
Saipan is an island. Since it is organized as a single municipality, Saipan is often considered as the Commonwealth’s capital city.
Research website numbeo lacks sufficient data to rank Saipan on its comprehensive global quality of life rating which benchmarks 250 cities worldwide. Numbeo does evaluate the Northern Mariana Islands on several individual factors. For instance, Northern Mariana Islands’ pollution score ranks in the cleanest 19% while its safety score is among the 30% safest. On the negative side, the health care rating for the Northern Mariana Islands is the off-the-charts worst.
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Saipan was recognized by the Guinness World Records as the site of one of the highest death tolls from mass suicide ever. In July 1944, an estimated 7,000 Japanese committed suicide during the American assault of Saipan. Many of the deaths resulted from Japanese soldiers jumping from Saipan’s cliffs.
Historic landmarks in Saipan are Micro Beach, American Memorial Park, underwater limestone cavern known as The Grotto, Mount Tapochau, Banzai Cliff and Suicide Cliff. The latter has a grim World War II memorial.
From an international trade perspective, Northern Mariana Islands exported an estimated US$4.8 million worth of goods around the globe in 2019. Its most valuable exports include iron scrap (29.3% of Northern Mariana Islands’ global total), copper scrap (22.2%), aluminum scrap (9%), air conditioning machines (3.8%), computers (3.7%), diagnostic or laboratory reagents (1.1%), printing machinery (1.1%), miscellaneous plastic items (also 1.1%), and electric generating sets and converters (1%) according to the International Trade Centre.
Capital Facts for Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands: Quick Reference
Geography
Capital landmarks: The Grotto underwater cave, Mount Tapochao, Bird Island, Tuesday Market and Our Lady of Mount Carmel Cathedral
Famous People
Below, you will find 7 of the most famous people born in Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands.
- Carlos S. Camacho, former governor (born Feb. 27, 1937)
- Tomas Aguon Camacho, Roman Catholic bishop (born Sep. 8, 1933)
- Vicente Camacho, politician & businessman (born Apr. 5, 1929)
- Benigno Fitial, former governor (born Nov. 27, 1945)
- Timothy Villagomez, former lieutenant governor (born Sep. 10, 1962)
- Juan Pan Guerrero, politician & businessman (born Jul. 1, 1957)
- Ramona Villagomez Manglona, presiding judge (born Feb. 26, 1967)
Note: Data for our Famous People tab was sourced from Google searches mostly targeting published Wikipedia articles specific to each person’s name.
Population
Demonym for a resident of Saipan: Saipanese
Population: 52,300 (Saipan) at August 28, 2020
Density: 1,174 people per square mile (453 per square kilometer)
Population: 57,615 (Northern Mariana Islands) at August 28, 2020
Density: 324 people per square mile (125 per square kilometer)
Financial
GDP: US$1.242 billion in 2016 (Northern Mariana Islands)
GDP per person: $24,500
Note: The above country-level GDP metrics are on a Purchasing Power Parity basis and are in U.S. dollars. Credible city GDP statistics for Saipan were unavailable.
Official currency used in Saipan: U.S. dollar
Research
Research Sources:
Brookings Institution, Global Metro Monitor Report (includes GDP data).
Central Intelligence Agency, World Factbook, Australia-Oceanis: Northern Mariana Islands.
Demographia, World Urban Area, 12th Annual Edition.
Guinness World Records, Highest death toll from mass suicide in ancient times.
International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Databases.
International Trade Centre, Trade Map.
Numbeo, Quality of Life Index by City.
Official Government Website, Office of the Governor and Lt. Governor: Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
Wikimedia Commons, City Flags.
Note: Some city flags were unavailable. If so, attribution belongs to Wikimedia Commons for pertinent country flags.
Wikipedia, Saipan.
Wikipedia, Northern Mariana Islands.
WorldOMeter, Northern Mariana Islands Population.
Northern Mariana Islanders celebrate Commonwealth Day as a national holiday each January 8.
Saipan’s land area measures 44.55 square miles (115.4 square kilometers) with an estimated population of 52,000.
At the country level, Northern Mariana Islands’ land area covers 178 square miles (460 square kilometers). The nation’s population count was 57,615 million inhabitants at August 28, 2020.
Population density is more concentrated for Saipan averaging 1,174 residents per square mile (453 per square kilometer).
Zooming out to Northern Mariana Islands overall land boundaries, population density drops to an average 324 people per square mile (125 per square kilometer).