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 German 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.
Area: 160 km2
Climate: continental; cold, cloudy winters with frequent snow or rain; cool to moderately warm, cloudy, humid summers
Natural resources: hydroelectric potential, arable land
Groups: Liechtensteiner 65.6%, Swiss 9.6%, Austrian 5.8%, German 4.5%, Italian 3.1%, other 11.4% (2021 est.)note: data represent population by nationality
Languages: German 91.5% (official, Alemannic is the main dialect), Italian 1.5%, Turkish 1.3%, Portuguese 1.1%, other 4.6% (2015 est.)major-language sample(s): Das World Factbook, die unverzichtbare Quelle für grundlegende Informationen. (German)The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.
Religions: Roman Catholic (official) 73.4%, Protestant Reformed 6.3%, Muslim 5.9%, Christian Orthodox 1.3%, Lutheran 1.2%, other Protestant 0.7%, other Christian 0.3%, other 0.8%, none 7%, unspecified 3.3% (2015 est.)
Capital: Vaduz
Government type: constitutional monarchy
Chief of state: Prince HANS-ADAM II (since 13 November 1989, assumed executive powers on 26 August 1984)
Head of government: Prime Minister Brigitte HAAS (since 10 April 2025)cabinet: Cabinet elected by the Parliament, confirmed by the monarchelection/appointment process: the monarchy is hereditary; following legislative elections, the monarch usually appoints the leader of the majority party in Parliament as the head of government, and also appoints the leader of the largest minority party in Parliament as the deputy head of government if there is a coalition governmentnote: the prince's successor is his son, Heir Apparent and Regent of Liechtenstein Prince ALOIS; on 15 August 2004, HANS-ADAM II transferred the official duties of the ruling prince to ALOIS, but Prince HANS-ADAM II retains the status of chief of state
Description: legislature name: Diet (Landtag)legislative structure: unicameralnumber of seats: 25 (all directly elected)electoral system: proportional representationscope of elections: full renewalterm in office: 4 yearsmost recent election date: 2/9/2025parties elected and seats per party: Patriotic Union (VU) (10); Progressive Citizens' Party (FBP) (7); Democrats for Liechtenstein (DpL) (6); Free List (FL) (2)percentage of women in chamber: 32%expected date of next election: February 2029
Information derived by "The World Factbook 2021. Washington, DC: Central Intelligence Agency, 2021. https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/"