Liechtenstein
| 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.
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 CIA - The World Factbook. "Liechtenstein", from The World Factbook. Referenced 2010-09-29.
- ↑ World Bank. "Liechtenstein: GDP", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-29.
- ↑ World Bank. "Liechtenstein: government debt", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-29.
- ↑ World Bank. "Liechtenstein: government revenue", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-29.
- ↑ World Bank. "Liechtenstein: government expenses", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-29.
Links
- Liechtenstein on Wikipedia
- BBC country profile
- "Will Liechtenstein's Autonomy Prevail?" by Karen De Coster, April 2003
- Freedom and Prosperity in Liechtenstein: A Hoppean Analysis (pdf) by Andrew Young, 2010
- What We can Learn from Liechtenstein by Titus Gebel, September 2019
