Liechtenstein
| Principality of Liechtenstein National name: Fuerstentum
Liechtenstein Ruler: Prince Hans
Adam II (1989) Head of
Government: Otmar Hasler (2001)
Current government officials
Total area: 62 sq mi (161 sq km) Population (2008 est.): 34,498 (growth rate:
0.7%); birth rate: 9.8/1000; infant mortality rate: 4.5/1000; life
expectancy: 79.9; density per sq mi: 215
Capital and largest city (2003 est.):
Vaduz, 5,300 Monetary unit: Swiss franc
Languages:
German (official), Alemannic dialect
Ethnicity/race:
Alemannic 86%; Italian, Turkish, and other
14%
Religions:
Roman Catholic, 77%, Protestant, 7%; unknown,
11% (2002)
National Holiday:
Assumption Day, August 15 Literacy rate: 100% (1981 est.) Economic summary: GDP/PPP (2001 est.):
$1.786 billion; per capita $25,000 (1999). Real growth rate:
11(1999)%. Inflation: 1% (2001). Unemployment: 1.3%
(Sept. 2002). Arable land: 25%. Agriculture: wheat,
barley, corn, potatoes; livestock, dairy products. Labor force:
29,000 of whom 13,900 commute from Austria, Switzerland, and
Germany to work each day (2001); industry 47.4%, services 51.3%,
agriculture 1.3% (2001). Industries: electronics, metal
manufacturing, dental products, ceramics, pharmaceuticals, food
products, precision instruments, tourism, optical instruments.
Natural resources: hydroelectric potential, arable land.
Exports: $2.47 billion (1996): small specialty machinery,
connectors for audio and video, parts for motor vehicles, dental
products, hardware, prepared foodstuffs, electronic equipment, optical
products. Imports: $917.3 million (1996): agricultural
products, raw materials, machinery, metal goods, textiles, foodstuffs,
motor vehicles. Major trading partners: EU (Germany, Austria,
France, Italy, UK), U.S., Switzerland (2004). Communications: Telephones: main lines in
use: 20,072 (2000); mobile cellular: n.a. Radio broadcast
stations: AM 0, FM 4, shortwave 0 (1998). Radios: 21,000
(1997). Television broadcast stations: n.a. (linked to Swiss
networks) (1997). Televisions: 12,000 (1997). Internet
Service Providers (ISPs): 44 (Liechtenstein and Switzerland)
(2000). Internet users: n.a. Transportation: Railways: total: 18.5 km;
note: owned, operated, and included in statistics of Austrian Federal
Railways (2002). Highways: total: 250 km; paved: 250 km;
unpaved: 0 km. Ports and harbors: none. Airports:
none. International disputes:
Liechtenstein's royal family claims restitution for 1,600 sq km of
land in the Czech Republic confiscated in 1918.
Major sources and definitions
|
|
Geography
Tiny Liechtenstein, not quite as large as
Washington, DC, lies on the east bank of the Rhine River south of Lake
Constance between Austria and Switzerland. It consists of low valley land
and Alpine peaks. Falknis (8,401 ft; 2,561 m) and Naafkopf (8,432 ft;
2,570 m) are the tallest.
Government
Hereditary constitutional monarchy.
History
The Liechtensteiners are descended from the
Alemanni tribe that came into the region after A.D. 500. Founded in 1719, Liechtenstein was a member
of the German Confederation from 1815 to 1866, when it became an
independent principality. It abolished its army in 1868 and has managed to
stay neutral and undamaged in all European wars since then. Liechtenstein
still claims 1,600 sq km of Czech territory (the royal family's ancestral
home) confiscated in 1918; the Czech Republic insists that restitution
does not go back before Feb. 1948, when the Communists seized power. In a
referendum on July 1, 1984, male voters granted women the right to vote in
national (but not local) elections.
Blacklisted in 2000 as a center for money
laundering, Liechtenstein toughened its laws and made major efforts to
clean up its financial practices. In 2002, the country was removed from
the OECD's (Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development)
blacklist.
In March 2003, Liechtenstein's people
overwhelmingly voted to give its prince more powers, including the right
to dismiss governments and approve judicial nominees. Prince Hans Adam II
had threatened to leave the country if his demands for more authority were
not met. Before the vote, he had already possessed more power than any
other European monarch.
In Aug. 2003 he announced that he would give up
the day-to-day ruling of the country in one year's time. In Aug. 2004, his
son, Prince Alois, 36, became regent of Liechtenstein, while Hans Adam II
remained the official head of state.
See also Encyclopedia: Liechtenstein.
U.S. State Dept. Country
Notes: Liechtenstein
Information Please® Database, © 2008 Pearson
Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
More on Liechtenstein from Fact Monster:
- Liechtenstein - Liechtenstein Liechtenstein , officially Principality of Liechtenstein, principality (2005 est. ...
- Liechtenstein - Liechtenstein Profile: History, Political Conditions, Economy, U.S.-Liechtenstein Relations
- Liechtenstein - Map of Liechtenstein & articles on flags, geography, history, statistics, disasters current events, and international relations.
- Liechtenstein: Bibliography - Bibliography See P. Raton, Liechtenstein: History and Institutions of the Principality (1970); T. ...
- Liechtenstein: History - History The Liechtenstein ruling house is an old Austrian family. The principality was created in ...
|
Back to Pearson
