Of the five U.S. territories, only two use the word “commonwealth” in their titles: the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI).
Besides their titles, Puerto Rico and CNMI have much in common as U.S. territories, along with Guam, American Samoa, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Yet there are many differences between Puerto Rico and the CNMI as well.
Geography
CNMI is a chain of 14 islands just north of Guam, which is the 15th island in the archipelago. Guam is a separate unincorporated U.S. territory. CNMI was one of the Pacific Trust Territories set up by the United Nations following World War II. The United States administered these territories until the mid-20th century. At that point, three of the Trust Territories chose to become independent nations, with their own citizenships, and they have signed Compacts of Free Association with the United States. CNMI instead sought to attain American citizenship and chose to become a U.S. territory like Guam.
Puerto Rico is a Caribbean territory about 9,237 miles from CNMI. Puerto Rico is about 30 times the size of the Northern Marianas. The population of Puerto Rico is about 3 million, primarily Hispanic, while CNMI has about 50,000 residents, half of whom are Asian and about 35% of whom are Pacific Islanders. Puerto Rico speaks Spanish and English. CNMI also speaks English, but Chamorro and Carolinian are the other official languages. Filipino is not an official language, but is one of the most commonly spoken languages.
Economy
Puerto Rico’s per capita GDP is $43,000, while CNMI’s is $24,500. In addition, unemployment is over 11% in CNMI and just 6% in Puerto Rico. The cost of living in CNMI is 6.8 times higher than in Puerto Rico. In short, Puerto Rico is in a stronger position economically than CNMI.
The Government Accountability Office reports of CNMI that “[i]ts tourism-reliant economy has limited prospects for recovery, and the challenges to meet its financial obligations have deepened.” Puerto Rico, on the other hand, has strengthened and diversified its economy over the past decade.
Health
Average life expectancy in CNMI is 77 years while Puerto Rico’s is 82. CNMI has a birth rate more than double that of Puerto Rico but also has an infant mortality rate twice as high as Puerto Rico’s. Both territories show high rates of chronic diseases, including diabetes and obesity. CNMI has a very high rate of smoking, along with hypertension.
Limited federal funding compared with states puts both territories in the position of having inadequate healthcare systems, while high poverty rates lead to greater needs among residents.
Government
Both Puerto Rico and CNMI are unincorporated territories of the United States. As such, they cannot vote in presidential elections and are not fully covered and protected by the U.S. Constitution. Both have birthright U.S. citizenship, but the citizenship is statutory rather constitutional. Both have local self-government but are under the sovereignty of the United States.
CNMI has a covenant with the United States that states: “In order to respect the right of self-government guaranteed by this Covenant the United States agrees to limit the exercise of that authority so that the fundamental provisions of this Covenant…may be modified only with the consent of the Government of the United States and the Government of the Northern Mariana Islands.” In practice, however, the federal government has made unilateral changes including revision of the immigration laws, applied federal laws to CNMI without consent as in the case of animal fighting, and overridden CNMI complaints in court.
Some people have claimed over the years that Puerto Rico also has a special bilateral compact with the United States, but there is no such document on record. While the 1952 Puerto Rican constitution has been described as “in the nature of a compact,” the U.S. Supreme Court and federal government view Puerto Rico as an unincorporated territory subject to Congressional power under the Territorial Clause of the U.S. Constitution. Puerto Rico has attempted to include mutual consent provisions in its definition of “commonwealth,” but the federal government has declared such an arrangement unconstitutional.
There are no real differences in political status or governance between the two territories.
Apples to oranges?
Comparing Puerto Rico, an Island group quite near to the mainland United States with a larger U.S. citizen population than half the states, with a 14-island string in the remote Pacific with a total population of 50,000, is bound to reveal differences between the two. Puerto Rico is clearly better off in economic terms and has some notable advantages in terms of health, but otherwise shares territory status and is treated similarly by the U.S. government.
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