The estimates of GDP for the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands show that real GDP—GDP adjusted to remove price changes—increased 25.1 percent in 2017, after increasing 28.2 percent in 2016. For comparison, real GDP for the United States (excluding the territories) increased 2.2 percent in 2017 after increasing 1.6 percent in 2016.
The largest contributor to growth in the Northern Mariana Islands’ economy was exports of services. The increase in exports of services reflected continued growth in visitor spending, particularly on casino gambling. The number of visitors to the Northern Mariana Islands 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.
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