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Red
Sea Management provides Liechtenstein offshore incorporation,
Liechtenstein offshore asset protection and a full range of services. |
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Report on
Liechtenstein
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| Background:
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The Principality of Liechtenstein was established within the Holy
Roman Empire in 1719; it became a sovereign state in 1806. Until the
end of World War I, it was closely tied to Austria, but the economic
devastation caused by that conflict forced Liechtenstein to conclude 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. However, shortcomings in banking
regulatory oversight have resulted in concerns about the use of the
financial institutions for money laundering.
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| Location:
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Central Europe, between Austria and Switzerland
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Geographic coordinates:
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47 10 N, 9 32 E
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| Map
references:
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Europe
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| Area: |
total: 160 sq km
land: 160 sq km
water: 0 sq km
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| Area -
comparative:
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about 0.9 times the size of Washington, DC
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| Land
boundaries: |
total: 76 km
border countries: Austria 35 km, Switzerland 41 km
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Coastline:
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0 km (landlocked)
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| Maritime
claims:
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none (landlocked)
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| Climate:
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continental; cold, cloudy winters with frequent snow or rain; cool to
moderately warm, cloudy, humid summers
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| Terrain:
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mostly mountainous (Alps) with Rhine Valley in western third
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| Elevation
extremes:
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lowest point: Ruggeller Riet 430 m
highest point: Grauspitz 2,599 m
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| Natural
resources:
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hydroelectric potential, arable land
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| Land use:
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arable land: 24%
permanent crops: 0%
permanent pastures: 16%
forests and woodland: 35%
other: 25% (1993 est.)
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| Irrigated
land:
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NA sq km
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| Natural
hazards:
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NA
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Environment - current issues:
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NA
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Environment - international agreements: |
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air
Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile
Organic Compounds, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification,
Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic
Pollutants, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Law of the Sea
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| Geography
- note:
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along with Uzbekistan, one of only two doubly landlocked countries in
the world; variety of microclimatic variations based on elevation
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Population: |
32,528 (July 2001 est.)
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| Age
structure: |
0-14 years: 18.41% (male 2,992; female 2,996)
15-64 years: 70.6% (male 11,455; female 11,511)
65 years and over: 10.99% (male 1,439; female 2,135) (2001 est.)
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Population growth rate:
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0.98% (2001 est.)
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| Birth
rate: |
11.53 births/1,000 population (2001 est.)
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| Death
rate: |
6.7 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.)
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| Net
migration rate: |
4.98 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.)
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| Sex
ratio: |
at birth: 1.01 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.67 male(s)/female
total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2001 est.)
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| Infant
mortality rate: |
4.99 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.)
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| Life
expectancy at birth: |
total population: 78.95 years
male: 75.32 years
female: 82.6 years (2001 est.)
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| Total
fertility rate: |
1.5 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS
- adult prevalence rate: |
NA%
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| HIV/AIDS
- people living with HIV/AIDS: |
NA |
| HIV/AIDS
- deaths:
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NA |
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Nationality: |
noun: Liechtensteiner(s)
adjective: Liechtenstein
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| Ethnic
groups:
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Alemannic 87.5%, Italian, Turkish, and other 12.5%
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Religions:
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Roman Catholic 80%, Protestant 7.4%, unknown 7.7%, other 4.9% (1996)
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Languages: |
German (official), Alemannic dialect
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| Literacy: |
definition: age 10 and over can read and write
total population: 100%
male: 100%
female: 100% (1981 est.)
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| Country
name:
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conventional long form: Principality of Liechtenstein
conventional short form: Liechtenstein
local long form: Fuerstentum Liechtenstein
local short form: Liechtenstein
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Government type:
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hereditary constitutional monarchy
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| Capital: |
Vaduz
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Administrative divisions:
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11 communes (gemeinden, singular - gemeinde); Balzers, Eschen, Gamprin,
Mauren, Planken, Ruggell, Schaan, Schellenberg, Triesen, Triesenberg,
Vaduz
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Independence: |
23 January 1719 Imperial Principality of Liechtenstein established; 12
July 1806 established independence from the Holy Roman Empire
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| National
holiday: |
Assumption Day, 15 August
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Constitution:
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5 October 1921
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| Legal
system: |
local civil and penal codes; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with
reservations
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| Suffrage:
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20 years of age; universal
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Executive branch:
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chief of state: Prince HANS ADAM II (since 13 November 1989, assumed
executive powers 26 August 1984); Heir Apparent Prince ALOIS, son of
the monarch (born 11 June 1968)
head of government: Head of Government Mario FRICK (since 15 December
1993) and Deputy Head of Government Michael RITTER (since 2 February
1997)
cabinet: Cabinet elected by the Diet; confirmed by the monarch
elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; following legislative
elections, the leader of the majority party in the Diet is usually
appointed the head of government by the monarch and the leader of the
largest minority party in the Diet is usually appointed the deputy
head of government by the monarch
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Legislative branch: |
unicameral Diet or Landtag (25 seats; members are elected by direct
popular vote under proportional representation to serve four-year
terms)
elections: last held on 9-11 February 2001 (next to be held by NA
2005)
election results: percent of vote by party - FBP 49.90%, VU 41.35%,
FL 8.71%; seats by party - FBP 13, VU 11, FL 1
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| Judicial
branch:
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Supreme Court or Oberster Gerichtshof; Superior Court or Obergericht
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| Political
parties and leaders: |
Fatherland Union or VU [Dr. Oswald KRANZ]; Progressive Citizens' Party
or FBP [Dr. Ernst WALCH]; The Free List or FL [Dr. Pepo FRICK, Karin
JENNY, Rene HASLER]
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| Political
pressure groups and leaders: |
NA
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International organization participation: |
CE, EBRD, ECE, EFTA, IAEA, ICRM, IFRCS, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ITU,
OPCW, OSCE, UN, UNCTAD, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO (observer), WIPO, WTrO
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Diplomatic representation in the US: |
Liechtenstein's Ambassador to the US, Claudia FRITSCHE, is dually
accredited to the UN in New York |
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Diplomatic representation from the US: |
the US does not have an embassy in Liechtenstein, but the US
Ambassador to Switzerland is also accredited to Liechtenstein
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| Flag
description: |
two equal horizontal bands of blue (top) and red with a gold crown on
the hoist side of the blue band
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| Economy
- overview:
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Despite its small size and limited natural resources, Liechtenstein
has developed into a prosperous, highly industrialized,
free-enterprise economy with a vital financial service sector and
living standards on a par with the urban areas of its large European
neighbors. Low business taxes - the maximum tax rate is 18% - and easy
incorporation rules have induced 73,700 holding or so-called letter
box companies to establish nominal offices in Liechtenstein, providing
30% of state revenues. The country participates in a customs union
with Switzerland and uses the Swiss franc as its national currency. It
imports more than 90% of its energy requirements. Liechtenstein has
been a member of the European Economic Area (an organization serving
as a bridge between European Free Trade Association (EFTA) and EU)
since May 1995. The government is working to harmonize its economic
policies with those of an integrated Europe.
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| GDP:
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purchasing power parity - $730 million (1998 est.)
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| GDP -
real growth rate: |
NA%
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| GDP - per
capita: |
purchasing power parity - $23,000 (1998 est.)
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| GDP -
composition by sector: |
agriculture: NA%
industry: NA%
services: NA%
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Population below poverty line: |
NA%
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| Household
income or consumption by percentage share: |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%
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| Inflation
rate (consumer prices): |
0.5% (1997 est.)
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| Labor
force: |
22,891 of which 13,847 are foreigners; 8,231 commute from Austria and
Switzerland to work each day
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| Labor
force - by occupation: |
industry, trade, and building 45%, services 53%, agriculture, fishing,
forestry, and horticulture 2% (1997 est.)
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Unemployment rate: |
1.8% (February 1999)
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| Budget:
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revenues: $424.2 million
expenditures: $414.1 million, including capital expenditures of $NA
(1998 est.)
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Industries: |
electronics, metal manufacturing, textiles, ceramics, pharmaceuticals,
food products, precision instruments, tourism
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Industrial production growth rate:
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NA%
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Electricity - production by source: |
fossil fuel: NA%
hydro: NA%
nuclear: NA%
other: NA% |
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Electricity - consumption: |
NA kWh
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Electricity - exports: |
NA kWh
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Electricity - imports: |
NA kWh
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Agriculture - products:
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wheat, barley, corn, potatoes; livestock, dairy products
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| Exports: |
$2.47 billion (1996)
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| Exports -
commodities: |
small specialty machinery, dental products, stamps, hardware, pottery
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| Exports -
partners: |
EU and EFTA countries 60.57% (Switzerland 15.7%) (1995)
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| Imports: |
$917.3 million (1996)
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| Imports -
commodities: |
machinery, metal goods, textiles, foodstuffs, motor vehicles
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| Imports -
partners: |
EU countries, Switzerland (1996)
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| Debt -
external: |
$0 (1996)
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| Economic
aid - recipient: |
none
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| Currency:
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Swiss franc (CHF)
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| Currency
code: |
CHF
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| Exchange
rates:
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Swiss francs per US dollar - 1.6303 (January 2001), 1.6888 (2000),
1.5022 (1999), 1.4498 (1998), 1.4513 (1997), 1.2360 (1996)
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| Fiscal
year: |
calendar year
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Telephones - main lines in use:
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20,000 (1997)
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Telephones - mobile cellular: |
NA |
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Telephone system: |
general assessment: automatic telephone system
domestic: NA
international: linked to Swiss networks by cable and microwave radio
relay
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| Radio
broadcast stations: |
AM 0, FM 4, shortwave 0 (1998)
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| Radios: |
21,000 (1997)
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Television broadcast stations: |
NA (linked to Swiss networks) (1997)
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Televisions: |
12,000 (1997)
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| Internet
country code: |
.li
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| Internet
Service Providers (ISPs): |
44 (Liechtenstein and Switzerland) (2000)
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| Internet
users: |
NA
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| Railways:
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total: 18.5 km; note - owned, operated, and included in statistics of
Austrian Federal Railways
standard gauge: 18.5 km 1.435-m gauge (electrified)
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| Highways: |
total: 250 km
paved: 250 km
unpaved: 0 km
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Waterways: |
none
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| Ports and
harbors: |
none
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| Airports: |
none
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| Military
- note: |
defense is the responsibility of Switzerland
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| Disputes
- international: |
Liechtenstein's royal family claims restitution for 1,600 sq km of
land in the Czech Republic confiscated in 1918
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| Illicit
drugs: |
multilateral organizations engaged in issuing international guidelines
for financial sector oversight have found gaps in Liechtenstein's
financial services controls that make it vulnerable to money
laundering
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