Liechtenstein

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

highest point:

Vorder-Grauspitz 2,599 m

lowest point:

Ruggeller Riet 430 m

agricultural land:

37.6% (2018 est.)

arable land:

18.8% (2018 est.)

permanent crops:

0% (2018 est.)

permanent pasture:

18.8% (2018 est.)

forest:

43.1% (2018 est.)

other:

19.3% (2018 est.)

noun:

Liechtensteiner(s)

adjective:

Liechtenstein

total:

44.1 years (2023 est.)

male:

42.3 years

female:

46 years

at birth:

1.25 male(s)/female

0-14 years:

1.25 male(s)/female

15-64 years:

0.99 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.85 male(s)/female

total population:

0.99 male(s)/female (2023 est.)

total:

4 deaths/1,000 live births (2023 est.)

male:

4.3 deaths/1,000 live births

female:

3.5 deaths/1,000 live births

total population:

82.8 years (2023 est.)

male:

80.5 years

female:

85.6 years

total population:

NA

male:

NA

female:

NA

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

agricultural land:

37.6% (2018 est.)

arable land:

18.8% (2018 est.)

permanent crops:

0% (2018 est.)

permanent pasture:

18.8% (2018 est.)

forest:

43.1% (2018 est.)

other:

19.3% (2018 est.)

urban population:

14.6% of total population (2023)

rate of urbanization:

1.15% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

carbon dioxide emissions:

0.05 megatons (2016 est.)

methane emissions:

0.02 megatons (2020 est.)

municipal solid waste generated annually:

32,382 tons (2015 est.)

municipal solid waste recycled annually:

20,919 tons (2015 est.)

percent of municipal solid waste recycled:

64.6% (2015 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

etymology:

may be a conflation from the Latin vallis (valley) and the High German diutisk (meaning "German") to produce Valdutsch ("German valley"), which over time simplified and came to refer specifically to Vaduz, the town

• 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 many times, last in 2020

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 and Regent of Liechtenstein 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 Daniel RISCH; Deputy Prime Minister Sabine MONAUNI (both since 25 March 2021)

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 Parliament usually appointed the head of government by the monarch, and the leader of the largest minority party in Parliament 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 open-list proportional representation vote to serve 4-year terms)

elections:

last held on 7 February 2021 (next to be held on 7 February 2025)

election results:

• percent of vote by party - FBP 40%, VU 40%, FL 12%, DpL 8%;
• seats by party - FBP 10, VU 10, FL 3, DpL 2;
• composition - men 18, women 7, percent of women 28%

highest court(s):

• Supreme Court or Supreme Court or Fürstlicher Oberster Gerichtshof (consists of 5 judges and 5 substitutes);
• Constitutional Court or Staatsgerichtshof (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 (second instance), Regional Court (first instance), Administrative Court, Tribunal Court, district courts

• Democrats for Liechtenstein (Demokraten pro Liechtenstein) or DpL [Thomas REHAK]
• Fatherland Union (Vaterlaendische Union) or VU [Thomas ZWIEFELHOFER]
• Progressive Citizens' Party (Fortschrittliche Buergerpartei) or FBP [Rainer GOPP]
• The Free List (Die Freie Liste) or FL [Daniel WALSER, Joy WALSER, Mauela HALDNER-SCHIERSCHER, Sebastian MEIER, Stefan BECKER]
• The Independents (Die Unabhaengigen) or DU [Harald "Harry" QUADERER]

chief of mission:

Ambassador Georg SPARBER (since 1 December 2021)

chancery:

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

telephone:

[1] (202) 331-0590

FAX:

[1] (202) 331-3221

email address and website:

[email protected]; https://www.liechtensteinusa.org/

• 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 King"

• high-income European economy;
• Schengen Area participant;
• key European financial leader;
• integrated with Swiss economy and franc currency user;
• one of the highest GDP per capita countries;
• relies on US and Eurozone markets for exports

agriculture:

0.8%

industry:

36.9%

services:

62.3% (2015)

lowest 10%:

NA

highest 10%:

NA

general assessment:

possesses a number of modern communications systems, some of which are shared with the neighboring country of Switzerland (2022)

domestic:

fixed-line roughly 30 per 100 and mobile-cellular services 126 per 100 (2021)

international:

country code - 423; linked to Swiss networks by cable and microwave radio relay; n

• 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 one radio station in Liechtenstein

total:

9 km (2018)

standard gauge:

9 km (2018) 1.435-m gauge (electrified)

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

total:

20 (2022)

by type:

bulk carrier 16, general cargo 1, other 3 (includes Switzerland)