Saipan ( /saɪˈpæn/) is the largest island of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), an unincorporated territory of the United States. The Commonwealth consists of a chain of fifteen tropical islands belonging to the Marianas archipelago in the western Pacific Ocean. Saipan is located at (15°10’51”N, 145°45’21”E) and has a total area of 44.55 sq mi (115.4 km2). According to the 2010 United States Census, Saipan's population was 48,220, a drop of 22.7% from the 2000 US Census; the population decrease is largely attributed to working immigrants and their families either returning to their home countries after the collapse of the garment industry or moving to other locations with economic opportunities such as Guam and the United States.