Saipan

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Saipan

Top: Garapan Skyline; Bottom: Topographic map of Saipan Island
Geography
Location	Pacific Ocean
Coordinates	15°11′N 145°45′E / 15.183°N 145.750°E / 15.183; 145.750
Archipelago	Marianas
Area	118.98 km2 (45.94 sq mi)[1]
Length	12 mi (19 km)
Width	5.6 mi (9 km)
Highest elevation	1,560 ft (475 m)
Highest point	Mount Tapochau
Administration
United States
Commonwealth	Northern Mariana Islands
Largest settlement	Garapan
Mayor	Ramon Camacho
Demographics
Demonym	Saipanese
Population	43,385 (2020)
Ethnic groups	50.9% Asian 33.6% Pacific Islander 2.1% White 0.2% others
Additional information
Time zone	ChST
ZIP code	96950
Area code(s)	670
ISO code	580
Official website	https://governor.gov.mp

Saipan^[2] (/saɪˈpæn/) is the largest island and capital of the Northern Mariana Islands, a commonwealth of the United States in the western Pacific Ocean. According to 2020 estimates by the United States Census Bureau, the population of Saipan was 43,385, a decline of 10% from its 2010 count of 48,220.^[3]

The legislative and executive branches of Commonwealth government are located in the village of Capitol Hill on the island while the judicial branch is headquartered in the village of Susupe. Since the entire island is organized as a single municipality, most publications designate Saipan as the Commonwealth's capital.

As of 2023, Saipan's mayor is Ramon Camacho and the governor of the Northern Mariana Islands is Arnold Palacios.

The island is home to the majority of the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas population, and home to many resorts, golf courses, beaches, nature sites, and WW2 historical sites. The people here are United States citizens since the 1980s, uniquely they had never been a part of the US before this, with about 400 years of Spanish rule, then about 15 years of German rule, and then 30 years of Japanese rule. The island after WW2 was put in United Nations Trust to determine its fate, along with rest of the Northern Marianas. After failing to reunify with Guam, which was also home to the Chamorro people, the islands joined the United States as the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana islands.

Saipan was hit by one of the strongest hurricane/typhoons ever to hit the United States in 2018, Typhoon Yutu, causing widespread damage.