Liechtenstein

From Mises Wiki, the global repository of classical-liberal thought
Jump to: navigation, search
Country summary

Capital

Vaduz

Borders

Austria 34.9 km, Switzerland 41.1 km

Government type

constitutional monarchy

Population

34,761 (July 2010 est.)[1]

Population growth

0.702% (2010 est.)[1]

Life expectancy

80.06 years[1]

Unemployment

1.5% (31 December 2007)[1]


The Principality of Liechtenstein was established within the Holy Roman Empire in 1719. Occupied by both French and Russian troops during the Napoleonic wars, it became a sovereign state in 1806 and joined the Germanic Confederation in 1815. Liechtenstein became fully independent in 1866 when the Confederation dissolved. Until the end of World War I, it was closely tied to Austria, but the economic devastation caused by that conflict forced Liechtenstein to enter into a customs and monetary union with Switzerland. Since World War II (in which Liechtenstein remained neutral), the country's low taxes have spurred outstanding economic growth. In 2000, shortcomings in banking regulatory oversight resulted in concerns about the use of financial institutions for money laundering. However, Liechtenstein implemented anti-money-laundering legislation and a Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty with the US that went into effect in 2003.[1]

Economical characteristics

  • Currency: Swiss franc (ISO code: CHF)
  • This country does not seem to have a central bank.


Statistics

Statistic / Year 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
GDP (million USD)[2] 2 664 2 484 2 492 2 689 3 071 3 455 3 658 3 809 4 160
Govt. debt (% of GDP)[3]
Govt. revenue (% of GDP)[4]
Govt. expenses (% of GDP)[5]
Debt to revenue (years)

References

Note: statistical data was rounded. Different sources may use different methodologies for their estimates. Debt to revenue is calculated by dividing the two variables from their original ('unrounded') values. It represents how long it would a government take to repay its entire debt if it used its whole revenue for this purpose.

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 CIA - The World Factbook. "Liechtenstein", from The World Factbook. Referenced 2010-09-29.
  2. World Bank. "Liechtenstein: GDP", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-29.
  3. World Bank. "Liechtenstein: government debt", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-29.
  4. World Bank. "Liechtenstein: government revenue", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-29.
  5. World Bank. "Liechtenstein: government expenses", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-29.

Links