The
economy
An economy is an area of the production, distribution and trade, as well as consumption of goods and services. In general, it is defined as a social domain that emphasize the practices, discourses, and material expressions associated with the ...
of the
Northern Mariana Islands
The Northern Mariana Islands, officially the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI; ch, Sankattan Siha Na Islas Mariånas; cal, Commonwealth Téél Falúw kka Efáng llól Marianas), is an unincorporated territory and commonw ...
benefits substantially from financial assistance from the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
and tourism. The rate of funding has declined as locally generated government revenues have grown. An agreement for the years 1986 to 1992 entitled the islands to $228 million for capital development, government operations, and special programs. Since 1992, funding has been extended one year at a time. The Commonwealth received funding of $11 million for
infrastructure, for FY96/97 through FY02/03, with an equal local match.
Tourism
A rapidly growing chief source of income is the
tourist
Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring (disambiguation), touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tour (disambiguation), tours. Th ...
industry, which now employs around half of the workforce.
Chinese
Chinese can refer to:
* Something related to China
* Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
**''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation
** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...
and
Korean
Korean may refer to:
People and culture
* Koreans, ethnic group originating in the Korean Peninsula
* Korean cuisine
* Korean culture
* Korean language
**Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Chosŏn'gŭl
**Korean dialects and the Jeju language
** ...
tourists predominate. The
agricultural sector is of minor importance and is made up of
cattle
Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult ma ...
ranches and small farms producing
coconuts,
breadfruit,
tomato
The tomato is the edible berry of the plant ''Solanum lycopersicum'', commonly known as the tomato plant. The species originated in western South America, Mexico, and Central America. The Mexican Nahuatl word gave rise to the Spanish word ...
es, and
melon
A melon is any of various plants of the family Cucurbitaceae with sweet, edible, and fleshy fruit. The word "melon" can refer to either the plant or specifically to the fruit. Botanically, a melon is a kind of berry, specifically a " pepo". Th ...
s.
Textile industry
Garment
Clothing (also known as clothes, apparel, and attire) are items worn on the body. Typically, clothing is made of fabrics or textiles, but over time it has included garments made from animal skin and other thin sheets of materials and natural ...
production was an
industry
Industry may refer to:
Economics
* Industry (economics), a generally categorized branch of economic activity
* Industry (manufacturing), a specific branch of economic activity, typically in factories with machinery
* The wider industrial sector ...
back then with employment of 12,000 mostly
Chinese
Chinese can refer to:
* Something related to China
* Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
**''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation
** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...
workers and shipments of $1 billion to the United States in 1998 under duty and quota exemptions. This production is extremely controversial because goods produced in the North Marianas can be labelled ''"Made in the U.S.A."'', although not all American labor laws apply to the commonwealth leading to what critics charge as "sweatshop conditions" for imported, mostly Asian, workers. Among other companies, the teen clothing store
Abercrombie & Fitch has produced some of their clothing in the Northern Marianas and sold them for high prices.
The garment industry is changing, though, and many of the garment factories are closing due to the lifting of WTO trade restrictions on Chinese imports. The industry was initially established in the Commonwealth because some U.S. labor and immigration laws do not apply within the CNMI—for example, the CNMI's
minimum wage rate of $6.05 per hour (for most employment positions) is lower than the federal rate, which applies to most other areas of the United States. Additionally, the CNMI retains local control over
customs and
immigration
Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, a ...
enforcement, unlike in
Guam
Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic cent ...
.
In the late 1990s a number of large American textile companies such as
Calvin Klein,
Tommy Hilfiger
Thomas Jacob Hilfiger ( /hɪlˈfɪgər/; born March 24, 1951) is an American fashion designer and the founder of Tommy Hilfiger Corporation.
After starting his career by co-founding a chain of jeans/fashion stores called People's Place in upst ...
, and
Sears
Sears, Roebuck and Co. ( ), commonly known as Sears, is an American chain of department stores founded in 1892 by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck and reincorporated in 1906 by Richard Sears and Julius Rosenwald, with what began a ...
were criticized for having manufactured clothes in
sweatshop
A sweatshop or sweat factory is a crowded workplace with very poor, socially unacceptable or illegal working conditions. Some illegal working conditions include poor ventilation, little to no breaks, inadequate work space, insufficient lighting, o ...
conditions in Saipan. In March 2000, a number of defendants, settled a class action suit brought by Saipanese garment workers, which had alleged mistreatment. As part of the settlement, which involved no admission of wrongdoing, Tommy Hilfiger and other companies agreed to independent oversight of their manufacturing in Saipan, a term refused by other defendants such as
Lane Bryant
Lane Bryant Inc. is an American women's apparel and intimates specialty retailer focusing on plus-size clothing. The company began in 1904 with maternity designs created by Lena Himmelstein, Lena Himmelstein Bryant Malsin. Lane Bryant, Inc., i ...
and
J.C. Penney.
In 2004 — and in response to a long and expensive class action lawsuit brought by garment workers against various clothing manufacturers — a Garment Oversight Board,
aimed at protecting workers' rights, was created. These actions have reportedly resulted in improved conditions since the turn of the 21st century.
Statistics
GDP
GDP
Gross domestic product (GDP) is a monetary measure of the market value of all the final goods and services produced and sold (not resold) in a specific time period by countries. Due to its complex and subjective nature this measure is ofte ...
:
purchasing power parity – $524 million (1996 est.)
''note:''
GDP numbers reflect US spending
GDP – real growth rate:
NA%
GDP – per capita:
purchasing power parity – $9,300 (1996 est.)
GDP – composition by sector:
''agriculture:''
NA%
''industry:''
NA%
''services:''
NA%
Income
Population below poverty line:
NA%
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
''lowest 10%:''
NA%
''highest 10%:''
NA%
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
6.5% (1994 est.)
Labor
Labor force:
6,006 total indigenous labor force; 2,699 unemployed; 28,717 foreign workers (1995)
Labor force – by occupation:
managerial 20.5%, technical, sales 16.4%, services 19.3%, farming 3.1%, precision production 13.8%, operators, fabricators 26.9%
Unemployment rate:
14% (residents)
Budget:
''revenues:''
$221 million
''expenditures:''
$213 million, including capital expenditures of $17.7 million (1996)
Industry
Industries:
tourism, construction, garments, handicrafts
Industrial production growth rate:
NA%
Electricity
Electricity – production:
NA kWh
Electricity – production by source:
''fossil fuel:''
100%
''hydro:''
0%
''nuclear:''
0%
''other:''
0%
Electricity – consumption:
NA kWh
Electricity – exports:
NA kWh
Electricity – imports:
NA kWh
Agriculture
Agriculture – products:
coconuts, fruits, vegetables, cattle
Exports/Imports
Exports:
$1 billion (1998)
Exports – commodities:
garments
Exports – partners:
US
Imports:
$NA
Imports – commodities:
food, construction equipment and materials, petroleum products
Imports – partners:
US, Japan
Debt – external:
$NA
Economic aid – recipient:
$21.1 million (1995)
Currency
Currency:
1 United States dollar (US$) = 100 cents
Exchange rates:
US currency is used
Fiscal year:
1 October – 30 September
References
External links
"Dire Times: Saipan is on The Verge of a Collapse""Retirement Fund: For too long too little paid by govt" by William H. Stewart
{{Oceania in topic, Economy of