Part 566

Administrative divisions: 4 quarters (quartiers, singular - quartier); Fontvieille, La Condamine, Monaco-Ville, Monte-Carlo

Independence: 1419 (rule by the House of Grimaldi)

National holiday: National Day, 19 November

Constitution: 17 December 1962

Legal system: based on French law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage: 21 years of age; universal

Executive branch: chief of state: Prince RAINIER III (since 9 May 1949); Heir Apparent Prince ALBERT Alexandre Louis Pierre (born 14 March 1958) head of government: Minister of State Michel LEVEQUE (since 3 February 1997) cabinet: Council of Government is under the authority of the prince elections: none; the prince is a hereditary monarch; minister of state appointed by the prince from a list of three French national candidates presented by the French Government

Legislative branch: unicameral National Council or Conseil National (18 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) elections: last held 24 and 31 January 1993 (next to be held NA January 1998) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - National and Democratic Union 15, other 3

Judicial branch: Supreme Court or Tribunal Supreme

Political parties and leaders: National and Democratic Union or UND [Jean-Louis CAMPORA]

International organization participation: ACCT, ECE, IAEA, ICAO, ICRM, IFRCS, IHO, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ITU, OSCE, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO

Diplomatic representation in the US: Monaco does not have an embassy in the US consulate(s) general: New York honorary consulate(s) general: Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New Orleans, San Francisco, San Juan (Puerto Rico) honorary consulate(s): Dallas, Palm Beach, Philadelphia, and Washington, DC

Diplomatic representation from the US: the US does not have an embassy in Monaco; the US Consul General in Marseille (France) is accredited to Monaco

Flag description: two equal horizontal bands of red (top) and white; similar to the flag of Indonesia which is longer and the flag of Poland which is white (top) and red

Economy

Economy - overview: Monaco, situated on the French Mediterranean coast, is a popular resort, attracting tourists to its casino and pleasant climate. The Principality has successfully sought to diversify into services and small, high-value-added, nonpolluting industries. The state has no income tax and low business taxes and thrives as a tax haven both for individuals who have established residence and for foreign companies that have set up businesses and offices. About 55% of Monaco's annual revenue comes from value-added taxes on hotels, banks, and the industrial sector; about 25% of revenue comes from tourism. Living standards are high, roughly comparable to those in prosperous French metropolitan areas.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $800 million (1996 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: NA%

GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $25,000 (1996 est.)

GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: NA% industry: NA% services: NA%

Inflation rate - consumer price index: NA%

Labor force: total: 30,540 (1 January 1994)

Unemployment rate: 3.1% (1994)

Budget: revenues: $570.4 million expenditures: $570.1 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1994 est.)

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity - capacity: 10,000 kW standby note: electricity imported from France

Electricity - production: NA kWh

Electricity - consumption per capita: NA kWh