elected by the members of the Assembly
cabinet: Consultative Committee

Legislative branch: unicameral
Territorial Assembly: elections last held 9 July 1995 (next to be
held NA July 2001); results - percent by party NA; seats - (54
total) RPCR 22, NCPT 7, other anti-independence parties 6, FLNKS 12,
other pro-independence parties 7
French Senate: elections last held 27 September 1992 (next to be
held NA September 2001); results - percent of vote by party NA;
seats - (1 total) RPCR 1
French National Assembly: elections last held 21 March 1993 (next to
be held 21 and 28 March 1998); results - percent of vote by party
NA; seats - (2 total) RPCR 2

Judicial branch: Court of Appeal

Political parties and leaders: white-dominated Rassemblement pour
la Caledonie dans la Republique (RPCR), conservative, Jacques
LAFLEUR, president - affiliated to France's Rassemblement pour la
Republique (RPR; also called South Province Party); Melanesian
proindependence Kanaka Socialist National Liberation Front (FLNKS),
Rock WAMYTAN; Melanesian moderate Kanak Socialist Liberation (LKS),
Nidoish NAISSELINE; National Front (FN), extreme right, Guy GEORGE;
Caledonie Demain (CD), right-wing, Bernard MARANT; Union Oceanienne
(UO), conservative, Michel HEMA; Front Uni de Liberation Kanak
(FULK), proindependence, Clarence UREGEI; Union Caledonian (UC),
Francois BURCK, president; "1999" (new party calling for an
autonomous state), Philippe PENTECOST; Nouvelle-Caledonie Pour Toute
(NCPT)

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

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

US diplomatic representation: none (overseas territory of France)

Flag: 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
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Economic 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.

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

GDP real growth rate: NA%

GDP per capita: $8,000 (1995 est.)

GDP composi