Northern Mariana Islands

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Country Name

The Northern Mariana Islands, officially the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

Location

The Northern Mariana Islands is a Commonwealth country officially united with the United States that has a strategic location in the western Pacific Ocean and comprises 15 islands located roughly halfway between Hawaii and the Philippines. The Northern Mariana Islands are surrounded by a chain of islands, with Japan to the north, Hawaii to the east, Guam to the south, and the Philippines to the west.

Capital

Saipan.

Flag

The flag of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands was adopted by the Second Northern Marianas Constitution in July 1985.

The flag consists of three symbols: a star representing the United States, a latte stone representing the Chamorros, and a decorative wreath representing the Carolinians; the blue background represents the Pacific Ocean and the Mariana Trench.

Language

The official languages in the Northern Mariana Islands include English, Chamorro, and Carolinian. Few people still speak the nearly extinct Tanapag language. Many Philippine languages, Chinese, and other Pacific island languages are also spoken. Spanish is still retained in surnames but is no longer commonly used, though it is still familiar to some elders as a third or fourth language.