Country:  Liechtenstein
- 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