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EMBARGOED UNTIL RELEASE AT 11:30 P.M. EDT, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2018
Technical:
Media:

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

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

BEA 18-55

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

CNMI GDP INCREASES IN 2017

Growth led by tourism and gaming industry revenues
CAPITOL HILL, SAIPAN (October 18, 2018) -- 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 2017, in addition to estimates of GDP by industry and compensation by industry for 2016. 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 2016, as well as revised estimates of GDP by industry and
compensation by industry for 2013 to 2015, are also presented in this release.
Gross Domestic Product for 2017
The estimates of GDP for the CNMI show that real GDP—GDP adjusted to remove price changes—
increased 25.1 percent in 2017 after increasing 28.2 percent in 2016 (see Table 1.3). For comparison,
real GDP for the United States (excluding the territories) increased 2.2 percent in 2017 after increasing
1.6 percent in 2016.

Real GDP: Percent change from preceding year
30
20
10
0
-10
-20
2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis

1

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

2016

2017

The largest contributor to growth in the CNMI economy was exports of services (see Table 1.4). The
increase in exports of services reflected continued growth in visitor spending, particularly on casino
gambling. The number of visitors to the CNMI grew 24 percent in 2017, following an increase of 11
percent in 2016.
Partly offsetting the growth in exports of services was a decline in private fixed investment, which
decreased 8.9 percent after three consecutive years of double-digit growth. However, real business
spending on construction and equipment remained at historically high levels, supported by continued
development of the casino resort on Saipan (see Table 1.2).
Gross Domestic Product by Industry and Compensation by Industry for 2016
The estimates of GDP by industry for the CNMI show that the private sector was the source of the
growth in real GDP in 2016 (see Table 2.5). The largest contributor to growth was the accommodations
and amusement sector, reflecting growth in tourism and output of the casino industry.
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 2016, reflecting
increases in all sectors shown in the table. The largest increase was in the accommodations and
amusement sector.
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 2016 that were released on October 16, 2017 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
• the 2016 CNMI Consumer Price Index.
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 2018 beginning in the summer of 2019. GDP by
industry and compensation by industry estimates for 2017 will also be released at the same time.

-2-

Additional Information
Resources
•

•
•
•
•

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
investment.

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

Statistical Conventions

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 the CNMI.

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 total

-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

2017

1

938

939

795

799

733

751

782

845

931

1,250

1,593

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

494
424
166
257
460
-390

520
451
186
265
498
-429

526
453
194
258
556
-483

551
462
202
259
965
-876

597
523
227
296
1,214
-1,140

Private fixed investment

8

79

83

85

77

74

79

87

123

198

327

301

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

-111
414
17
397
525
449
76

-110
451
15
436
561
477
84

-130
504
13
491
633
488
145

0
903
19
883
902
636
267

296
1,170
23
1,148
874
632
242

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

336
29
308

372
26
346

400
26
374

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

2017

1

1,084

964

795

806

744

748

766

795

822

1,054

1,319

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
388
153
234
413
-336

483
403
169
235
435
-353

499
414
185
230
485
-400

518
422
190
233
812
-732

545
463
203
260
1,006
-945

Private fixed investment

8

80

82

85

78

72

76

84

119

193

320

292

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

-64
357
15
342
421
354
67

-76
373
13
359
449
378
71

-148
415
12
402
563
440
124

-105
721
18
702
825
594
229

138
920
20
898
782
574
206

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

297
25
272

324
23
301

340
22
317

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
14,961

51.0
15,588

50.8
16,181

50.6
20,830

50.3
26,223

(1) Source: U.S. Census Bureau
NOTE. Estimates of population for 2013–2017 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

2017

1

-11.1

-17.5

1.3

-7.7

0.6

2.4

3.9

3.4

28.2

25.1

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
……..

5.3
6.7
17.0
1.0
5.7
……..

4.2
4.0
10.0
0.1
5.3
……..

3.4
2.7
9.5
-2.1
11.6
……..

3.7
2.0
3.1
1.2
67.4
……..

5.3
9.6
6.7
11.9
23.9
……..

Private fixed investment

8

2.1

4.4

-8.9

-6.9

5.6

9.4

42.2

62.6

65.7

-8.9

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

……..
7.2
6.9
7.3
9.5
9.6
8.8

……..
4.5
-11.7
5.2
6.7
6.6
7.3

……..
11.3
-9.0
11.9
25.4
16.4
73.4

……..
73.8
48.2
74.5
46.6
35.0
85.3

……..
27.6
16.5
27.8
-5.3
-3.3
-10.1

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

-3.2
7.4
-4.0

6.3
26.3
4.8

9.2
-9.5
10.9

4.7
-3.3
5.4

-7-

Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands

Table 1.4. Contributions to Percent Change in Real Gross Domestic Product
Line

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

Percent change:
Gross domestic product
Percentage points:
Personal consumption expenditures
Goods
Durable goods
Nondurable goods
Services
Net foreign travel

1

-11.1

-17.5

1.3

-7.7

0.6

2.4

3.9

3.4

28.2

25.1

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

3.27
3.55
3.22
0.33
3.25
-3.52

2.63
2.13
2.09
0.04
3.13
-2.64

2.00
1.37
1.99
-0.63
6.64
-6.00

2.07
0.95
0.63
0.31
40.08
-38.96

2.34
3.56
1.11
2.46
18.42
-19.64

Private fixed investment

8

0.17

0.38

-0.96

-0.67

0.56

0.98

4.59

8.83

13.64

-2.32

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

-2.35
3.66
0.14
3.52
-6.01
-5.21
-0.80

-2.05
2.38
-0.25
2.63
-4.43
-3.73
-0.70

-9.70
5.85
-0.15
6.00
-15.55
-8.49
-7.06

9.18
39.63
0.66
38.97
-30.45
-17.55
-12.89

23.68
19.89
0.25
19.63
3.79
1.66
2.13

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

-1.28
0.19
-1.47

2.28
0.68
1.60

3.26
-0.29
3.55

1.42
-0.07
1.48

-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

1

1.6

12.5

2.7

-0.8

2

3.2

6.3

1.1

-0.4

3

86.5

97.4

4

93.0

98.9

2011
-0.7

2012

2013

[Percent]
1.9

2014

2015

2016

2017

1.7

4.1

6.5

4.8

1.9

1.1

-2.2

1.0

3.0

100.0

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

106.3

113.2

118.6

120.9

100.0

99.6

107.7

105.4

106.4

109.6

104.9

106.6

106.6

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

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

1

938

939

795

799

733

751

782

845

931

1,250

1,593

Compensation of employees

2

533

501

455

456

431

415

433

469

497

581

655

Taxes on production and imports
less subsidies

3

119

109

99

94

95

102

121

153

165

229

254

Gross operating surplus

4

286

329

241

249

207

234

228

223

269

440

684

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

Percent change:
        Revised
        Previously published

1
2

-11.1
-11.1

-17.5
-17.5

1.3
1.3

Percentage points:
        Revision

3

0.0

0.0

0.0

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

-7.7
-7.7

0.6
0.6

2.4
2.7

3.9
3.5

3.4
3.8

28.2
28.6

0.0

0.0

-0.3

0.4

-0.4

-0.4

-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

2016

1

938

939

795

799

733

751

782

845

931

1,250

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

583
11
170
134
269

642
15
178
149
301

716
18
187
188
323

1,024
22
196
450
355

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
189

215
16
199

226
16
210

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

2016

1

100

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
34

76
2
21
18
36

77
2
20
20
35

82
2
16
36
28

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
24

24
2
22

23
2
21

18
1
17

- 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

2016

1

1,084

964

795

806

744

748

766

795

822

1,054

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

585
10
158
126
288

616
13
164
136
298

639
16
170
165
283

864
20
179
364
289

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

182
13
169

185
13
172

192
14
178

Table 2.4. Percent Changes in Real Value Added by Industry
[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

2.4

3.9

3.4

28.2

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

2.1
-6.5
7.1
13.8
-5.2

5.2
32.3
3.8
8.4
3.5

3.8
21.1
3.4
20.8
-4.9

35.3
23.1
5.4
121.2
2.1

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

-0.1
-3.8
0.2

2.0
4.7
1.8

3.7
3.9
3.7

- 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

2016

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

2.4

3.9

3.4

28.2

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

1.57
-0.10
1.48
2.12
-1.92

3.91
0.45
0.82
1.42
1.22

2.88
0.36
0.70
3.63
-1.81

27.29
0.44
1.05
25.07
0.72

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

-0.03
-0.07
0.04

0.49
0.08
0.41

0.84
0.06
0.77

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

2016

1

533

501

455

456

431

415

433

469

497

581

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
121

383
15
78
150
141

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

186
15
171

198
16
182

Total compensation

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

- 12 -