The Northern Marianas has recorded the highest growth rate in its economy in the history of US territories.
Saipan in the Northern Marianas. Photo: Supplied
The Bureau of Economic Analysis said the 28.6 per cent increase in the CNMI's real gross domestic product was the largest rise by any US territory since the agency started calculations in 2002.
It followed a 3.8 per cent increase in 2015 and a 17.5 per cent fall in 2009.
Real GDP is an inflation-adjusted measure that reflects the value of all goods and services produced by an economy in a given year.
In comparison, real GDP for the US mainland increased by 1.5 per cent in 2016.
Guam increased by 0.4 per cent, while American Samoa decreased by 2.5 per cent.
The largest contributor to the CNMI's economic growth was the export of services, which grew by 72.8 per cent compared to a 14.9 per cent increase in 2015.
This can be translated to the growth in visitor spending through the tourism and gaming industries.
Visitor arrivals grew over 10 percent, reflecting an increase in arrivals from South Korea and China.
Private fixed investment increased by 65.8 percent.
Consumer spending increased by three percent reflecting the widespread growth in household purchases of goods and services.
