nt of vote by party
- NA%; seats by party - Republican Party 221, Democratic Party 211,
independent 2, vacant 1 elections: Senate - last held 7 November 2000
(next to be held 4 November 2002); House of Representatives - last held
7 November 2000 (next to be held 4 November 2002)

Judicial branch: Supreme Court (its nine justices are appointed for
life by the president with confirmation by the Senate); United States
Courts of Appeal; United States District Courts; State and County Courts

Political parties and leaders: Democratic Party [Terence McAULIFFE,
national committee chairman]; Green Party [leader NA]; Republican Party
[Governor Marc RACICOT, national committee chairman]

Political pressure groups and leaders: NA

International organization participation: AfDB, ANZUS, APEC, ARF
(dialogue partner), AsDB, ASEAN (dialogue partner), Australia Group,
BIS, CCC, CE (observer), CERN (observer), CP, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, ECLAC,
ESCAP, FAO, G- 8, G-5, G-7, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU,
ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM,
ISO, ITU, MINURSO, MIPONUH, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS, OECD, OPCW,
OSCE, PCA, SPC, UN, UN Security Council, UNCTAD, UNHCR, UNIKOM, UNITAR,
UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOVIC, UNOMIG, UNRWA, UNTAET, UNTSO, UNU, UPU,
WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO, ZC

Flag description: thirteen equal horizontal stripes of red (top
and bottom) alternating with white; there is a blue rectangle in the
upper hoist-side corner bearing 50 small, white, five-pointed stars
arranged in nine offset horizontal rows of six stars (top and bottom)
alternating with rows of five stars; the 50 stars represent the 50 states,
the 13 stripes represent the 13 original colonies; known as Old Glory;
the design and colors have been the basis for a number of other flags,
including Chile, Liberia, Malaysia, and Puerto Rico

Economy United States

Economy - overview: The US has the largest and most technologically
powerful economy in the world, with a per capita GDP of $36,300. In this
market-oriented economy, private individuals and business firms make
most of the decisions, and the federal and state governments buy needed
goods and services predominantly in the private marketplace. US business
firms enjoy considerably greater flexibility than their counterparts
in Western Europe and Japan in decisions to expand capital plant, lay
off surplus workers, and develop new products. At the same time, t