vote to serve
six-year terms)
elections: last held 9 July 1995 (next to be held NA July 2001)
election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - RPCR
22, FLNKS 12, UNCT 7, various left parties 7, various right parties 6
note : New Caledonia elects 1 seat to the French Senate; elections
last held 27 September 1992 (next to be held NA September 2001);
results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - RPCR 1; New
Caledonia also elects 2 seats to the French National Assembly;
elections last held 21 March 1993 (next to be held 25 May-1 June 1997
- special election); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by
party - RPCR 2

Judicial branch: Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel

Political parties and leaders: white-dominated Rassemblement pour la
Caledonie dans la Republique or RPCR (conservative) [Jacques LAFLEUR,
president] - affiliated to France's Rassemblement pour la Republique
or RPR (also called South Province Party); Melanesian proindependence
Kanaka Socialist National Liberation Front or FLNKS [Rock WAMYTAN];
Melanesian moderate Kanak Socialist Liberation or LKS [Nidoish
NAISSELINE]; National Front or FN (extreme right) [Guy GEORGE];
Caledonie Demain or CD (right-wing) [Bernard MARANT]; Union Oceanienne
or UO (conservative) [Michel HEMA]; Front de Developpement des Iles
Loyautes or FDIL [Cono HAMU]; Union Caledonian or UC [Francois BURCK,
president]; A New Caledonia for All or UNCT [Didier LEROUX]

International organization participation: ESCAP (associate), FZ,
ICFTU, SPC, WFTU, WMO

Diplomatic representation in the US: none (overseas territory of
France)

Diplomatic representation from the US: none (overseas territory of
France)

Flag description: three horizontal bands, blue (top), red, and green,
with a yellow disk enclosing a black symbol centered to the hoist
side; the flag of France is used for official occasions

Economy

Economy - overview: New Caledonia has more than 20% of the world's
known nickel resources. In recent years, the economy has suffered
because of depressed international demand for nickel, the principal
source of export earnings. Only a negligible amount of the land is
suitable for cultivation, and food accounts for about 25% of imports.
In addition to nickel, financial support from France and tourism are
key to the health of the economy.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $1.5 billion (1995 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: NA%

GDP - per capita: purchasing