Liechtenstein
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See regional map V
Geography
Total area: 160 km²; land area: 160 km²
Comparative area: about 0.9 times the size of Washington, DC
Land boundaries: 78 km total; Austria 37 km, Switzerland 41 km
Coastline: none—landlocked
Maritime claims: none—landlocked
Climate: continental; cold, cloudy winters with frequent snow or rain; cool to moderately warm, cloudy, humid summers
Terrain: mostly mountainous (Alps) with Rhine Valley in western third
Natural resources: hydroelectric potential
Land use: 25% arable land; 0% permanent crops; 38% meadows and pastures; 19% forest and woodland; 18% other
Environment: variety of microclimatic variations based on elevation
Note: landlocked
People
Population: 28,292 (July 1990), growth
rate 0.7% (1990)
Birth rate: 13 births/1,000 population (1990)
Death rate: 7 deaths/1,000 population (1990)
Net migration rate: 1 migrant/1,000 population (1990)
Infant mortality rate: 5 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)
Life expectancy at birth: 73 years male, 81 years female (1990)
Total fertility rate: 1.5 children born/woman (1990)
Nationality: noun—Liechtensteiner(s); adjective—Liechtenstein
Ethnic divisions: 95% Alemannic, 5% Italian and other
Religion: 82.7% Roman Catholic, 7.1% Protestant, 10.2% other
Language: German (official), Alemannic dialect
Literacy: 100%
Labor force: 12,258; 5,078 foreign workers (mostly from Switzerland and Austria); 54.4% industry, trade, and building; 41.6% services; 4.0% agriculture, fishing, forestry, and horticulture
Organized labor: NA
Government
Long-form name: Principality of
Liechtenstein
Type: hereditary constitutional monarchy
Capital: Vaduz
Administrative divisions: 11 communes (gemeinden, singular—gemeinde); Balzers, Eschen, Gamprin, Mauren, Planken, Ruggell, Schaan, Schellenberg, Triesen, Triesenberg, Vaduz
Independence: 23 January 1719, Imperial Principality of Liechtenstein established
Constitution: 5 October 1921
Legal system: local civil and penal codes; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
National holiday: St. Joseph's Day, 19 March
Executive branch: reigning prince, hereditary prince, prime minister, deputy prime minister
Legislative branch: unicameral Diet (Landtag)
Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Oberster Gerichtshof) for criminal cases and Superior Court (Obergericht) for civil cases
Leaders: Chief of State—Prince HANS ADAM von und zu Liechtenstein (since 13 November 1989; assumed executive powers 26 August 1984);
Head of Government—Prime Minister Hans BRUNHART (since 26 April 1978); Deputy Prime Minister Dr. Herbert WILLE (since 2 February 1986)
Political parties and leaders: Fatherland Union (VU), Dr. Otto Hasler; Progressive Citizens' Party (FBP), Dr. Herbert Batliner; Christian Social Party, Fritz Kaiser
Suffrage: universal at age 18
Elections: Diet—last held on 5 March 1989 (next to be held by March 1993); results—percent of vote by party NA; seats—(25 total) VU 13, FBP 12
Communists: none
Member of: Council of Europe, EFTA, IAEA, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, ITU, UNCTAD, UNIDO, UNICEF, UPU, WIPO; considering UN membership; has consultative status in the EC
Diplomatic representation: in routine diplomatic matters, Liechtenstein is represented in the US by the Swiss Embassy; US—the US has no diplomatic or consular mission in Liechtenstein, but the US Consul General at Zurich (Switzerland) has consular accreditation at Vaduz
Flag: two equal horizontal bands of blue (top) and red with a gold crown on the hoist side of the blue band
Economy
Overview: The prosperous economy is based primarily on small-scale light industry and some farming. Industry accounts for 54% of total employment, the service sector 42% (mostly based on tourism), and agriculture and forestry 4%. The sale of postage stamps to collectors is estimated at $10 million annually and accounts for 10% of revenues. Low business taxes (the maximum tax rate is 20%) and easy incorporation rules have induced about 25,000 holding or so-called letter box companies to establish nominal offices in Liechtenstein. Such companies, incorporated solely for tax purposes, provide an additional 30% of state revenues. The economy is tied closely to that of Switzerland in a customs union, and incomes and living standards parallel those of the more prosperous Swiss groups.
GNP: $NA, per capita $NA; real growth rate NA%
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 1.5% (1987 est.)
Unemployment rate: 0.1% (December 1986)
Budget: revenues $171 million; expenditures $189 million, including capital expenditures of NA (1986)
Exports: $807 million; commodities—small specialty machinery, dental products, stamps, hardware, pottery; partners—EC 40%, EFTA 26% (Switzerland 19%) (1986)
Imports: $NA; commodities—machinery, metal goods, textiles, foodstuffs, motor vehicles; partners—NA
External debt: $NA
Industrial production: growth rate NA%
Electricity: 23,000 kW capacity; 150 million kWh produced, 5,340 kWh per capita (1989)
Industries: electronics, metal manufacturing, textiles, ceramics, pharmaceuticals, food products, precision instruments, tourism
Agriculture: livestock, vegetables, corn, wheat, potatoes, grapes
Aid: none
Currency: Swiss franc, franken, or franco (plural—francs, franken, or franchi); 1 Swiss franc, franken, or franco (SwF) = 100 centimes, rappen, or centesimi
Exchange rates: Swiss francs, franken, or franchi (SwF) per US$1—1.5150 (January 1990), 1.6359 (1989), 1.4633 (1988), 1.4912 (1987), 1.7989 (1986), 2.4571 (1985)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications
Railroads: 18.5 km 1.435-meter standard gauge, electrified; owned, operated, and included in statistics of Austrian Federal Railways
Highways: 130.66 km main roads, 192.27 km byroads
Civil air: no transport aircraft
Airports: none
Telecommunications: automatic telephone system; 25,400 telephones; stations—no AM, no FM, no TV
Defense Forces
Note: defense is responsibility of Switzerland