican Party 3, Democratic Party 2, independent 1; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - Covenant Party 7, Republican Party 7, Democratic Party 2, independent 2 `* the Northern Mariana Islands does not have a nonvoting delegate in the US Congress; instead, it has an elected official or "resident representative" in Washington, DC; seats by party - Republican Party 1 (Pedro A. TENORIO) ^R Commonwealth Supreme Court; Superior Court; Federal District Court ^S Covenant Party [Benigno R. FITIAL]; Democratic Party [Dr. Carlos S. CAMACHO]; Republican Party [Juan S. REYES] ^T NA ^U Interpol (subbureau), SPC, UPU ^X 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 
]% ^Y 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 the employment of 17,500 mostly Chinese workers and sizable shipments to the US under duty and quota exemptions. ^Z $900 million `* GDP estimate includes US subsidy (2000 est.) ^[ $633.4 million (2000) ^\ NA% ^] $12,500 (2000 est.) ^^ `@ NA% `A NA% `B NA% ^_ 44,470 total indigenous labor force; 2,699 unemployed; 28,717 foreign workers (2000) ^` `@ NA% `A NA% `B NA% ^a 3.9% (2001) _! NA% _" `C NA% `D NA% _# -0.8% (2000) _$ `E $193 million `F $223 million; including capital expenditures of $NA (FY01/02 est.) _& coconuts, fruits, vegetables; cattle _' tourism, construction, garments, handicrafts _( NA% _) NA kWh _* NA kWh _+ 0 kWh _, 0 kWh _3 $NA _4 garments _5 US (2004) _6 $214.4 million (2001) _7 food, construction equipment and materials, petroleum products _8 US, Japan (2004) _9 $NA _: extensive funding from US _; US dollar (USD) _< the US dollar is used _= 1 October - 30 September 
]& _> 21,000 (2000) _? 20,500 (2004) _@ `G NA `H NA `I country code - 1-670; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) _A AM 1, FM 6, shortwave 1 (2006) _B 1 (on Saipan; in addition, 2 cable services on Saipan provide varied programming from satellite networks) (2006) _C .mp _D 20 (2005) _E 10,000 (2003) 
]' _F 5 (2006) _G `! 3 `J 2 `b 1 (2006) _R `! 2 `J 1 `W 1 (2006) _] 1 (2006) _H `! 536 km (2004) _I Saipan, Tinian 
]( _M defense is the responsibility of the US 
]) _N none 