The Northern Mariana Islands, officially the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), is a commonwealth in political union with the United States of America located at a strategic location in the western Pacific Ocean. It consists of 15 islands about three-quarters of the way from Hawaii to the Philippines, at
. The United States Census Bureau reports the total land area of all islands as 463.63 km² (179.01 sq mi).It has a population of 80,362 (2005 estimate). The official 2000 census count was 69,221 . Of note is that the Northern Mariana Islands have the highest female to male sex ratio in the world, with an average of 77 men to every 100 women. This is due to the overwhelming female majority of foreign workers, especially in the garment industry.