Liechtenstein

Countries

History and etymology

The establishment of Liechtenstein goes back to 1719 during the Holy Roman Empire and in the year 1806, it became sovereign. The country was tied with Austria until the World War I did not come to an end. The low taxes of the nation have spurred an outstanding growth in economy since the Since World War II.

Previous Records and Medals

Since Liechtenstein is an alpine nation, therefore the winter sports are very much popular in the country. The country is having good players in sports like downhill skiing. The country won some medals in following events.

It won silver medal in the winter Olympics of 1980.
In the Giant Slalom event, the nation won a silver medal in 1980 and a bronze medal in 1984.

The country has won nine medals in Winter Olympics that is a great achievement.

Demography

After Vatican, San Marino and Monaco, Liechtenstein is counted as the 4th smallest nation in Europe. The population of the country is dominated by ethnic Alemannic.

Language

German is the official language of the country
German is also the main spoken language of the nation.

Religion

76% Roman Catholic
7% Protestant
4.8% Islam
4.1% undeclared
2.8% no religion.

Government and Politics

The current constitution of Liechtenstein was introduced in the October of 1921. The Princely House of Liechtenstein rules the constitutional monarchy. The stated is headed by the Princely House of Liechtenstein’s reigning prince. The parliamentary laws can be refused by the prince. He can call for referendums, suggest for new legislation and can also break up the parliament.

According to the constitution, the government posses certain features:

Minimum two members in the government must be selected from each two regions.
The government’s members are individually and collectively responsible for the parliament.
Before removing the entire government or an individual minister, the parliament is bound to ask the prince.

Culture

External culture has influences greatly the culture of Liechtenstein. The theatre and music is the main part of the country’s culture. Including Liechtenstein Musical Company, the International Josef Gabriel Rheinberger Society and the Annual Guitar Days, the country owns several musical organizations.

The Private Art Collection of the Prince of Lichtenstein is reputed at the world level as the private collections of art.

Economy and infrastructure

Though Liechtenstein is having natural resources in very limited quantity, but still it has many registered companies that are more in comparison of citizens. The country has developed into highly industrialized, prosperous, free capitalism in economy and achieved a boom in financial sector. The business taxes are very low in the country; 18% is the minimum rat of tax in the business that promotes many industries in the country. Some important points relevant to the country’s economy are:

It imports over 90% of energy requirements.
The country is the member of European Economic Area.
$1.786 billion is the GDP of the country.

Neighboring countries

The neighboring countries of the Principality of Liechtenstein are:

Switzerland at west
Austria at east.

Geographical setting

Liechtenstein is a landlocked country and is located at the Upper Rhine Valley in European Alps. The country’s western borders are completely formed by rivers. As the measurement is concerned, the nation is just about 24 Kilo Meter long for the north to the south. The eastern part of the nation is includes hilly area with few high peaks. Grauspitz is the highest point in the country as per geographical setting.

Freedom

Liechtenstein got its impendence in the year 1866 after becoming the member of German Confederation, 1815-1866.

Capital City

Vaduz is the capital city of Liechtenstein. The city is very important from the following points of view:

It is the home of the Prince Family
Seat of the parliament and the government.
The city owns the Vaduz Castle, the resident of Prince Family.

Total Population

As far as the population of Liechtenstein is concerned, it was estimated as 32,207 in the July 2000 that was only 31717 in the year 1998. The important fact about the population of the country is that it is dense; its density is estimated as 198 persons in each square kilometers.