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EMBARGOED UNTIL RELEASE AT 7:00 P.M. EDT, SUNDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2017
Technical:
Media:

Christina Hovland (BEA)
Jeannine Aversa (BEA)
Tanya Harris Joshua (OIA)

(301) 278-9076
(301) 278-9003
(202) 208-6008

BEA 17-55

territories@bea.gov
Jeannine.Aversa@bea.gov
Tanya_Joshua@ios.doi.gov

CNMI GDP INCREASES IN 2016
Growth led by gaming industry revenues and investments
CAPITOL HILL, SAIPAN (October 16, 2017) -- Today, the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) is releasing
estimates of gross domestic product (GDP) for the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands
(CNMI) for 2016, in addition to estimates of GDP by industry and compensation by industry for 2015. 1
These estimates were developed under the Statistical Improvement Program funded by the Office of
Insular Affairs (OIA) of the U.S. Department of the Interior.
Revised estimates of GDP for 2013 to 2015, as well as revised estimates of GDP by industry and
compensation by industry for 2013 and 2014, are also presented in this release.
Gross Domestic Product for 2016
The estimates of GDP for the CNMI show that real GDP–GDP adjusted to remove price changes–
increased 28.6 percent in 2016 after increasing 3.8 percent in 2015 (see Table 1.3). For comparison, real
GDP for the United States (excluding the territories) increased 1.5 percent in 2016 after increasing 2.9
percent in 2015.

1

These estimates are based on limited source data and are subject to revision.

The growth in the CNMI economy reflected widespread increases among the components of GDP. These
increases were partly offset by an increase in imports, which is a subtraction item in the calculation of
GDP.
Exports of services was the largest contributor to economic growth in 2016, reflecting significant growth
in visitor spending, particularly on casino gambling (see Table 1.4). The number of visitors to the CNMI
grew over 10 percent, primarily reflecting an increase in visitor arrivals from Korea and China.
Private fixed investment increased over 60 percent in 2016, reflecting construction of the casino resort
in Garapan and other hotel construction on Saipan.
Gross Domestic Product by Industry and Compensation by Industry for 2015
The estimates of GDP by industry for the CNMI show that the private sector was the primary source of
the increase in real GDP in 2015 (see Table 2.5). The largest contributor to growth was the
accommodations and amusement sector, reflecting growth in spending by tourists, including on casino
gambling.
The compensation by industry estimates, which are measured in current dollars, show trends in
compensation for major industries (see Table 2.6). Total compensation increased in 2015, reflecting
increases in all sectors except “other”.
The accompanying tables present estimates for GDP and its major components, GDP by industry, and
compensation by industry. Also included in this release are estimates for the major components of gross
domestic income.
Revisions to GDP
Estimates for 2013 to 2015 that were released on November 30, 2016 have been revised in order to
incorporate improvements to source data, including:
 newly available data for territorial government spending from government financial statements,
 updated international trade data provided by the CNMI government, and
 information on gaming industry revenues and expenses from company financial reports.
The revised estimates show a similar pattern of inflation-adjusted growth as the previously published
estimates (see Table 1.7).
Future directions
Moving forward, an agreement between OIA and BEA will extend and improve the estimates of GDP for
the CNMI. The information provided by the CNMI government will continue to be critical to the
successful production of these estimates.
BEA currently plans to release GDP estimates for 2017 beginning in the summer of 2018. GDP by
industry and compensation by industry estimates for 2016 will also be released at the same time.

-2-

Additional Information
Resources








total CNMI expenditures that is accounted for by goods
and services provided by the rest of the world.

Stay informed about BEA developments by
reading the BEA blog, signing up for BEA’s email
subscription service, or following BEA on Twitter
@BEA_News.
Historical time series for these estimates can be
accessed at BEA’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
for the U.S. Territories.
Access BEA data by registering for BEA’s Data
Application Programming Interface (API).
For more on BEA’s statistics, see our monthly
online journal, the Survey of Current Business.
BEA's news release schedule

Government consumption expenditures and gross
investment, or “government spending,” measures the
portion of GDP that is accounted for by the government
sector. Government consumption expenditures consists of
spending by government to produce and provide services
to the public. Gross investment consists of spending by
government for fixed assets that directly benefit the public
or that assist government agencies in their production
activities.
Gross domestic income (GDI) is the sum of incomes earned
and costs incurred in the production of GDP. In national
economic accounting, GDP and GDI are conceptually
equal.

Definitions

Current-dollar estimates are valued in the prices of the
period when the transactions occurred—that is, at
“market value.” Also referred to as “nominal estimates” or
as “current-price estimates.”

Gross domestic product (GDP) is the value of the goods
and services produced by the CNMI economy less the
value of the goods and services used up in production.
GDP is also equal to the sum of personal consumption
expenditures, private fixed investment, net exports of
goods and services, and government consumption
expenditures and gross inves tment.

Real values are inflation-adjusted estimates—that is,
estimates that exclude the effects of price changes.

Personal consumption expenditures (PCE), also referred to
as “consumer spending,” measures the goods and services
purchased by “persons”—that is, by households and by
nonprofit institutions serving households (NPISHs)—who
are resident in CNMI.

Statistical Conventions
Quantities and prices. Quantities, or “real” volume
measures, and prices are expressed as index numbers with
a specified reference year equal to 100 (currently 2009).
Quantity and price indexes are calculated using a Fisher
chain-weighted formula that incorporates weights from
two adjacent years. “Real” dollar series are calculated by
multiplying the quantity index by the current-dollar value
in the reference year (2009) and then dividing by 100.

Private fixed investment (PFI) measures spending by
private businesses, nonprofit institutions, and households
on fixed assets in the CNMI economy. Fixed assets consist
of structures, equipment, and software that are used in
the production of goods and services.

Chained-dollar values are not additive because the
relative weights for a given period differ from those of the
reference year.

Net exports of goods and services is the difference
between exports of goods and services and imports of
goods and services. Exports measures the portion of total
CNMI production of goods and services that is provided to
the rest of the world. Imports measures the portion of

-3-

List of News Release Tables
Table 1.1.
Table 1.2.
Table 1.3.
Table 1.4.
Table 1.5.
Table 1.6.
Table 1.7.
Table 2.1.
Table 2.2.
Table 2.3.
Table 2.4.
Table 2.5.
Table 2.6.

Gross Domestic Product
Real Gross Domestic Product, Chained Dollars
Percent Change From Preceding Year in Real Gross Domestic Product
Contributions to Percent Change in Real Gross Domestic Product
Percent Change From Preceding Year in Prices for Gross Domestic Product and Price
Indexes for Gross Domestic Product
Gross Domestic Income
Revisions to Percent Change in Real Gross Domestic Product
Value Added by Industry
Value Added by Industry as a Percentage of GDP
Real Value Added by Industry
Percent Changes in Real Value Added by Industry
Contributions to Percent Change in Real Gross Domestic Product by Industry
Compensation of Employees by Industry

-4-

Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands
1. Domestic Product and Income
Table 1.1. Gross Domestic Product
[Millions of dollars]
Line
Gross domestic product

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

1

938

939

795

799

733

751

784

845

933

1,242

Personal consumption expenditures
Goods
Durable goods
Nondurable goods
Services
Net foreign travel

2
3
4
5
6
7

480
358
137
222
409
-287

504
387
142
245
427
-310

431
332
119
213
381
-283

442
354
130
224
398
-309

451
366
132
234
378
-293

469
399
143
256
427
-357

493
426
166
260
460
-393

520
451
186
265
498
-429

519
453
194
258
566
-500

535
462
202
259
960
-887

Private fixed investment

8

79

83

85

77

74

79

87

123

198

327

Net exports of goods and services
Exports
Goods
Services
Imports
Goods
Services

9
10
11
12
13
14
15

47
627
333
293
579
498
81

29
488
172
316
459
394
66

-47
312
23
289
360
307
53

-70
335
19
316
405
346
59

-132
317
17
300
449
384
65

-98
380
16
364
478
409
69

-108
417
17
400
525
449
76

-110
451
15
436
561
477
84

-118
520
13
507
638
488
150

21
914
19
895
893
634
259

Government consumption
expenditures and gross investment
Federal
Territorial

16
17
18

332
13
319

324
15
308

327
20
306

349
22
327

340
22
318

301
21
279

312
20
292

312
22
290

333
28
305

359
29
330

NOTE. Detail may not add to total because of rounding.

-5-

Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands

Table 1.2. Real Gross Domestic Product, Chained Dollars
[Millions of chained (2009) dollars]
Line
Gross domestic product

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

1

1,084

964

795

806

744

748

768

795

825

1,061

Personal consumption expenditures
Goods
Durable goods
Nondurable goods
Services
Net foreign travel

2
3
4
5
6
7

516
395
149
246
434
-313

509
400
149
251
433
-324

431
332
119
213
381
-283

444
349
127
222
389
-294

430
338
121
217
354
-263

440
363
131
232
390
-313

463
390
153
237
413
-338

482
403
169
235
434
-354

493
414
185
230
494
-416

508
424
191
234
823
-759

Private fixed investment

8

80

82

85

78

72

76

84

119

193

321

Net exports of goods and services
Exports
Goods
Services
Imports
Goods
Services

9
10
11
12
13
14
15

147
747
396
320
600
511
88

48
476
138
331
428
361
67

-47
312
23
289
360
307
53

-56
320
19
300
376
320
56

-82
284
15
269
367
308
59

-52
333
14
319
384
323
61

-61
359
15
345
421
354
67

-76
373
13
360
449
378
71

-139
428
12
416
567
440
128

-78
740
18
721
818
593
223

Government consumption
expenditures and gross investment
Federal
Territorial

16
17
18

348
13
335

326
16
310

327
20
306

341
21
320

327
21
307

286
20
265

289
19
270

279
20
259

295
25
270

314
25
289

Addenda:
Population (thousands)1
Per capita real GDP (chained dollars)

19
20

59.3
18,280

57.6
16,736

55.5
14,324

53.5
15,065

52.2
14,253

51.4
14,553

51.2
15,000

51.0
15,588

50.8
16,240

50.6
20,968

(1) Source: U.S. Census Bureau
NOTE. Estimates of population for 2013-2016 reflect the incorporation of updated information from the U.S. Census Bureau's International Data Base.

-6-

Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands

Table 1.3. Percent Change From Preceding Year in Real Gross Domestic Product
[Percent]
Line
Gross domestic product

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

1

-11.1

-17.5

1.3

-7.7

0.6

2.7

3.5

3.8

28.6

Personal consumption expenditures
Goods
Durable goods
Nondurable goods
Services
Net foreign travel

2
3
4
5
6
7

-1.4
1.3
0.2
2.0
-0.3
……..

-15.4
-17.1
-20.2
-15.3
-11.9
……..

3.0
5.1
6.7
4.1
2.0
……..

-3.2
-3.0
-5.0
-1.9
-9.1
……..

2.4
7.4
8.5
6.8
10.4
……..

5.2
7.4
17.1
2.0
5.7
……..

4.3
3.3
10.0
-0.9
5.3
……..

2.2
2.7
9.5
-2.1
13.7
……..

3.0
2.4
3.3
1.6
66.5
……..

Private fixed investment

8

2.1

4.4

-8.9

-6.9

5.6

9.4

42.2

62.6

65.8

Net exports of goods and services
Exports
Goods
Services
Imports
Goods
Services

9
10
11
12
13
14
15

……..
-36.3
-65.2
3.4
-28.6
-29.3
-24.3

……..
-34.4
-83.4
-12.5
-16.0
-15.0
-21.2

……..
2.4
-16.7
3.8
4.5
4.3
6.0

……..
-11.1
-20.8
-10.5
-2.5
-3.8
5.7

……..
17.1
-8.6
18.5
4.8
5.0
3.8

……..
8.1
6.9
8.1
9.5
9.6
8.8

……..
3.7
-11.7
4.3
6.7
6.6
7.2

……..
14.9
-9.0
15.7
26.3
16.4
79.4

……..
72.8
48.3
73.4
44.2
34.9
74.3

Government consumption
expenditures and gross investment
Federal
Territorial

16
17
18

-6.4
19.2
-7.4

0.2
30.7
-1.3

4.4
4.4
4.4

-4.0
-3.6
-4.0

-12.8
-2.5
-13.5

1.1
-6.4
1.7

-3.3
7.4
-4.1

5.7
25.1
4.2

6.4
-0.3
7.0

-7-

Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands

Table 1.4. Contributions to Percent Change in Real Gross Domestic Product
Line
Percent change:
Gross domestic product
Percentage points:
Personal consumption expenditures
Goods
Durable goods
Nondurable goods
Services
Net foreign travel

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

1

-11.1

-17.5

1.3

-7.7

0.6

2.7

3.5

3.8

28.6

2
3
4
5
6
7

-0.68
0.48
0.03
0.45
-0.13
-1.02

-8.36
-7.20
-3.14
-4.06
-5.45
4.28

1.65
2.14
1.02
1.12
0.99
-1.47

-1.80
-1.39
-0.84
-0.55
-4.67
4.25

1.47
3.69
1.52
2.17
5.37
-7.60

3.22
3.91
3.22
0.69
3.25
-3.93

2.64
1.81
2.09
-0.29
3.07
-2.23

1.33
1.36
2.00
-0.63
7.87
-7.91

1.64
1.13
0.68
0.44
40.01
-39.50

Private fixed investment

8

0.17

0.38

-0.96

-0.67

0.56

0.98

4.58

8.84

13.71

Net exports of goods and services
Exports
Goods
Services
Imports
Goods
Services

9
10
11
12
13
14
15

-8.43
-25.55
-26.56
1.01
17.13
15.13
2.00

-9.64
-17.22
-12.91
-4.31
7.58
6.08
1.50

-1.19
0.95
-0.49
1.44
-2.14
-1.74
-0.41

-3.46
-4.80
-0.53
-4.27
1.35
1.78
-0.43

4.44
7.39
-0.20
7.58
-2.95
-2.62
-0.33

-1.93
4.07
0.14
3.93
-6.00
-5.20
-0.80

-2.43
1.98
-0.25
2.22
-4.41
-3.71
-0.70

-8.40
7.75
-0.15
7.90
-16.14
-8.50
-7.65

10.95
40.17
0.67
39.51
-29.22
-17.58
-11.64

Government consumption
expenditures and gross investment
Federal
Territorial

16
17
18

-2.12
0.24
-2.36

0.08
0.51
-0.43

1.82
0.11
1.71

-1.75
-0.10
-1.65

-5.92
-0.07
-5.84

0.45
-0.18
0.63

-1.31
0.19
-1.50

2.06
0.65
1.41

2.25
-0.01
2.26

-8-

Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands

Table 1.5. Percent Change From Preceding Year in Prices for Gross Domestic Product
and Price Indexes for Gross Domestic Product
Line
Gross domestic product
Personal consumption expenditures
Gross domestic product
Personal consumption expenditures

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

[Percent]
-0.7
1.9

2013

2014

2015

2016

1

1.6

12.5

2.7

-0.8

1.7

4.1

6.4

3.5

2

3.2

6.3

1.1

1.0

-2.2

-0.1p

3

86.5

97.4

100.0

-0.4
5.3
1.6
-0.1
[Index numbers, 2009=100]
99.2
98.5
100.4
102.1

106.3

113.0

117.0

4

93.0

98.9

100.0

99.6

107.7

105.3

105.2p

104.9

106.6

106.6

(p) The 2016 CNMI Consumer Price Index was not available in time for incorporation into the estimates of GDP. The preliminary PCE price index
for 2016 reflects trends in the Guam Consumer Price Index.

Table 1.6. Gross Domestic Income
[Millions of dollars]
Line

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

Gross domestic income

1

938

939

795

799

733

751

784

845

933

1,242

Compensation of employees

2

533

501

455

456

431

415

433

469

497

580

Taxes on production and imports
less subsidies

3

119

109

99

94

95

102

121

153

165

220

Gross operating surplus

4

286

329

241

249

207

234

230

223

271

442

NOTE. Detail may not add to total because of rounding.

Table 1.7. Revisions to Percent Change in Real Gross Domestic Product
Line

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

Percent change:
Revised
Previously published

1
2

-11.1
-11.1

-17.5
-17.5

1.3
1.3

-7.7
-7.7

0.6
0.6

2.7
2.3

3.5
2.8

3.8
3.5

Percentage points:
Revision

3

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.4

0.7

0.3

-9-

Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands
2. GDP by Industry
Table 2.1. Value Added by Industry
[Millions of dollars]
Line
Gross domestic product

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

1

938

939

795

799

733

751

784

845

933

Private industries
Manufacturing
Distributive Services
Accommodations and Amusement
All Other

2
3
4
5
6

717
174
140
111
291

727
50
165
122
390

586
18
135
105
328

589
16
149
110
314

540
15
153
97
274

563
12
157
114
280

586
11
170
134
272

642
15
178
149
301

721
18
187
194
323

Government
Federal
Territorial

7
8
9

222
13
209

212
14
197

209
16
193

210
14
196

193
15
178

188
15
173

198
15
184

203
14
188

211
15
196

NOTE. Detail may not add to total because of rounding.

Table 2.2. Value Added by Industry as a Percentage of GDP
[Percent]
Line
Gross domestic product

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

1

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

Private industries
Manufacturing
Distributive Services
Accommodations and Amusement
All Other

2
3
4
5
6

76
19
15
12
31

77
5
18
13
42

74
2
17
13
41

74
2
19
14
39

74
2
21
13
37

75
2
21
15
37

75
1
22
17
35

76
2
21
18
36

77
2
20
21
35

Government
Federal
Territorial

7
8
9

24
1
22

23
1
21

26
2
24

26
2
25

26
2
24

25
2
23

25
2
23

24
2
22

23
2
21

- 10 -

Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands

Table 2.3. Real Value Added by Industry
[Millions of chained (2009) dollars]
Line
Gross domestic product

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

1

1,084

964

795

806

744

748

768

795

825

Private industries
Manufacturing
Distributive Services
Accommodations and Amusement
All Other

2
3
4
5
6

846
181
147
120
391

745
52
169
128
396

586
18
135
105
328

601
16
147
110
328

560
15
148
98
298

573
11
148
110
303

588
10
158
126
291

616
13
165
136
298

644
16
170
169
283

Government
Federal
Territorial

7
8
9

237
13
224

219
15
205

209
16
193

204
14
191

184
14
170

176
14
163

182
13
168

181
13
168

183
13
170

Table 2.4. Percent Changes in Real Value Added by Industry
[Percent]
Line
Gross domestic product

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

1

-11.1

-17.5

1.3

-7.7

0.6

2.7

3.5

3.8

Private industries
Manufacturing
Distributive Services
Accommodations and Amusement
All Other

2
3
4
5
6

-12.0
-71.4
15.1
6.9
1.2

-21.3
-65.4
-20.4
-17.8
-17.1

2.6
-10.5
9.3
4.2
0.1

-6.9
-7.8
0.8
-11.0
-9.1

2.3
-27.3
-0.3
13.0
1.6

2.6
-6.5
7.1
13.8
-4.2

4.8
32.4
3.9
8.3
2.5

4.6
22.0
3.5
24.5
-5.1

Government
Federal
Territorial

7
8
9

-7.5
10.0
-8.6

-4.6
9.9
-5.6

-2.3
-15.1
-1.2

-9.9
1.5
-10.8

-4.3
-2.4
-4.5

3.1
-2.1
3.6

-0.5
-3.7
-0.2

1.2
2.8
1.1

- 11 -

Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands

Table 2.5. Contributions to Percent Change in Real Gross Domestic Product by Industry
Line

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

Percent change:
Gross domestic product
Percentage points:
Private industries
Manufacturing
Distributive Services
Accommodations and Amusement
All Other

1

-11.1

-17.5

1.3

-7.7

0.6

2.7

3.5

3.8

2
3
4
5
6

-9.27
-12.60
2.16
0.78
0.39

-16.49
-3.50
-3.58
-2.34
-7.07

1.94
-0.24
1.58
0.55
0.04

-5.05
-0.16
0.16
-1.52
-3.53

1.68
-0.58
-0.06
1.74
0.58

1.95
-0.10
1.48
2.12
-1.55

3.58
0.45
0.83
1.41
0.90

3.51
0.38
0.72
4.27
-1.86

Government
Federal
Territorial

7
8
9

-1.71
0.13
-1.84

-1.04
0.15
-1.19

-0.61
-0.32
-0.30

-2.65
0.03
-2.68

-1.13
-0.05
-1.08

0.79
-0.04
0.83

-0.11
-0.07
-0.05

0.28
0.05
0.23

NOTE. Percentage-point contributions do not sum to the percent change in real gross domestic product because of rounding and
differences in source data used to estimate GDP by industry and the expenditures measure of real GDP.

Table 2.6. Compensation of Employees by Industry
[Millions of dollars]
Line

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

1

533

501

455

456

431

415

433

469

497

Private industries
Manufacturing
Distributive Services
Accommodations and Amusement
All Other

2
3
4
5
6

336
74
62
61
140

307
26
72
67
142

263
9
58
58
137

264
8
62
60
134

259
8
62
54
135

252
8
63
64
119

267
7
67
74
118

298
10
71
83
135

311
12
74
104
122

Government
Federal
Territorial

7
8
9

197
13
184

194
14
180

192
16
176

191
14
177

172
14
158

163
14
149

166
14
152

171
14
158

185
15
171

Total compensation

NOTE. Detail may not add to total because of rounding.

- 12 -