]! ^! 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 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. Shortcomings in banking regulatory oversight have resulted in concerns about the use of the financial institutions for money laundering. Liechtenstein has, however, implemented new anti-money-laundering legislation and recently concluded a Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty with the US. 
]" ^" Central Europe, between Austria and Switzerland ^# 47 16 N, 9 32 E ^$ Europe ^% `! 160 sq km `" 160 sq km `# 0 sq km ^& about 0.9 times the size of Washington, DC ^' `! 76 km `U Austria 34.9 km, Switzerland 41.1 km ^( 0 km (doubly landlocked) ^) none (landlocked) ^* continental; cold, cloudy winters with frequent snow or rain; cool to moderately warm, cloudy, humid summers ^+ mostly mountainous (Alps) with Rhine Valley in western third ^, `% Ruggeller Riet 430 m `& Grauspitz 2,599 m ^- hydroelectric potential, arable land ^. `' 25% `( 0% `) 75% (2001) ^/ NA sq km ^0 NA ^1 NA _J `K 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 `L Law of the Sea ^2 along with Uzbekistan, one of only two doubly landlocked countries in the world; variety of microclimatic variations based on elevation 
]# ^3 33,717 (July 2005 est.) ^4 `* 17.6% (male 2,938/female 3,009) `+ 70.4% (male 11,795/female 11,927) `, 12% (male 1,685/female 2,363) (2005 est.) ^5 `! 39.22 years `- 38.74 years `. 39.68 years (2005 est.) ^6 0.82% (2005 est.) ^7 10.41 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) ^8 7.06 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) ^9 4.8 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) ^: `/ 1.01 male(s)/female `0 0.98 male(s)/female `+ 0.99 male(s)/female `, 0.71 male(s)/female `1 0.95 male(s)/female (2005 est.) ^; `! 4.7 deaths/1,000 live births `- 6.34 deaths/1,000 live births `. 3.05 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) ^< `1 79.55 years `- 75.96 years `. 83.16 years (2005 est.) ^= 1.51 children born/woman (2005 est.) ^> NA% ^? NA ^@ NA ^A `2 Liechtensteiner(s) `3 Liechtenstein ^B Alemannic 86%, Italian, Turkish, and other 14% ^C Roman Catholic 76.2%, Protestant 7%, unknown 10.6%, other 6.2% (June 2002) ^D German (official), Alemannic dialect ^E `M age 10 and over can read and write `1 100% `- 100% `. 100% 
]$ ^F `4 Principality of Liechtenstein `5 Liechtenstein `V Fuerstentum Liechtenstein `W Liechtenstein ^H hereditary constitutional monarchy on a democratic and parliamentary basis ^I Vaduz ^J 11 communes (Gemeinden, singular - Gemeinde); Balzers, Eschen, Gamprin, Mauren, Planken, Ruggell, Schaan, Schellenberg, Triesen, Triesenberg, Vaduz ^K 23 January 1719 (Principality of Liechtenstein established); 12 July 1806 (independence from the Holy Roman Empire) ^L Assumption Day, 15 August ^M 5 October 1921 ^N local civil and penal codes; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations ^O 18 years of age; universal ^P `6 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); note - on 15 August 2004, HANS ADAM transferred the official duties of the ruling prince to ALOIS, but HANS ADAM retains status of chief of state `7 Head of Government Ottmar HASLER (since 5 April 2001) and Deputy Head of Government Rita KIEBER-BECK (since 5 April 2001) `8 Cabinet elected by the parliament, confirmed by the monarch `9 none; the monarch is hereditary; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party in the Landtag is usually appointed the head of government by the monarch and the leader of the largest minority party in the Landtag is usually appointed the deputy head of government by the monarch ^Q unicameral Parliament or Landtag (25 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote under proportional representation to serve four-year terms) `9 last held 11 and 13 March 2005 (next to be held by NA 2009) `: percent of vote by party - FBP 48.7%, VU 38.2%, FL 13%; seats by party - FBP 12, VU 10, FL 3 ^R Supreme Court or Oberster Gerichtshof; Court of Appeal or Obergericht ^S Patriotic Union (was Fatherland Union) or VU [Heinz FROMMELT]; Progressive Citizens' Party or FBP [Johannes MATT]; The Free List or FL [Dr. Pepo FRICK, Elisabeth TELLENBACH-FRICK, Adolf RITTER] ^T NA ^U CE, EBRD, EFTA, IAEA, ICCt, ICRM, IFRCS, Interpol, IOC, ITU, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UPU, WCL, WIPO, WTO ^V `N Ambassador Claudia FRITSCHE `O 1300 Eye Street NW, Suite 550W, Washington, DC 20005 `P [1] (202) 216-0460 `Q [1] (202) 216-0459 ^W the US does not have an embassy in Liechtenstein, but the US Ambassador to Switzerland is also accredited to Liechtenstein ^X two equal horizontal bands of blue (top) and red with a gold crown on the hoist side of the blue band 
]% ^Y 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 its large European neighbors. The Liechtenstein economy is widely diversified with a large number of small businesses. Low business taxes - the maximum tax rate is 20% - and easy incorporation rules have induced many 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 the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) and the EU) since May 1995. The government is working to harmonize its economic policies with those of an integrated Europe. ^Z $825 million (1999 est.) ^[ 11% (1999 est.) ^\ purchasing power parity - $25,000 (1999 est.) ^] `; NA% `< 40% `= NA% (1999) ^^ 29,000 of whom 19,000 are foreigners; 13,000 commute from Austria, Switzerland, and Germany to work each day (31 December 2001) ^_ agriculture 1.3%, industry 47.4%, services 51.3% (31 December 2001 est.) ^` 1.3% (September 2002) ^a NA% _! `> NA% `? NA% _" 1% (2001) _# `@ $424.2 million `A $414.1 million, including capital expenditures of NA (1998 est.) _$ wheat, barley, corn, potatoes; livestock, dairy products _% electronics, metal manufacturing, dental products, ceramics, pharmaceuticals, food products, precision instruments, tourism, optical instruments _& NA% _/ $2.47 billion (1996) _0 small specialty machinery, connectors for audio and video, parts for motor vehicles, dental products, hardware, prepared foodstuffs, electronic equipment, optical products _1 EU 62.6% (Germany 24.3%, Austria 9.5%, France 8.9%, Italy 6.6%, UK 4.6%), US 18.9%, Switzerland 15.7% _2 $917.3 million (1996) _3 agricultural products, raw materials, machinery, metal goods, textiles, foodstuffs, motor vehicles _4 EU, Switzerland _5 $0 (2001) _6 none _7 Swiss franc (CHF) _8 Swiss francs per US dollar - 1.2435 (2004), 1.3467 (2003), 1.5586 (2002), 1.6876 (2001), 1.6888 (2000) _9 calendar year 
]& _: 19,900 (2002) _; 11,400 (2002) _< `B automatic telephone system `C NA `D country code - 423; linked to Swiss networks by cable and microwave radio relay _= AM 0, FM 4, shortwave 0 (1998) _> NA (linked to Swiss networks) (1997) _? .li _@ 3,727 (2004) _A 20,000 (2002) 
]' _B `! 250 km `E 250 km `F 0 km _b 28 km (2004) _[ gas 20 km (2004) _C none _D none (2004 est.) 
]( _G defense is the responsibility of Switzerland 
]) _H in February 2005, the ICJ refused to rule on the restitution of Liechtenstein's land and property assets in the Czech Republic confiscated in 1945 as German property _I has strengthened money-laundering controls, but money laundering remains a concern due to Liechtenstein sophisticated offshore financial services sector 