Liechtenstein

• continental;
• cold, cloudy winters with frequent snow or rain;
• cool to moderately warm, cloudy, humid summers

mean elevation:

NA

elevation extremes:

lowest point: Ruggeller Riet 430 m

highest point:

Vorder-Grauspitz 2,599 m

agricultural land:

37.6%;

• arable land 18.8%;
• permanent crops 0%;
• permanent pasture 18.8%

forest:

43.1%

other:

19.3% (2011 est.)

party to:

Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified:

Law of the Sea

noun:

Liechtensteiner(s)

adjective:

Liechtenstein

at birth:

1.26 male(s)/female

0-14 years:

1.17 male(s)/female

15-24 years:

0.99 male(s)/female

25-54 years:

1 male(s)/female

55-64 years:

0.95 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.84 male(s)/female

total population:

0.99 male(s)/female (2016 est.)

conventional long form:

Principality of Liechtenstein

conventional short form:

Liechtenstein

local long form:

Fuerstentum Liechtenstein

local short form:

Liechtenstein

etymology:

• named after the Liechtenstein dynasty that purchased and united the counties of Schellenburg and Vaduz and that was allowed by the Holy Roman Emperor in 1719 to rename the new property after their family;
• the name in German means "light (bright) stone"

name:

Vaduz

geographic coordinates:

47 08 N, 9 31 E

time difference:

UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

daylight saving time:

+1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October

• 23 January 1719 (Principality of Liechtenstein established);
• 12 July 1806 (independence from the Holy Roman Empire);
• 24 August 1866 (independence from the German Confederation)

• National Day, 15 August (1940);
• note - a National Day was originally established in 1940 to combine celebrations for the Feast of the Assumption (15 August) with those honoring the birthday of former Prince Franz Josef II (1906-1989) whose birth fell on 16 August;
• after the prince's death, National Day became the official national holiday by law in 1990

history:

previous 1862; latest adopted 5 October 1921

amendments:

• proposed by Parliament, by the reigning prince (in the form of “Government” proposals), by petition of at least 1,500 qualified voters, or by at least four communes;
• passage requires unanimous approval of Parliament members in one sitting or three-quarters majority vote in two successive sittings;
• referendum required only if petitioned by at least 1,500 voters or by at least four communes;
• passage by referendum requires absolute majority of votes cast;
• amended several times, last in 2011 (2016)

citizenship by birth:

no

citizenship by descent only:

the father must be a citizen of Liechtenstein; in the case of a child born out of wedlock, the mother must be a citizen

dual citizenship recognized:

no

residency requirement for naturalization:

5 years

chief of state:

• Prince HANS-ADAM II (since 13 November 1989, assumed executive powers on 26 August 1984);
• Heir Apparent Prince ALOIS, son of the monarch (born 11 June 1968);
• note - on 15 August 2004, HANS-ADAM II transferred the official duties of the ruling prince to ALOIS, but HANS-ADAM II retains status of chief of state

head of government:

Prime Minister Adrian HASLER (since 27 March 2013)

cabinet:

Cabinet elected by the Parliament, confirmed by the monarch

elections/appointments:

the monarchy is hereditary; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party in the Parliament usually appointed the head of government by the monarch, and the leader of the largest minority party in the Landtag usually appointed the deputy head of government by the monarch if there is a coalition government

description:

unicameral Parliament or Landtag (25 seats; members directly elected in 2 multi-seat constituencies by proportional representation vote to serve 4-year terms)

elections:

last held on 5 February 2017 (next to be held in February 2021)

election results:

percent of vote by party - FBP 35.2%, VU 33.7%, DU 18.4% FL 12.6%; seats by party - FBP 9, VU 8, DU 5, FL 3

highest court(s):

Supreme Court or Oberster Gerichtshof (consists of 5 judges); Constitutional Court or Verfassungsgericht (consists of 5 judges and 5 alternates)

judge selection and term of office:

• judges of both courts elected by the Landtag and appointed by the monarch;
• Supreme Court judges serve 4-year renewable terms;
• Constitutional Court judges appointed for renewable 5-year terms

subordinate courts:

Court of Appeal or Obergericht (second instance), Court of Justice (first instance), Administrative Court, county courts

• Fatherland Union (Vaterlaendische Union) or VU [Guenther FRITZ]
• Progressive Citizens' Party (Fortschrittliche Buergerpartei) or FBP [Thomas BANZER]
• The Free List (Die Freie Liste) or FL [Pepo FRICK]
• The Independents (Die Unabhaengigen) or DU [Harry QUADERER]

chief of mission:

Ambassador Kurt JAEGER (since 16 December 2016)

chancery:

2900 K Street, NW, Suite 602B, Washington, DC 20007

telephone:

[1] (202) 331-0590

FAX:

[1] (202) 331-3221

• two equal horizontal bands of blue (top) and red with a gold crown on the hoist side of the blue band;
• the colors may derive from the blue and red livery design used in the principality's household in the 18th century;
• the prince's crown was introduced in 1937 to distinguish the flag from that of Haiti

name:

"Oben am jungen Rhein" (High Above the Young Rhine)

lyrics/music:

Jakob Joseph JAUCH/Josef FROMMELT

note: adopted 1850, revised 1963; uses the tune of "God Save the Queen"

agriculture:

0.8%

industry:

36.9%

services:

62.3% (2015)

lowest 10%:

NA%

highest 10%:

NA%

general assessment:

automatic telephone system

domestic:

fixed-line and mobile-cellular services widely available; combined telephone service subscribership exceeds 155 per 100 persons

international:

country code - 423; linked to Swiss networks by cable and microwave radio relay (2016)

• relies on foreign terrestrial and satellite broadcasters for most broadcast media services;
• first Liechtenstein-based TV station established August 2008;
• Radio Liechtenstein operates multiple radio stations;
• a Swiss-based broadcaster operates several radio stations in Liechtenstein (2008)

total:

9 km

standard gauge:

9 km 1.435-m gauge (electrified)

note: belongs to the Austrian Railway System connecting Austria and Switzerland (2008)

country comparison to the world: 136

total:

380 km

paved:

380 km (2012)

country comparison to the world: 203