Population Statistics
HomeWorldNorthern Mariana Islands

Northern Mariana Islands: cities by population

By James Burfield, SEO consultant, Bath · Page updated · UN World Population Prospects

Northern Mariana Islands has a population of 42,914 (UN estimate, 2026), with Saipan as its capital. The 9 largest of its 9 recorded towns and cities, ranked.

-37%
since 2000 (68,356)
-0%
projected by 2050 (42,764)
94
people per km²
19501975200020252050 7k 43k
UN estimates to 2026; the dashed line is the medium-variant projection to 2050, a forecast rather than a measurement. Source: World Population Prospects 2024.
Full UN series, 1950 to 2050
YearPopulation
19507,111
197515,065
200068,356
200562,354
201054,091
201551,514
202047,528
202543,541
202642,914
2030 projected41,785
2050 projected42,764

Medium variant. Figures from 2026 onward are projections, not measurements.

Figures are the latest available in GeoNames (CC BY 4.0), which draws on national censuses of varying dates — treat them as recent, not same-year. Country totals are UN World Population Prospects 2024 (medium variant) where the UN lists the country separately; the handful it reports under a parent state keep a GeoNames figure and are marked as such. Sources & method.
Treat these figures with care. The settlements listed below sum to 72,340, against a national population of 42,914. Some overlap is normal where towns run together, but a gap this wide suggests the underlying figures for Northern Mariana Islands are unreliable, and we have not been able to verify them independently.

Largest cities in Northern Mariana Islands

#PlaceRegionPopulation
1SaipanSaipan48,220
2San Jose VillageTinian15,000
3GarapanSaipan3,096
4Chalan Piao villageSaipan1,338
5Fananganan villageSaipan1,129
6Chalan Laulau VillageSaipan1,087
7Capitol Hill VillageSaipan979
8I LiyangSaipan898
9SongsongRota593

Twenty years earlier: Northern Mariana Islands in the 2005 World Gazetteer — population then 79,725.

Common questions

What is the population of Northern Mariana Islands?
Northern Mariana Islands has a population of 42,914, the UN World Population Prospects estimate for 2026. The UN's medium-variant projection for 2050 is 42,764 — a forecast, not a measurement.
What is the capital of Northern Mariana Islands?
Saipan.

Go deeper

Saipan
The largest place we record in Northern Mariana Islands: 48,220 people
Northern Mariana Islands in 2005
The World Gazetteer's archive edition: 79,725 then
All 246 countries
Every country and territory, ranked by population