Northern Mariana Islands
The Northern Mariana Islands, officially the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI; Chamorro: Sankattan Siha Na Islas Mariånas), is one of five inhabited American insular areas. It is one of two territories with "commonwealth" status; the other is Puerto Rico. It consists of fifteen islands in the northwestern Pacific Ocean. The CNMI and Guam together comprise the Marianas archipelago.
The United States Department of the Interior cites a landmass of 183.5 square miles (475.26 km2). According to the 2010 United States Census, 53,883 people were living in the CNMI at that time. The vast majority of the population resides onSaipan, Tinian, and Rota. The other islands of the Northern Marianas are sparsely inhabited; the most notable among these isPagan, which for various reasons over the centuries has experienced major population flux but has formerly had residents numbering in the thousands.
The administrative center is Capitol Hill, a village in northwestern Saipan. Because the island is governed as a single municipality, most publications consider Saipan the capital.