View source for Liechtenstein

{{Short description|Microstate in Central Europe}}
{{other uses|Lichtenstein (disambiguation)}}
{{pp-move|small=yes}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2021}}
{{Infobox country
| conventional_long_name = Principality of Liechtenstein
| common_name            = Liechtenstein
| native_name            = {{native name|de|Fürstentum Liechtenstein}}
| image_flag             = Flag of Liechtenstein.svg
| image_coat             = Coat of arms of Liechtenstein.svg
| national_motto         = "Für Gott, Fürst und Vaterland"<br />"For God, Prince and Fatherland"
| national_anthem        = {{center|1=''[[Oben am jungen Rhein]]''<br />(English: "High on the Young Rhine")<div style="display:inline-block;margin-top:0.4em;">{{center|[[File:Oben am jungen Rhein, by the U.S. Navy Band.ogg]]}}</div>}}
| image_map              = Europe-Liechtenstein.svg
| map_caption            = {{map caption |location_color=green |region=Europe |region_color=agate grey |legend=Location Liechtenstein Europe.png}}
| image_map2             = Liechtenstein - Location Map (2013) - LIE - UNOCHA.svg
| capital                = [[Vaduz]]
| largest_settlement     = [[Schaan]]
<br />{{coord|47|10|00|N|9|30|35|E|display=inline}}
| largest_settlement_type = municipality
| official_languages     = [[Swiss Standard German|German]]
{{infobox|child=yes
|label1 = Nationality {{nobold|(2017)}}<ref>[https://www.llv.li/files/as/bevolkerungsstatistik-30-juni-2017.pdf Bevölkerungsstatistik 2017] Llv.li, p. 7</ref>
|data1 = {{unbulleted list|66.2 % [[Liechtensteiners]]|9.5 % [[Swiss people|Swiss]]|5.8 % [[Austrians]]|4.2 % [[Germans]]|3.1 % [[Italians]]|1.9 % [[Portuguese people|Portuguese]]|1.6 % [[Turkish people|Turks]]|1.1&nbsp;%&nbsp;[[Albanians]]|1.0 % [[Spaniards]]|5.6 % [[Demographics of Liechtenstein#Ethnic groups|other]]}}
}}
| religion_year          = 2020
| religion_ref           = <ref>{{Cite web |date=15 December 2022 |title=213.001d Ständige Bevölkerung nach Religion, Stichtag und Variable der Einheit |url=https://www.statistikportal.li/de/themen/bevoelkerung/bevoelkerungsstruktur |access-date=11 March 2024 |website=statistikportal.li |publisher=Amt Für Statistik Fürstentum Liechtenstein}}</ref>
| religion               = {{Plainlist|
{{Tree list}}
* 79.4 % [[Christianity]]
** 69.6 % [[Catholic Church in Liechtenstein|Catholicism]] ([[State religion|official]])
** 9.8 % other [[List of Christian denominations|Christian]]
{{Tree list/end}}
* 9.6 % [[Irreligion|no religion]]
* 6.0 % [[Islam in Liechtenstein|Islam]]
* 5.0 % [[Religion in Liechtenstein|other]]
}}
| demonym                = [[Liechtensteiner]]
| government_type        = Unitary parliamentary semi-[[constitutional monarchy]] with elements of a [[direct democracy]]
| leader_title1          = [[Monarchy of Liechtenstein|Monarch]]
| leader_name1           = [[Hans-Adam II, Prince of Liechtenstein|Hans-Adam II]]
| leader_title2          = [[Regent of Liechtenstein|Regent]] and [[Succession to the Liechtensteiner throne|Heir Apparent]]
| leader_name2           = [[Alois, Hereditary Prince of Liechtenstein|Alois]]
| leader_title3          = [[List of heads of government of Liechtenstein#Prime Minister (1921–present)|Prime Minister]]
| leader_name3           = [[Brigitte Haas]]
| leader_title4          = [[List of heads of government of Liechtenstein#Deputy head of government|Deputy Prime Minister]]
| leader_name4           = [[Sabine Monauni]]
| legislature            = [[Landtag of Liechtenstein|Landtag]]
| sovereignty_type       = Independence as [[principality]]
| established_event1     = {{nowrap|Union between<br />[[County of Vaduz|Vaduz]] and<br />[[Lordship of Schellenberg|Schellenberg]]}}
| established_date1      = 23 January 1719
| established_event2     = {{nowrap|[[Peace of Pressburg (1805)|Treaty of Pressburg]]}}
| established_date2      = 12 July 1806
| established_event3     = {{nowrap|Separation from<br />[[German Confederation]]}}
| established_date3      = 23 August 1866
| area_km2               = 160.50<ref>{{cite web|title=Liechtenstein in Figures 2024|url=https://www.statistikportal.li/statistikportal/publications/103-liechtenstein-in-figures/2024/01/1/103.2024.01.1_01_liechtenstein-in-figures-2024.pdf|website=statistikportal.li|publisher={{interlanguage link|Liechtensteinische Landesverwaltung|de}}|access-date=12 October 2024}}</ref>
| area_rank              = 190th <!-- Should match [[List of countries and dependencies by area]] -->
| area_sq_mi             = 61.97
| percent_water          = 2.7<ref>[http://www.llv.li/pdf-llv-as-jb_2011_1.1_geografie__raumnutzung_2011 Raum, Umwelt und Energie] {{webarchive |url= https://web.archive.org/web/20111012083302/http://www.llv.li/pdf-llv-as-jb_2011_1.1_geografie__raumnutzung_2011 |date=12 October 2011 }} Landesverwaltung Liechtenstein. Retrieved 2 October 2011.</ref>
| population_estimate    = {{increaseNeutral}} 41,232<ref name="auto">{{cite web |title=Bevölkerungsstand per 31. Dezember 2023|url=https://www.statistikportal.li/de/themen/bevoelkerung/bevoelkerungsstand|website=statistikportal.li|publisher={{interlanguage link|Liechtensteinische Landesverwaltung|de}} |access-date=12 October 2024}}</ref>
| population_estimate_year = 2023
| population_estimate_rank = 189th <!-- Should match [[List of countries and dependencies by area]] -->
| population_density_km2 = 249
| population_density_sq_mi = 645<!--Do not remove per [[WP:MOSNUM]]-->
| population_density_rank = 56th
| GDP_PPP                = {{increase}} $7.172 billion<ref name="TWF">{{cite web|title=Liechtenstein|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/liechtenstein/factsheets/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241025132614/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/liechtenstein/factsheets/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=25 October 2024 |publisher=[[Central Intelligence Agency]]|access-date=13 September 2025}}</ref>
| GDP_PPP_year           = 2024
| GDP_PPP_rank           = 169th
| GDP_PPP_per_capita     = {{increase}} $210,600<ref name="TWF"/>
| GDP_PPP_per_capita_rank = 
| GDP_nominal            = {{increase}} $8.288 billion<ref>{{cite web|title=GDP (current US$) - Liechtenstein|url=https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.MKTP.CD?locations=LI|website=data.worldbank.org|publisher=[[World Bank]]|access-date=13 September 2025}}</ref>
| GDP_nominal_year       = 2023
| GDP_nominal_rank       = 155th
| GDP_nominal_per_capita = {{increase}} $207,974<ref>{{cite web|title=GDP per capita (current US$) - Liechtenstein|url=https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.PCAP.CD?locations=LI|website=data.worldbank.org|publisher=[[World Bank]]|access-date=13 September 2025}}</ref>
| GDP_nominal_per_capita_rank = 
| Gini                   = <!--number only-->
| Gini_year              = 
| Gini_change            = <!--increase/decrease/steady-->
| Gini_ref               = 
| Gini_rank              = 
| HDI_year               = 2023 <!-- Please use the year to which the data refers, not the publication year-->
| HDI_change             = increase <!--increase/decrease/steady-->
| HDI                    = 0.938 <!--number only-->
| HDI_ref                = <ref>{{Cite web |date= 6 May 2025 |title=Human Development Report 2023/2024|url= https://hdr.undp.org/data-center/specific-country-data#/countries/LIE|access-date=6 May 2025|publisher=[[United Nations Development Programme]] |language=en}}</ref>
| HDI_rank               = 17th
| currency               = [[Swiss franc]]
| currency_code          = CHF
| time_zone              = [[Central European Time|CET]]
| utc_offset             = +01:00
| utc_offset_DST         = +02:00
| time_zone_DST          = [[Central European Time|CEST]]
| drives_on              = right
| calling_code           = [[Telephone numbers in Liechtenstein|+423]]
| cctld                  = [[.li]]
| footnote_a             = 
}}

'''Liechtenstein''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|l|ɪ|k|t|ən|s|t|aɪ|n}}, {{respell|LIK|-tən|styne}};<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/liechtenstein|title=Definition of 'Liechtenstein' |website=Collins English Dictionary}}</ref> {{IPA|de|ˈlɪçtn̩ʃtaɪn|pron|De-Liechtenstein.ogg}}; {{langx|gsw|Liachtaschta}}), officially the '''Principality of Liechtenstein''' ({{langx|de|link=no|Fürstentum Liechtenstein}} {{IPA|de|ˈfʏʁstn̩tuːm ˈlɪçtn̩ʃtaɪn||De-Fürstentum Liechtenstein.ogg}}),<ref>''Duden Aussprachewörterbuch'', s.v. "Liechtenstein[er]".</ref> is a [[Landlocked country#Doubly landlocked|doubly landlocked country]] in the Central European [[Alps]]. It is located between [[Austria]] to the east and north-east and [[Switzerland]] to the north-west, west and south.<ref>{{Cite journal |year=1992 |title=IGU regional conference on environment and quality of life in central Europe |journal=GeoJournal |volume=28 |issue=4 |page=483 |doi=10.1007/BF00273120 |bibcode=1992GeoJo..28..483. |s2cid=189889904}}</ref> Formed in 1719,<ref name="formed">{{cite web |url=https://fuerstenhaus.li/en/die-biographien-aller-fuersten/18-century/ |title=18th century: Das Fürstenhaus von Liechtenstein |website=fuerstenhaus.li |access-date=2025-05-20}}</ref> Liechtenstein became fully independent upon the dissolution of the [[German Confederation]] in 1866.<ref name="independent" /> Liechtenstein is a [[monarchy]] headed by the [[Monarchy of Liechtenstein|prince of Liechtenstein]]. [[Hans-Adam II, Prince of Liechtenstein]] has reigned over Liechtenstein since 1989.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-17536864|title=Liechtenstein profile - Leaders|date=28 March 2012|via=www.bbc.com}}</ref> Liechtenstein is [[List of European countries by area|Europe's fourth-smallest country]], with an area of just over {{convert|160|km2|abbr=off}} and a population of 41,389.<ref>[https://www.statistikportal.li/de/themen/bevoelkerung/bevoelkerungsstand]. Amt für Statistik. Liechtenstein. 26 September 2025</ref> It is the world's smallest country to border two countries,<ref>{{Cite web |title=The smallest countries in the world by area |url=https://www.countries-ofthe-world.com/smallest-countries.html |access-date=3 July 2018 |website=www.countries-ofthe-world.com |language=en}}</ref> and is one of the few countries with no debt.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The World Factbook |url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2079rank.html#ls |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190317104350/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2079rank.html#ls |archive-date=2019-03-17 |access-date=2017-05-07 |website=CIA |publisher=Central Intelligence Agency}}</ref> The official language of Liechtenstein is [[German language|German]].

Liechtenstein is divided into [[Municipalities of Liechtenstein|11 municipalities]]. Its capital is [[Vaduz]], and its largest municipality is [[Schaan]]. It is a member of the [[United Nations]], the [[European Free Trade Association]], and the [[Council of Europe]]. It is not a member state of the [[European Union]], but it participates in both the [[Schengen Area]] and the [[European Economic Area]]. It has a [[customs union]] and a [[monetary union]] with Switzerland, with its usage of the [[Swiss franc]]. A [[2003 Liechtenstein constitutional referendum|constitutional referendum]] in 2003 granted the [[Monarchy of Liechtenstein|monarch]] greater powers, including the power to dismiss the government, nominate judges and [[veto]] legislation.

Liechtenstein has a strong [[Financial services|financial sector]] centred in Vaduz. It was once known as a billionaire [[tax haven]], culminating in a [[2008 Liechtenstein tax affair|tax affair]] in 2008, but the principality has since made significant efforts to shed this reputation. An [[Alpine states|Alpine country]], Liechtenstein is mountainous, making it a [[winter sport]] destination.

== History ==
{{Main|History of Liechtenstein}}

=== Early history ===
[[File:Liechtenstein asv2022-10 img25 Balzers Burg Gutenberg.jpg|thumb|[[Gutenberg Castle]], Balzers, Liechtenstein]]
[[File:Castillo, Vaduz, Liechtenstein, 2022-10-23, DD 65.jpg|thumb|[[Vaduz Castle]], overlooking the capital, is home to the [[Hans-Adam II, Prince of Liechtenstein|Prince of Liechtenstein]].]]
[[File:Johann Josef I von Liechtenstein.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Johann I Joseph, Prince of Liechtenstein]] from 1805 to 1806 and 1814 to 1836, by [[Johann Baptist von Lampi the Elder]]. [[Liechtenstein Museum]], Vienna]]

The oldest traces of human existence in the area that later became Liechtenstein date back to the [[Middle Paleolithic]] era.<ref name="Early">[https://web.archive.org/web/20100419174957/http://www.swissworld.org/en/history/prehistory_to_romans/prehistoric_times/ History]. swissworld.org. Retrieved 27 June 2009</ref> [[Neolithic]] farming settlements appeared in the valleys around 5300 BCE.

The [[Hallstatt culture|Hallstatt]] and [[La Tène culture]]s flourished during the late [[Iron Age]], from around 450 BCE—possibly under some influence of both the [[Ancient Greek|Greek]] and [[Etruscan civilization|Etruscan]] civilisations. During the Iron Age and into the Roman era, the [[Vennones]] occupied the [[Alpine Rhine]] valley. In 58 BCE, at the [[Battle of Bibracte]], [[Julius Caesar]] defeated the Alpine tribes, thereby bringing the region under [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] subjugation. By 15 BCE, [[Tiberius]]—later the second Roman emperor—with his brother, [[Nero Claudius Drusus|Drusus]], conquered the entire Alpine area.<ref name="Römerzeit – Historisches Lexikon">{{Cite web |title=Römerzeit – Historisches Lexikon |url=https://historisches-lexikon.li/R%C3%B6merzeit |access-date=2023-01-05 |website=historisches-lexikon.li |language=de}}</ref>

The lands that would later become known as Liechtenstein then became integrated into the [[Roman province]] of [[Raetia]]. The area was garrisoned by the [[Imperial Roman army|Roman army]], which maintained large legionary camps at [[Bregenz|Brigantium]] (Bregenz, Austria), near [[Lake Constance]], and at [[Maienfeld|Magia]] (Maienfeld, Switzerland). The Romans built and maintained a [[Roman road|road]] which ran through the territory. Around 260 CE Brigantium was destroyed by the [[Alemanni]], a [[Germanic people]] who later settled in the area around 450.<ref name="Römerzeit – Historisches Lexikon"/>

In the [[Early Middle Ages]], the Alemanni settled the eastern [[Swiss plateau]] by the 5th century and the [[valleys of the Alps]] by the end of the 8th century. The territory that would later be known as Liechtenstein was located at the eastern edge of [[Alamannia]]. In the 6th century, the area became part of the [[Frankish Empire]] following [[Clovis I|Clovis&nbsp;I]]'s victory over the Alemanni at [[Tolbiac]] in 504.<ref name="Nationsencyclopedia">[http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/Europe/Switzerland-HISTORY.html Switzerland history] Nationsencyclopedia.com. Retrieved 27 November 2009</ref><ref name="Nationsonline">[http://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/History/Switzerland-history.htm History of Switzerland] Nationsonline.org. Retrieved 27 November 2009.</ref>

The area that later became Liechtenstein remained under Frankish hegemony ([[Merovingians|Merovingian]] and [[Carolingian Empire|Carolingian]] dynasties) until the [[Treaty of Verdun]] divided the Carolingian empire in 843, following the death of [[Charlemagne]] in 814.<ref name = Early /> The territory that later became Liechtenstein formed part of [[East Francia]] and would later be reunified with [[Middle Francia]] under the [[Holy Roman Empire]], around 1000.<ref name = Early /> Until about 1100, the predominant language of the area was [[Romansh language|Romansch]]; thereafter, [[German language|German]] began to gain ground in the territory. In 1300, another Alemannic population—the [[Walser]]s, who originated in [[Valais]]—entered the region and settled; the mountain village of [[Triesenberg]] today preserves features of the [[Walser German|Walser dialect]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Klieger |first=P. Christiaan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CrfwGa4aCwYC |title=The Microstates of Europe: Designer Nations in a Post-Modern World |publisher=Lexington Books |isbn=978-0-7391-7427-2 |series=Anthropology, political science |location=Lanham, Maryland |publication-date=2012 |page=41 |chapter=Principality of Liechtenstein |date=29 November 2012 |quote=In 1300, the Walsers, a mountain-dwelling Alemannic speaking group from Valais in Switzerland, entered and inhabited the modern eastern Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and Vorarlberg, Austria. The mountain village of Triesenberg is a modern preserve of the Walser people and their dialect. |access-date=27 January 2021}}</ref>

By 1200, dominions across the Alpine plateau were controlled by the Houses of [[House of Savoy|Savoy]], [[Zähringer]], [[Habsburg]], and [[House of Kyburg|Kyburg]]. Other regions were accorded the [[Imperial immediacy]] that granted the empire direct control over the mountain passes. When the Kyburg dynasty fell in 1264, the Habsburgs under [[Rudolph I of Germany|King Rudolph I]], the Holy Roman Emperor in 1273, extended their territory to the eastern Alpine plateau.<ref name = Nationsencyclopedia /> 

In 1396, [[Vaduz]], which would later become the southern region of Liechtenstein, gained [[imperial immediacy]], i.e. it became subject to the Holy Roman Emperor alone.<ref name="Eccardt 2005 176">{{Cite book |last=Eccardt |first=Thomas |title=Secrets of the Seven Smallest States of Europe |date=2005 |publisher=Hippocrene Books |isbn=978-0-7818-1032-6 |pages=176}}</ref>

=== Foundation of a dynasty ===
{{More sources|subsection|date=April 2025}}
The family from which Liechtenstein takes its name originally came from [[Liechtenstein Castle]] south of [[Vienna]] in [[Lower Austria]], which they had possessed since at least 1140 until the 13th century, and again from 1807 onwards. The Liechtensteins acquired land, predominantly in [[Moravia]], Lower Austria, [[Silesia]], and [[Duchy of Styria|Styria]]. As these territories were all held in [[Fee (feudal tenure)|feudal tenure]] from more senior feudal lords, particularly various branches of the [[House of Habsburg|Habsburgs]], the Liechtenstein dynasty was unable to meet a primary requirement to qualify for a seat in the Imperial Diet (parliament), the {{lang|de|[[Imperial Diet (Holy Roman Empire)|Reichstag]]}}. Even though several Liechtenstein princes served several Habsburg rulers as close advisers, without any territory held directly from the Imperial throne, they held little power in the Holy Roman Empire.{{cn|date=November 2024}}

For this reason, the family sought to acquire lands that would be classed as {{lang|de|unmittelbar}}, or held without any intermediate feudal tenure, directly from the [[Holy Roman Emperor]]. During the early 17th century, [[Karl I, Prince of Liechtenstein|Karl I of Liechtenstein]] was made a {{lang|de|Fürst}} (prince) by the Holy Roman Emperor [[Matthias, Holy Roman Emperor|Matthias]] after siding with him in a political battle.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Vaduz-Vienna |first=LIECHTENSTEIN The Princely Collections |title=Prince Karl I von Liechtenstein |url=https://www.liechtensteincollections.at/en/princes/prince-karl-i-von-liechtenstein |access-date=2025-04-19 |website=LIECHTENSTEIN. The Princely Collections, Vaduz–Vienna |language=en-gb}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=17th century {{!}} Das Fürstenhaus von Liechtenstein |url=https://fuerstenhaus.li/en/die-biographien-aller-fuersten/17-century/ |access-date=2025-04-19 |language=en-US}}</ref> [[Hans-Adam I, Prince of Liechtenstein|Hans-Adam I]] was allowed to purchase the minuscule [[Lordship of Schellenberg|{{lang|de|Herrschaft|nocat=y}} ('Lordship') of Schellenberg]] and the [[county of Vaduz]] (in 1699 and 1712, respectively) from the Hohenems. Tiny Schellenberg and Vaduz had exactly the political status required: no feudal superior ([[suzerain]]) other than the emperor.<ref name=":0" />

=== Principality of Liechtenstein ===
[[File:Herzogshut Liechtenstein (1).JPG|thumb|left|[[Ducal hat of Liechtenstein]]]]
On 23 January 1719,<ref name="creation">{{Cite web |title=History, creation of Liechtenstein |url=https://www.liechtenstein.li/en/country-and-people/history/creation-of-liechtenstein/ |access-date=1 April 2017 |website=liechtenstein.li |publisher=Liechtenstein Marketing |archive-date=10 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210310053248/https://www.liechtenstein.li/en/country-and-people/history/creation-of-liechtenstein/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> after the lands had been purchased, [[Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor]], decreed that Vaduz and Schellenberg were united and elevated the newly formed territory to the dignity of {{lang|de|Reichsfürstentum}} ([[Prince of the Holy Roman Empire|imperial principality]]) with the name "Liechtenstein" in honour of "[his] true servant, [[Anton Florian, Prince of Liechtenstein|Anton Florian of Liechtenstein]]". On this date, Liechtenstein became a [[Landeshoheit|mostly-sovereign]] [[Imperial immediacy|immediate]] member state of the [[Holy Roman Empire]].<ref name="creation" />

By the early 19th century, as a result of the [[Napoleonic Wars]] in Europe, the Holy Roman Empire came under the effective control of France, following the crushing defeat at [[Battle of Austerlitz|Austerlitz]] by [[Napoleon]] in 1805. In 1806, Emperor [[Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor|Francis II]] abdicated and [[dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire|dissolved the Holy Roman Empire]], ending more than 960 years of feudal government. Napoleon reorganized much of the Empire into the [[Confederation of the Rhine]]. This political restructuring had broad consequences for Liechtenstein: the historical imperial, legal, and political institutions had been dissolved. The state ceased to owe an obligation to any feudal lord beyond its borders.<ref name="creation" />

Due to these events, the prince of Liechtenstein ceased to owe an obligation to any [[Suzerainty|suzerain]]. From 25 July 1806, when the [[Confederation of the Rhine]] was founded, the Prince of Liechtenstein was a member, in fact a vassal, of its [[hegemon]], styled ''protector'', the French Emperor Napoleon I, until the dissolution of the confederation on 19 October 1813. Soon afterward, Liechtenstein joined the [[German Confederation]] (20 June 1815{{spaced ndash}}23 August 1866), which was presided over by the [[Emperor of Austria]].

In 1818, [[Johann I Joseph, Prince of Liechtenstein|Prince Johann I]] granted the territory a limited constitution. In that same year [[Aloys II, Prince of Liechtenstein|Prince Aloys]] became the first member of the House of Liechtenstein to set foot in the principality that bore their name. The next visit would not occur until 1842.

Upon the dissolution of the German Confederation in 1866, Liechtenstein became fully independent.<ref name="independent">{{Cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/about/archives/2021/countries/liechtenstein/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221008074740/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/about/archives/2021/countries/liechtenstein|url-status=dead|archive-date=8 October 2022|title=Liechtenstein - The World Factbook|website=www.cia.gov|access-date=November 12, 2025}}</ref>

The Liechtenstein Army was abolished for financial reasons<ref name=":9" /> in February 1868.<ref name=":10" /> 

Other developments during the 19th century included the following:
* 1872: A [[Feldkirch–Buchs railway|railway line]] between Switzerland and the Austro-Hungarian Empire was constructed through Liechtenstein.
* 1884: [[Johann II, Prince of Liechtenstein|Johann II]] appointed [[Carl von In der Maur]], an Austrian aristocrat, to serve as the [[Prime Minister of Liechtenstein|Governor of Liechtenstein]].
* 1886: Two bridges over the Rhine to Switzerland were built.

=== 20th and 21st centuries ===
Until the end of [[World War I]], Liechtenstein was closely tied first to the [[Austrian Empire]] and later to [[Austria-Hungary]]; the ruling princes continued to derive much of their wealth from estates in the Habsburg territories, and spent much of their time at their two palaces in Vienna. During World War I it did officially stay neutral, but was dependent on its neighbours and some, like [[Prince Heinrich of Liechtenstein]] got involved working for Austria-Hungary. The economic devastation caused by World War I forced the country to conclude a [[Liechtenstein–Switzerland relations#Cooperation|customs and monetary union]] with its other neighbour, [[Switzerland]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Marxer |first=Roland |date=31 December 2011 |title=Zollanschlussvertrag |url=https://historisches-lexikon.li/Zollanschlussvertrag |access-date=25 October 2023 |website=Historisches Lexikon |language=de}}</ref> In addition, popular unrest caused from economic devastation in the war directly led to the [[November 1918 Liechtenstein putsch]], which created the process of a [[Constitution of Liechtenstein|new constitution]] based on [[constitutional monarchy]] being introduced in 1921.<ref name=":02">{{Cite web |last=Quaderer |first=Rupert |date=31 December 2011 |title=Novemberputsch 1918 |url=https://historisches-lexikon.li/Novemberputsch_1918 |access-date=3 October 2023 |website=[[Historisches Lexikon des Fürstentums Liechtenstein]] |language=de}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Wille |first=Herbert |date=31 December 2011 |title=Verfassung |url=https://historisches-lexikon.li/Verfassung |access-date=24 December 2023 |website=[[Historisches Lexikon des Fürstentums Liechtenstein]] |language=de}}</ref>

In 1929, 75-year-old [[Franz I, Prince of Liechtenstein|Prince Franz I]] succeeded to the throne. He had just married [[Elisabeth von Gutmann]], a wealthy woman from Vienna whose father was a Jewish businessman from Moravia. Although Liechtenstein had no official [[Nazi party]], a Nazi sympathy movement arose within its National Union party. [[German National Movement in Liechtenstein|Local Liechtenstein Nazis]] identified Elisabeth as their Jewish "problem".<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=11 April 1938 |title=Liechtenstein: Nazi Pressure? |magazine=Time |location=New York |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,759431,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070309222117/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,759431,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=9 March 2007 |access-date=26 May 2010}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=1 April 1938 |title=NAZIS IN CABINET IN LIECHTENSTEIN; Prince Franz Joseph, the New Ruler, Names Them Though Pledging Independence HITLER MOVEMENT GAINS Its Growing Strength Was One Reason for Abdication of Franz 1, Old Sovereign |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1938/04/01/archives/nazis-in-cabinet-in-liechtenstein-prince-franz-joseph-the-new-ruler.html |access-date=16 May 2023}}</ref> Pro-Nazi agitation remained in Liechtenstein throughout the 1930s.

In March 1938, just after the [[Anschluss|annexation of Austria by Nazi Germany]], Franz named as regent his 31-year-old grandnephew and heir-presumptive, [[Franz Joseph II, Prince of Liechtenstein|Prince Franz Joseph]]. After making his grandnephew regent he moved to [[Valtice|Feldsberg]], [[Czechoslovakia]] and on 25 July, he died while at one of his family's castles, Castle Feldberg, and Franz Joseph formally succeeded him as the Prince of Liechtenstein.<ref name="franz life">{{Cite news |date=1 May 1938 |title=Prince Franz of the 'Postage Stamp State' Retires |page=76 |work=St. Louis Post-Dispatch |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/49181566/st-louis-post-dispatch/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200421002324/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/49181566/st-louis-post-dispatch/ |archive-date=21 April 2020 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=1 April 1938 |title=Prince Franz to Return to Estate |page=216 |work=Daily News |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/49180180/daily-news/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200420235228/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/49180180/daily-news/ |archive-date=20 April 2020 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=26 July 1938 |title=Oldest Former Ruler Succumbs |page=1 |work=Kenosha News |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/49178617/kenosha-news/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200420233456/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/49178617/kenosha-news/ |archive-date=20 April 2020 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref>

In March 1939 a [[1939 Liechtenstein putsch|coup was attempted]] while [[Franz Joseph II, Prince of Liechtenstein|Franz Joseph II]] was on a state visit to [[Berlin]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=27 April 1939 |title=Liechtenstein Jails Nazi For Attempt at Uprising |work=The New York Times |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1939/04/27/91573866.html |access-date=18 May 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=27 March 2019 |title=Prince Franz Josef II visits Adolf Hitler in Berlin |url=https://www.liechtenstein-institut.li/news/furst-franz-josef-ii-besucht-adolf-hitler-berlin |access-date=17 May 2023 |website=Liechtenstein-Institut |language=de}}</ref>

[[File:Franz I Portrait.jpg|thumb|231x231px|[[Franz I, Prince of Liechtenstein]] from 1929 to 1938]]
[[File:Fürst Franz Josef II..jpg|thumb|223x223px|[[Franz Joseph II, Prince of Liechtenstein]] from 1938 to 1989]]

During [[World War II]], Liechtenstein remained officially neutral, looking to neighbouring Switzerland for assistance and guidance, while family treasures from dynastic lands and possessions in [[Bohemia]], [[Moravia]], and [[Silesia]] were taken to Liechtenstein for safekeeping. [[Operation Tannenbaum]], the Nazi plan for conquest of Switzerland, also included Liechtenstein, and the Nazi "Pan German" dream of uniting all German-speakers in the Reich would have also included the population of Liechtenstein. However in 1944, the Nazis abandoned implementing this plan after the [[Normandy landings|Allied invasion of France]], and Liechtenstein was spared from enduring a Nazi occupation.{{cn|date=May 2025}}

At the close of the conflict, [[Third Czechoslovak Republic|Czechoslovakia]] and [[Provisional Government of National Unity|Poland]], acting to seize what they considered German possessions, expropriated all of the Liechtenstein dynasty's properties in those three regions.<ref>{{Cite web |date=21 April 2023 |title=Prince Franz Josef II Von Und Zu Liechtenstein |url=https://www.liechtensteincollections.at/en/princes/prince-franz-josef-ii-von-und-zu-liechtenstein |access-date=21 April 2023 |website=Liechtenstein The Princely Collections |language=de}}</ref> The expropriations (subject to [[Foreign relations of Liechtenstein#International dispute with Czechoslovakia, Czech Republic and Slovakia|modern legal dispute]] at the [[International Court of Justice]]) included over {{convert|1600|km2|sqmi|0|abbr=on}} of agricultural and forest land (most notably the UNESCO listed [[Lednice–Valtice Cultural Landscape]]), and several family castles and palaces.

Liechtenstein was in dire financial straits following the end of World War II. The Liechtenstein dynasty often resorted to selling family artistic treasures, including the portrait ''[[Ginevra de' Benci]]'' by [[Leonardo da Vinci]], which was purchased by the [[National Gallery of Art]] of the United States in 1967 for {{US$|link=yes}}5&nbsp;million (${{Inflation|US|5|1967}} million in {{Inflation-year|US}} dollars),<ref>{{Cite book |last=Congress |first=United States |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qT04AQAAMAAJ&dq=Ginevra+de%27+Benci++liechtenstein+5+million&pg=PA791 |title=Congressional Record: Proceedings and Debates of the ... Congress |date=1967 |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |language=en}}</ref> then a record price for a painting.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=q0dNAAAAYAAJ&q=Ginevra+de'+Benci++liechtenstein+5+million |title=Guinness Book of World Records |date=1972 |publisher=Sterling Publishing Company |language=en}}</ref>

Citizens of Liechtenstein were forbidden to enter Czechoslovakia during the [[Cold War]]. The diplomatic conflict revolving around the controversial postwar [[Beneš decrees]] resulted in Liechtenstein not having international relations with the [[Czech Republic]] or [[Slovakia]]. Diplomatic relations were established between Liechtenstein and the Czech Republic on 13 July 2009,<ref>{{Cite web |date=13 July 2009 |title=Liechtenstein and the Czech Republic establish diplomatic relations |url=http://88.82.102.51/fileadmin/_pm.liechtenstein.li/en/090713_PM_Beziehungen_CzFl_en.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511222932/http://88.82.102.51/fileadmin/_pm.liechtenstein.li/en/090713_PM_Beziehungen_CzFl_en.pdf |archive-date=11 May 2011 |access-date=6 August 2009 |publisher=Government Spokesperson's Office, the Principality of Liechtenstein}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=13 July 2009 |title=Navázání diplomatických styků České republiky s Knížectvím Lichtenštejnsko |trans-title=Establishment of diplomatic relations with the Czech Republic and the Principality of Liechtenstein |url=https://www.mzv.cz/jnp/cz/udalosti_a_media/prohlaseni_a_stanoviska/archiv_prohlaseni_a_stanovisek/archiv_2009/x2009_07_13_lilchtejnstejnsko_navazani_diplomatickych_vztahu.html |access-date=28 October 2011 |publisher=Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic |language=cs}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=15 July 2009 |title=MINA Breaking News – Decades later, Liechtenstein and Czechs establish diplomatic ties |url=http://macedoniaonline.eu/content/view/7526/1/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091121070018/http://macedoniaonline.eu/content/view/7526/1 |archive-date=21 November 2009 |access-date=6 June 2010 |publisher=Macedoniaonline.eu}}</ref> and with Slovakia on 9 December 2009.<ref>{{Cite web |date=9 December 2009 |title=Liechtenstein and the Slovak Republic establish diplomatic relations |url=http://88.82.102.51/fileadmin/_pm.liechtenstein.li/en/091209_Beziehungen_SKFL_en.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511222920/http://88.82.102.51/fileadmin/_pm.liechtenstein.li/en/091209_Beziehungen_SKFL_en.pdf |archive-date=11 May 2011 |access-date=22 December 2009 |publisher=Government Spokesperson's Office, the Principality of Liechtenstein}}</ref>

On 20 September 1990, Liechtenstein was admitted into the [[United Nations]] as 160th member state. As a member of the [[United Nations General Assembly]], the microstate is one of the few not to play a prominent role in [[List of specialized agencies of the United Nations|UN-specialized agencies]].{{cn|date=May 2025}}

The [[Constitution of Liechtenstein]] was [[Liechtenstein constitutional referendum, 2003|amended in March 2003]] to give additional powers to the monarch.<ref name="absolute">{{Cite news |date=8 March 2017 |title=Liechtenstein profile - Overview |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-17535108 |access-date=2023-09-03}}</ref>

In 2004, Prince Hans-Adam II transferred day-to-day governmental duties to his eldest son [[Alois, Hereditary Prince of Liechtenstein|Hereditary Prince Alois]] as [[regent]], as his father had done to him in 1984 to prepare him for the role of Prince.<ref>{{Cite web |title=IFES Election Guide {{!}} Elections: Liechtenstein Parliamentary Mar 11 2005 |url=https://www.electionguide.org/elections/id/1407/ |access-date=2023-12-13 |website=www.electionguide.org}}</ref>

In 2005, a government-commissioned investigation revealed that Jewish slave labourers from the [[Strasshof an der Nordbahn|Strasshof]] [[concentration camp]], provided by the [[Schutzstaffel|SS]], had worked on estates in Austria owned by Liechtenstein's Princely House.<ref>{{Cite news |date=14 April 2005 |title=Nazi crimes taint Liechtenstein |work=BBC News |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4443809.stm |access-date=3 August 2017}}</ref> The report indicated that though no evidence was found of the House's knowledge of the slave labour, the House bore responsibility.<ref>{{cite web |date=14 April 2005 |title=Nazi Camp Labor Used in Liechtenstein |url=https://www.dw.com/en/nazi-camp-labor-used-in-liechtenstein/a-1552304 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180113070110/https://www.dw.com/en/nazi-camp-labor-used-in-liechtenstein/a-1552304 |archive-date=13 January 2018 |website=[[Deutsche Welle]]}}</ref>

In April 2025, Liechtenstein elected its first female prime minister, [[Brigitte Haas]].

== Geography ==
{{Main|Geography of Liechtenstein}}

[[File:Liechtenstein topographic map-de.png|thumb|upright=1.4|Topographic map of Liechtenstein in German]]
[[File:Rhein bei Balzers - Blick auf Gonzen.JPG|thumb|left|The [[Alpine Rhine]] border between Liechtenstein and Switzerland (view towards the [[Swiss Alps]])]]

Liechtenstein is situated in the Upper [[Rhine]] valley of the European [[Alps]] and is bordered to the east by the Austrian state of [[Vorarlberg]], to the south by the [[canton of Grisons]] (Switzerland) and to the west by the [[canton of St. Gallen]] (Switzerland). The Rhine forms the entire western border of Liechtenstein. Measured south to north the country is about {{convert|24|km|0|abbr=on}} long. In 1943, an [[Liechtenstein inland canal|inland canal]] was built in the country connecting to the Rhine.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Gewässer – Revitalisierungsprojekte in Liechtenstein, Liechtensteiner Binnenkanal (LBK) |url=https://archiv.llv.li/files/au/pdf-llv-au-flyer_lbk_gesamt.pdf |access-date=7 February 2024 |website=Regierung des Fürstentums Liechtenstein |language=de}}</ref>

Its highest point, [[Grauspitz]], is {{convert|2599|m|0|abbr=on}}. Despite its Alpine location, prevailing southerly winds make the climate comparatively mild. In winter, the mountain slopes are well suited to winter sports. New [[surveying|surveys]] using more accurate measurements of the country's borders in 2006 have set its area at {{convert|160|km2|0|abbr=on}}, with borders of {{convert|77.9|km|1|abbr=on}}.<ref>[https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna16381664 "Tiny Liechtenstein gets a little bigger"], 29 December 2006.</ref> Liechtenstein's borders are {{convert|1.9|km|1|abbr=on}} longer than previously thought.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6215825.stm "Liechtenstein redraws Europe map"]. ''BBC News''. 28 December 2006.</ref>

Liechtenstein is one of the world's two [[doubly landlocked country|doubly landlocked countries]]<ref name="LiechCIA">{{Cite web |title=Liechtenstein |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/liechtenstein/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260115003126/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/liechtenstein/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=15 January 2026 |access-date=3 August 2017 |website=The World Factbook |publisher=Central Intelligence Agency}}</ref> – countries wholly surrounded by other landlocked countries (the other is [[Uzbekistan]]). Liechtenstein is the [[List of countries and dependencies by area|sixth-smallest]] sovereign state in the world by area.

The principality of Liechtenstein is [[Municipalities of Liechtenstein|divided into 11 communes]] called {{lang|de|Gemeinden}} (singular {{lang|de|Gemeinde}}). The {{lang|de|Gemeinden}} mostly consist of only a single town or village. Five of them ([[Eschen]], [[Gamprin]], [[Mauren]], [[Ruggell]], and [[Schellenberg]]) fall within the electoral district ''[[Unterland (electoral district)|Unterland]]'' (the lower county), and the remainder ([[Balzers]], [[Planken]], [[Schaan]], [[Triesen]], [[Triesenberg]], and [[Vaduz]]) within ''[[Oberland (electoral district)|Oberland]]'' (the upper county).

The World Bank did not include Liechtenstein on its list of 50 "[[small states]]" by its inclusion criteria.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://thedocs.worldbank.org/en/doc/922761504726183951-0290022020/original/CountrylinksofSmallStates.pdf|title=Wayback Machine|website=thedocs.worldbank.org}}</ref>

=== Climate ===
[[File:Vaduz, Liechtenstein. Schweize Gebirge im Hintergrund - panoramio.jpg|thumb|upright=1.15|Panorama of [[Vaduz]], capital of Liechtenstein]]

Despite its [[Alpine climate|alpine]] location, the prevailing southerly winds temper Liechtenstein's climate. Its climate is continental, with cloudy and cold winters, with frequent rain and snowfall. Summers are cool to slightly warm, cloudy, and humid.{{cn|date=November 2024}}

The country's climate is relatively mild despite its mountainous location. It is strongly influenced by the action of [[foehn]] (warm and dry autumn wind), so the vegetation period is prolonged in spring and autumn and temperatures around {{convert|15|°C}} due to the strong foehn are not uncommon even in winter. The mountain ranges of [[Switzerland]] and the Vorarlberg upstream protect from the cold polar and Atlantic air, creating a typical alpine inland protective layer. The principality has orchards with leafy meadows and a long tradition of [[viticulture]]. Liechtenstein's small land area hardly plays a role in climatic differences, but the vertical division into different altitudes is of great importance, so that significant climatic differences arise.{{cn|date=November 2024}}

In [[winter]] the temperature rarely drops below {{convert|-15|°C}}, while in summer the average temperatures range between {{convert|20|and|28|°C}}. Annual precipitation measurements amount to an average of about {{convert|900|to|1200|mm}}, in the direct alpine region, however, [[precipitation]] is often up to {{cvt|1900|mm}}. The average duration of sunshine is about 1600 hours per year.

{{Weather box
|width = auto
|collapsed = Yes
|location = Vaduz (1991–2020)
|metric first = Yes
|single line = Yes
| Jan high C = 5.0
| Feb high C = 6.8
| Mar high C = 11.8
| Apr high C = 16.0
| May high C = 20.1
| Jun high C = 23.2
| Jul high C = 24.9
| Aug high C = 24.3
| Sep high C = 20.0
| Oct high C = 15.7
| Nov high C = 9.5
| Dec high C = 5.5
| year high C = 15.2
| Jan mean C = 1.4
| Feb mean C = 2.7
| Mar mean C = 6.8
| Apr mean C = 10.7
| May mean C = 14.7
| Jun mean C = 17.9
| Jul mean C = 19.4
| Aug mean C = 19.1
| Sep mean C = 15.0
| Oct mean C = 11.1
| Nov mean C = 5.7
| Dec mean C = 2.2
| year mean C = 10.6
| Jan low C = -2.0
| Feb low C = -1.1
| Mar low C = 2.3
| Apr low C = 5.6
| May low C = 9.7
| Jun low C = 13.0
| Jul low C = 14.6
| Aug low C = 14.6
| Sep low C = 10.8
| Oct low C = 6.9
| Nov low C = 2.2
| Dec low C = -1.1
| year low C = 6.3
| precipitation colour = green
| Jan precipitation mm = 41
| Feb precipitation mm = 34
| Mar precipitation mm = 54
| Apr precipitation mm = 57
| May precipitation mm = 90
| Jun precipitation mm = 116
| Jul precipitation mm = 130
| Aug precipitation mm = 144
| Sep precipitation mm = 96
| Oct precipitation mm = 68
| Nov precipitation mm = 56
| Dec precipitation mm = 54
| year precipitation mm = 940
| Jan snow cm = 14.2
| Feb snow cm = 14.4
| Mar snow cm = 6.4
| Apr snow cm = 0.4
| May snow cm = 0.0
| Jun snow cm = 0.0
| Jul snow cm = 0.0
| Aug snow cm = 0.0
| Sep snow cm = 0.0
| Oct snow cm = 0.0
| Nov snow cm = 4.7
| Dec snow cm = 11.9
| year snow cm = 52.0
| unit precipitation days = 1.0 mm
| Jan precipitation days = 7.4
| Feb precipitation days = 6.6
| Mar precipitation days = 9.0
| Apr precipitation days = 8.9
| May precipitation days = 11.8
| Jun precipitation days = 12.9
| Jul precipitation days = 13.2
| Aug precipitation days = 13.3
| Sep precipitation days = 10.1
| Oct precipitation days = 8.7
| Nov precipitation days = 8.7
| Dec precipitation days = 8.7
| year precipitation days = 119.3
| unit snow days = 1.0 cm
| Jan snow days = 3.9
| Feb snow days = 3.9
| Mar snow days = 2.1
| Apr snow days = 0.2
| May snow days = 0.0
| Jun snow days = 0.0
| Jul snow days = 0.0
| Aug snow days = 0.0
| Sep snow days = 0.0
| Oct snow days = 0.0
| Nov snow days = 1.4
| Dec snow days = 3.3
| year snow days = 14.8
| Jan humidity = 75
| Feb humidity = 69
| Mar humidity = 66
| Apr humidity = 63
| May humidity = 67
| Jun humidity = 70
| Jul humidity = 71
| Aug humidity = 74
| Sep humidity = 76
| Oct humidity = 76
| Nov humidity = 77
| Dec humidity = 77
| year humidity = 72
| Jan sun = 72
| Feb sun = 92
| Mar sun = 131
| Apr sun = 156
| May sun = 168
| Jun sun = 181
| Jul sun = 197
| Aug sun = 183
| Sep sun = 147
| Oct sun = 114
| Nov sun = 67
| Dec sun = 53
| year sun = 1563
| Jan percentsun = 40
| Feb percentsun = 44
| Mar percentsun = 47
| Apr percentsun = 49
| May percentsun = 46
| Jun percentsun = 48
| Jul percentsun = 52
| Aug percentsun = 54
| Sep percentsun = 52
| Oct percentsun = 48
| Nov percentsun = 36
| Dec percentsun = 34
| year percentsun = 47
|source 1 = [[MeteoSwiss]] (snow 1981–2010)<ref name=MeteoSwiss>{{cite web 
| url = https://www.meteoswiss.admin.ch/product/output/climate-data/climate-diagrams-normal-values-station-processing/VAD/climsheet_VAD_np9120_e.pdf 
| title = Climate Normals Vaduz (Reference period 1991−2020) 
| publisher = Swiss Federal Office of Meteorology and Climatology, MeteoSwiss 
| date = 13 January 2022 
| access-date = 13 January 2022 
| archive-date = 18 August 2022 
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220818231342/https://www.meteoswiss.admin.ch/product/output/climate-data/climate-diagrams-normal-values-station-processing/VAD/climsheet_VAD_np9120_e.pdf 
| url-status = dead 
}}</ref><ref name=MeteoSwiss1981>{{cite web 
| url = https://www.meteoswiss.admin.ch/product/output/climate-data/climate-diagrams-normal-values-station-processing/VAD/climsheet_VAD_np8110_e.pdf 
| title = Climate Normals Vaduz (Reference period 1981−2010) 
| publisher = Swiss Federal Office of Meteorology and Climatology, MeteoSwiss 
| date = 13 January 2022 
| access-date = 13 January 2022 
| archive-date = 25 July 2022 
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220725001826/https://www.meteoswiss.admin.ch/product/output/climate-data/climate-diagrams-normal-values-station-processing/VAD/climsheet_VAD_np8110_e.pdf 
| url-status = dead 
}}</ref>
|date=August 2010
}}

=== Rivers and lakes ===
{{Main|List of rivers of Liechtenstein}}

The [[Rhine]] is the longest and largest [[body of water]] in Liechtenstein. With a length of approximately {{convert|27|km}}, it represents the [[natural border]] with [[Switzerland]] and is of great importance for Liechtenstein's water supply. Furthermore, the Rhine is an important recreational area for the population. 

At {{convert|10|km|0}}, the [[Samina (river)|Samina]] is the second-longest river in the Principality. This [[whitewater]] river begins at [[Triesenberg]] and flows into the [[Ill (Vorarlberg)|Ill]] in Austria (near [[Feldkirch, Vorarlberg|Feldkirch]]).

The only naturally-formed lake in Liechtenstein is the [[Gampriner Seele]]in, which was not formed until 1927 by a [[flooding]] of the Rhine with enormous erosion. In addition, there are other artificially-created [[lakes]], which are mainly used to generate [[electricity]]. One of them is the Steg Reservoir, the largest lake in Liechtenstein.

=== Mountains ===
About half of Liechtenstein's territory is mountainous.<ref name="Geologie Gebirge">{{Cite web |title=Geologie, Gebirge, Berge, Gipfel, Alpen – Fürstentum Liechtenstein |url=http://www.liechtenstein.li/land-und-leute/geografie/geologie-und-gebirge/ |access-date=18 February 2021 |website=www.liechtenstein.li |archive-date=25 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210125002447/https://www.liechtenstein.li/land-und-leute/geografie/geologie-und-gebirge/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> Liechtenstein lies entirely in the [[Rätikon|Rhaetikon]] and is thus – depending on the classification of the Alps – assigned either to the [[Eastern Alps]] (two-part division of the Alps) or to the Central Alps (three-part division of the Alps).

The highest point of Liechtenstein is the Vordere Grauspitz (Vordergrauspitz) with an altitude of {{cvt|2599|m}} above sea level, while the lowest point is the [[Ruggeller Riet]] with an altitude of {{convert|430|m}} above sea level.

In total, there are 32 mountains in Liechtenstein with an altitude of at least {{convert|2000|m|0}}. The Falknishorn, at {{convert|2452|m}} above sea level, is the fifth highest mountain in Liechtenstein and represents the southernmost point of the country. The Liechtenstein-Graubünden-Vorarlberg border triangle is the [[Naafkopf]] ({{cvt|2570|m}} above sea level).<ref name="Geologie Gebirge" />

In addition to the peaks of the Alpine chain,<ref>Der westliche Rätikon wird nur aus orographisch-systematischen Gründen zu den zentralen Ostalpen gerechnet, weil er südlich der Ill–Arlberg-Furche liegt.</ref> which belong to the Limestone Alps, two [[inselberg]]s, Fläscherberg ({{cvt|1135|m|disp=or}} [[above sea level]]) in the south and [[Eschnerberg]] ({{cvt|698|m|disp=or}}) in the north, rise from the Rhine Valley and belong to the Helvetic cover or [[flysch]] zone of the Alps.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://giftbot.toolforge.org/deref.fcgi?url=http://alpen-info.at/html/liechtenstein.html|title=Stabsstelle für Kommunikation und Öffentlichkeitsarbeit: Fürstentum Liechtenstein → Geologie}}{{Dead link|date=December 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}</ref> Eschnerberg represents an important settlement area in the Liechtenstein [[Unterland (electoral district)|Unterland]].

== Government and politics ==
{{Main|Politics of Liechtenstein|Elections in Liechtenstein}}

[[File:Liechtenstein - Gemeinden mit Exklaven.png|thumb|upright=1.2|left|[[Administrative divisions of Liechtenstein]], showing numerous exclaves]]
[[File:Landtagsgebäude und Regierungsgebäude.jpg|thumb|The centre of government in [[Vaduz]]]]
[[File:Hans-Adam Prince of Liechtenstein (1974) by Erling Mandelmann.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Hans-Adam II, Prince of Liechtenstein]], as photographed by [[Erling Mandelmann]] in 1974]]

=== Politics ===
Liechtenstein has a distinctive political system within Europe, combining elements of [[absolute monarchy]], [[representative democracy]], and [[direct democracy]]. The [[Monarchy of Liechtenstein|reigning prince]] retains extensive executive and legislative powers, and exercises considerable influence over the daily conduct of politics and across all three [[branches of government]]. Representative and direct democratic mechanisms operate concurrently: an elected parliament enacts [[legislation]], while citizens can propose and adopt laws and constitutional changes independently of the legislature.<ref name="Marxer 2007">{{Cite book |last1=Marxer |first1=Wilfried |chapter-url=https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-531-90579-2_1 |title=Direct Democracy in Europe |last2=Pállinger |first2=Zoltán Tibor |date=2007 |publisher=VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften. |isbn=978-3-531-90579-2 |pages=12–29 |chapter=System contexts and system effects of direct democracy-direct democracy in Liechtenstein and Switzerland compared |doi=10.1007/978-3-531-90579-2_1 |access-date=31 October 2020}}</ref> The Prince serves as the head of state and represents Liechtenstein in its international relations, although Switzerland assumes responsibility for much of the country's diplomatic relations.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/country_profiles/1066002.stm#leaders "Country profile: Liechtenstein – Leaders"]. BBC News. 6 December 2006. Retrieved 29 December 2006.</ref>

In March 2003, a [[2003 Liechtenstein constitutional referendum|constitutional referendum]] approved amendments that expanded the prince's prerogatives, granting him broad veto authority, the power to dismiss the government, and the capacity to rule by emergency decree. The [[BBC]] characterised the resulting institutional framework as making Liechtenstein "Europe's only [[absolute monarchy]]".<ref>{{Cite news |date=2012-03-28 |title=Liechtenstein profile - Overview |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-17536589 |access-date=2025-12-11 |work=BBC News |language=en-GB}}</ref> The [[Venice commission]] of the [[Council of Europe]] issued an extensive report concluding that several provisions were incompatible with prevailing European democratic standards.<ref>[https://www.venice.coe.int/webforms/documents/default.aspx?pdffile=CDL-AD(2002)032-e Opinion on the amendments to the constitution of Liechtenstein proposed by the Princely House of Liechtenstein] Venice Commission</ref> A further [[2012 Liechtenstein constitutional referendum|constitutional referendum in 2012]] reaffirmed the prince's powers, with 76% of voters rejecting a proposal to limit the princely veto over legislation approved by referendum.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2012-06-30 |title=Liechtenstein referendum rejects curbs on royal powers |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-18649156 |access-date=2025-12-11 |work=BBC News |language=en-GB}}</ref> In 2025, [[Freedom House]]'s ''[[Freedom in the World]]'' survey ranked Liechtenstein 64th out of 194 countries for political rights and 20th for civil liberties, noting that despite the prince's significant political role, human rights and civil liberties are generally well protected.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Liechtenstein: Freedom in the World 2025 Country Report |url=https://freedomhouse.org/country/liechtenstein/freedom-world/2025 |access-date=2025-12-11 |website=Freedom House |language=en}}</ref>

Legislative authority is vested in the unicameral [[Landtag of Liechtenstein|Landtag]], made up of 25 members elected for maximum four-year terms according to a proportional representation formula. Fifteen members are elected from the [[Oberland (electoral district)|Oberland]] (Upper Country or region) and ten from the [[Unterland (electoral district)|Unterland]] (Lower Country or region).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Principality of Liechtenstein website – Parliamentary elections |url=http://www.liechtenstein.li/en/eliechtenstein_main_sites/portal_fuerstentum_liechtenstein/fl-staat-staat/fl-staat-landtag/fl-staat-landtagswahlen.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040807234454/http://www.liechtenstein.li/en/eliechtenstein_main_sites/portal_fuerstentum_liechtenstein/fl-staat-staat/fl-staat-landtag/fl-staat-landtagswahlen.htm |archive-date=7 August 2004 |access-date=11 January 2010}}. Retrieved 11 January 2010.</ref> Parties must receive at least 8% of the national vote to win seats in parliament, i.e., enough for two seats in the 25-seat legislature. Parliament proposes and approves a government, which the Prince formally appoints. Parliament may also pass votes of no confidence in the entire government or individual members.

The [[government]] comprises the head of government ([[prime minister]]) and four government councillors (ministers), who are appointed by the Prince upon the proposal of parliament and with its concurrence, and reflect the balance of parties in parliament. The constitution stipulates that at least two government members be chosen from each of the two regions.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Principality of Liechtenstein – Government |url=http://www.liechtenstein.li/en/eliechtenstein_main_sites/portal_fuerstentum_liechtenstein/fl-staat-staat/fl-staat-regierung.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070807124607/http://www.liechtenstein.li/en/eliechtenstein_main_sites/portal_fuerstentum_liechtenstein/fl-staat-staat/fl-staat-regierung.htm |archive-date=7 August 2007 |access-date=11 January 2010}}. Retrieved 11 January 2010.</ref> The members of the government are collectively and individually responsible to parliament; parliament may ask the Prince to remove an individual minister or the entire government, or the Prince may do so unilaterally.

Parliament elects from among its members a "Landesausschuss" (National Committee) made up of the president of the parliament and four additional members. The National Committee is charged with performing functions of parliamentary supervision. Parliament shares the authority to propose new legislation with the Prince, and with the citizenry, as both parliament and the citizenry may initiate referendums.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Liechtenstein 1921 (rev. 2011) Constitution - Constitute |url=https://www.constituteproject.org/constitution/Liechtenstein_2011 |access-date=2023-09-27 |website=www.constituteproject.org |language=en}}</ref>

[[The courts of Liechtenstein|Judicial authority]] is vested in the ordinary courts (the Regional Court at Vaduz in the first instance, the Princely High Court of Appeal at Vaduz in the second instance, and the Princely Supreme Court as a court of last resort),<ref>Article 97, {{cite web |title=Constitution of the Principality of Liechtenstein |url=https://www.regierung.li/files/attachments/101-05-02-2021-en.pdf |website=Government: Principality of Liechtenstein |access-date=12 August 2025 |page=34 |format=PDF}}</ref> the Administrative Court, and the Constitutional Court.<ref>Article 95(3), {{cite web |title=Constitution of the Principality of Liechtenstein |url=https://www.regierung.li/files/attachments/101-05-02-2021-en.pdf |website=Government: Principality of Liechtenstein |access-date=12 August 2025 |page=33 |format=PDF}}</ref> The Constitutional Court rules on the conformity of laws with the constitution and has five members (and five alternates) appointed by the Reigning Prince.<ref>Article 105, {{cite web |title=Constitution of the Principality of Liechtenstein |url=https://www.regierung.li/files/attachments/101-05-02-2021-en.pdf |website=Government: Principality of Liechtenstein |access-date=12 August 2025 |page=37 |format=PDF}}</ref>

=== Foreign relations ===
{{main|Foreign relations of Liechtenstein}}

[[File:Maltese Consulate, Schaan (1Y7A2240).jpg|thumb|upright|left|Maltese consulate in [[Schaan]]]]
[[File:Liechtenstein embassy Vienna Oct. 2006 003.jpg|thumb|upright|Liechtenstein's Embassy in Vienna]]
[[File:2900 K Street NW.jpg|thumb|Building hosting Liechtenstein's Embassy in Washington, D.C.]]
[[File:Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed in Vaduz, Liechtenstein on March 20, 2024 between the Principality of Liechtenstein and the United States on the Exchange of Knowledge in the Field of Apprenticeship Training - 15.jpg|thumb|Representatives of the Principality of Liechtenstein and the United States of America make an agreement to share knowledge in the Field of Apprenticeship Training, 2024.]]
In the absence of political or military power, Liechtenstein has sought to preserve its [[sovereignty]] over the past 300 years through membership in legal communities. [[Multilateralism|International cooperation]] and European integration are therefore constants of Liechtenstein's foreign policy, aimed at continuing to safeguard the country's sovereignty as recognized under international law. Decisive for the domestic legitimacy and sustainability of this foreign policy were and are strong direct-democratic and citizen-oriented decision-making mechanisms, which are anchored in Liechtenstein in the Constitution of 1921.

Important historical stages in Liechtenstein's integration and cooperation policy were its accession to the [[Confederation of the Rhine]] in 1806,<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Lara |first1=María |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xrC9DwAAQBAJ&dq=Liechtenstein+Confederaci%C3%B3n+del+Rin&pg=PT117 |title=Princesas en jeans: Historia, significado y vigencia de la monarquía |last2=Lara |first2=Laura |date=2019-11-12 |publisher=EDAF |isbn=978-84-414-4000-5 |language=es}}</ref> to the German Confederation in 1815,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bas |first=Philippe Le |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fxHmxLlVJ-wC&dq=Liechtenstein+Confederaci%C3%B3n+Alemana+1815&pg=RA7-PA123 |title=Estados de la Confederación Germánica: continuación de la historia general de Alemania |date=1843 |publisher=Imp. del Imparcial |language=es}}</ref> the conclusion of bilateral customs and currency agreements with the [[Habsburg monarchy]] in 1852, and finally the Customs Treaty with Switzerland in 1923, which was followed by a range of other important bilateral treaties.

Post-war economic reconstruction was followed by accession to the Statute of the [[International Court of Justice]] in 1950, Liechtenstein signed the CSCE Helsinki Final Act (today's OSCE) together with 34 other states in 1975, Liechtenstein joined the [[Council of Europe]] in 1978,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Winkler |first=Günther |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LaUGswEACAAJ&q=Liechtenstein+europe+council |title=The Council of Europe: Monitoring Procedures and the Constitutional Autonomy of the Member States, A European law study, based upon documents and commentaries, illustrated by the Council of Europe's actions against the constitutional reform in Liechtenstein |date=2009-09-02 |publisher=Springer Vienna |isbn=978-3-211-10030-1 |language=en}}</ref> and Liechtenstein was admitted to the United Nations (UN) on September 18, 1990.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Duursma |first1=Jorri C. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CgVDprXjkIYC&dq=Liechtenstein+United+nations+1990&pg=PA196 |title=Fragmentation and the International Relations of Micro-states: Self-determination and Statehood |last2=Duursma |first2=Jorri Carolina |last3=Crawford |first3=Whewell Professor of International Law and Fellow James |last4=Bell |first4=Professor of Public and Comparative Law and Pro-Vice-Chancellor John |date=1996-10-31 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-56360-4 |language=en}}</ref> In 1991, Liechtenstein joined the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) as a full member, and since 1995 Liechtenstein has been a member of the [[European Economic Area]] (EEA) and the [[World Trade Organization]] (WTO).<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AoMJMOgJyZoC&dq=Liechtenstein+omc&pg=PA31 |title=La nueva agenda del comercio de la OMC |date=2000 |publisher=Universidad del Rosario |isbn=978-958-9203-70-5 |language=es}}</ref>

In 2008, Liechtenstein joined the Schengen/Dublin Agreement together with Switzerland. From an economic and integration policy perspective, relations within the framework of the EEA and the EU occupy a special position in Liechtenstein's foreign policy. The Hereditary Prince of Liechtenstein also participates in the annual [[Meeting of the heads of state of German-speaking countries|meetings of the heads of state of the German-speaking countries]] (consisting of EU and non-EU members).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.vindobona.org/article/summit-of-german-speaking-heads-of-state-in-linz-2019|title=Summit of German-speaking Heads of State in Linz 2019 |date=5 June 2019 |website=Vienna International News}}</ref>

Relations with Switzerland are particularly extensive because of the close cooperation in many areas; Switzerland performs tasks in some places that would be difficult for the [[Principality]] to handle on its own because of its small size. Since 2000, Switzerland has appointed an ambassador to Liechtenstein, but he resides in Bern. Liechtenstein's consular representation has been mostly handled by Switzerland since the [[Customs]] Treaty with Switzerland of 1923.

Liechtenstein maintains direct diplomatic missions in [[Vienna]], Bern, Berlin, Brussels, Strasbourg, and [[Washington, D.C.]], as well as Permanent Missions in New York and Geneva to the [[United Nations]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.liechtenstein.li/land-und-leute/staatswesen/aussenpolitik-diplomatie-und-mitgliedschaften/|title=Aussenpolitik, Diplomatie, Mitgliedschaften – Fürstentum Liechtenstein|website=www.liechtenstein.li}}</ref> Currently, diplomatic missions from 78 countries are accredited to Liechtenstein, but mostly reside in Bern. The [[Diplomatic mission|Embassy]] in Brussels coordinates contacts with the European Union, Belgium, and also the [[Holy See]].

For a long time, [[Germany–Liechtenstein relations|diplomatic relations with Germany]] were maintained through a non-resident ambassador; that is, a contact person who was not permanently resident in Germany. Since 2002, however, Liechtenstein has had a permanent [[ambassador]] in Berlin, while the German embassy in Switzerland is also responsible for the Principality. Liechtenstein's Ministry of Foreign Affairs considers the contacts to be extremely fruitful and important for the country's development, especially on the economic level.

Conflicts over the handling of [[bank]]ing and tax data have repeatedly strained relations with Germany.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Vespierre |first1=Gérard |title=Rule of Law in the Heart of Europe: How Andorra, Liechtenstein and Monaco have undermined EU values |url=https://thebridgetank.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Vespierre-Report-Final.pdf |website=The Bridge Tank |access-date=15 May 2024}}</ref> On 2 September 2009, Liechtenstein and Germany signed an agreement on cooperation and the exchange of information in tax matters. The text of the agreement followed the OECD model agreement and provides for an exchange of information on tax matters upon request as of the 2010 tax year. In addition, Liechtenstein regards Germany as an important partner in safeguarding its interests in European integration. At the cultural level, project sponsorship plays a particularly important role. For example, the Hilti Foundation financed the exhibition "Egypt's Sunken Treasures" in Berlin, and the state donated 20,000 euros following the fire at the Duchess Anna Amalia Library in [[Weimar]].

Liechtenstein is a member of the [[Forum of Small States]], a group founded in 1992 by Singapore currently containing 108 nations that have fewer than ten million inhabitants at the time of joining.<ref name="Trinidad">{{cite web|url=https://mpa.gov.tt/sites/default/files/file_upload/psacourses/SCPTA/Annex.pdf|title=Members of the Forum of Small States (FOSS)|website=Ministry of Public Administration, Republic of Trinidad and Tobago|language=en|date=May 2022|access-date=30 August 2024|archive-date=28 March 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240328233154/https://mpa.gov.tt/sites/default/files/file_upload/psacourses/SCPTA/Annex.pdf|url-status=dead}}, accessed= 28 Mar 2024</ref>

Liechtenstein is a member of the [[International Monetary Fund]] since the annual meeting of [[World Bank Group]] in Washington, D.C. on 21 October 2024.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Vogt |first=Desiree |date=19 October 2024 |title=Ab Montag ist Liechtenstein offiziell IWF-Mitglied – Im US-amerikanischen Aussenministerium in Washington wird der Regierungschef das Übereinkommen unterzeichnen |trans-title=As of Monday, Liechtenstein is officially an IMF member – The head of government will sign the agreement at the US State Department in Washington |url=https://www.vaterland.li/liechtenstein/politik/ab-montag-ist-liechtenstein-offiziell-iwf-mitglied-art-579704 |access-date=19 October 2024 |work=[[Liechtensteiner Vaterland]] |language=de |location=[[Vaduz]], Liechtenstein}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Ntow |first=Francis |date=22 October 2024 |title=Liechtenstein becomes 191st IMF member |url=https://gna.org.gh/2024/10/liechtenstein-becomes-191th-imf-member/ |access-date=22 October 2024 |language=en |agency=[[Ghana News Agency]] |location=[[Washington, D.C.]] United States}}</ref>

===Security and defense<span class="anchor" id="Security_and_defense"></span>===
{{Main article|Military history of Liechtenstein}}

[[File:Liechtenstein Police traffic instructor (Verkehrsinstruktion).jpg|thumb|Liechtenstein Police]]
The [[Law enforcement in Liechtenstein|Liechtenstein National Police]] is responsible for keeping order within the country. It consists of 87 field officers and 38 civilian staff, totaling 125 employees. All officers are equipped with [[small arms]]. The country has one of the world's lowest [[Crime statistics|crime rates]]. Liechtenstein's prison holds few, if any, inmates, and those with sentences over two years are transferred to [[Judiciary of Austria|Austrian jurisdiction]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Liechtenstein {{!}} World Prison Brief |url=https://www.prisonstudies.org/country/liechtenstein |access-date=2023-04-29 |website=www.prisonstudies.org}}</ref> The Liechtenstein National Police maintains a trilateral treaty with Austria and Switzerland that enables close cross-border cooperation among the police forces of the three countries.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Liechtenstein – facts and figures |url=http://www.liechtenstein.li/en/pdf-fl-staat-aussenpolitik-finanzplatz-facts_and_figures_engl.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060107214519/http://www.liechtenstein.li/en/pdf-fl-staat-aussenpolitik-finanzplatz-facts_and_figures_engl.pdf |archive-date=7 January 2006 |access-date=2 May 2010}}. Office for Foreign Affairs of Liechtenstein.</ref>

Liechtenstein follows a policy of [[Neutrality (international relations)|neutrality]] and is one of the few [[List of countries without armed forces|countries in the world that maintain no military]] although its police force maintains a paramilitary force, the Princely Liechtenstein Security Corps, within the organisation that might act as its ''de facto'' army if an invasion of Liechtenstein ever occurred. The corps provides heavy backup for the National Police as well as Honour Guards at the Royal Palace and official functions. However, Liechtenstein can reinstate its military if deemed necessary.<ref>{{Cite web |title=History |url=https://www.landespolizei.li/en/about-us/history |access-date=2026-01-26 |website=Landespolizei des Fürstentums Liechtenstein |language=en}}</ref>

The army was abolished for financial reasons soon after the [[Austro-Prussian War of 1866]], in which Liechtenstein fielded an army of 80 men, although they were not involved in any fighting.<ref name=":9">{{cite journal |last1=Ospelt |first1=Joseph |date=1924 |title=Der 1866er Feldzug fürstlich leichtensteinischen Bundeskontingentes |url=https://eliechtensteinensia.li/viewer/toc/000056281/1/ |journal=Jahrbuch des Historischen Vereins für das Fürstentum Liechtenstein |volume=24 |access-date=20 December 2023}}</ref><ref name=":10">{{Cite web |last1=Frommelt |first1=Fabian |last2=Rupert |first2=Quaderer |date=31 December 2011 |title=Militär |url=https://historisches-lexikon.li/Militär |access-date=23 February 2024 |website=[[Historisches Lexikon des Fürstentums Liechtenstein]] |language=de}}</ref> No casualties were incurred. The unit numbered 81 upon return due to an Italian military liaison who accompanied the army back home.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Liechtenstein |url=http://media.lonelyplanet.com/shop/pdfs/2143-Switzerland_-_Liechtenstein__Chapter_.pdf/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111027091131/http://media.lonelyplanet.com/shop/pdfs/2143-Switzerland_-_Liechtenstein__Chapter_.pdf |archive-date=27 October 2011 |access-date=28 February 2020 |publisher=Lonely Planet Publications}}</ref> The demise of the [[German Confederation]] in that war freed Liechtenstein from its international obligation to maintain an army, and parliament seized this opportunity and refused to provide funding for one. The Prince objected, as such a move would leave the country defenceless, but relented on 12 February 1868 and disbanded the force.<ref name=":10" /> The last soldier to serve under the colours of Liechtenstein, [[Andreas Kieber]], died in 1939 at age 94.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Beattie |first=David |title=Liechtenstein: A Modern History |publisher=[[I.B. Tauris]] |year=2004 |isbn=978-1-85043-459-7 |location=London |page=30}}</ref>
<!-- Switzerland is NOT responsible for Liechtenstein's defence and no such bilateral agreement exists. Please read the relevant e-mails by the Embassies of Switzerland and Liechtenstein in Washington, D.C. for further information. These are available on the article's talk page: [[Talk:Liechtenstein/Defence Responsibility Emails]]

Please check the website of the Liechtenstein foreign service on bilateral relations with Switzerland at http://www.liechtenstein.li/en/eliechtenstein_main_sites/portal_fuerstentum_liechtenstein/fl-staat-staat/fl-staat-aussenpolitik/fl-staat-aussenpolitik-bilateral/fl-staat-aussenpolitik-bilateral-schweiz.htm -->

In 1985, the Swiss Army fired off shells during an exercise and mistakenly burned a patch of forest inside Liechtenstein. The incident was said to have been resolved "over a case of white wine".<ref name=Letzing /> In March 2007, a 170-man Swiss infantry unit got lost during a training exercise and inadvertently crossed 1.5 kilometers (0.9 miles) into Liechtenstein. The accidental invasion ended when the unit realized their mistake and turned back.<ref>{{Cite news |last=CBC News |date=2 March 2007 |title=Not-so-precise Swiss army unit mistakenly invades Liechtenstein |publisher=CBC News |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/not-so-precise-swiss-army-unit-mistakenly-invades-liechtenstein-1.658642 |access-date=18 September 2011}}</ref> The Swiss Army later informed Liechtenstein of the incursion and offered official apologies,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Hamilton |first=Lindsay |date=3 March 2007 |title=Whoops! Swiss Accidentally Invade Liechtenstein |work=ABC News |url=https://abcnews.go.com/International/story?id=2921407&page=1 |access-date=18 September 2011}}</ref> to which an internal ministry spokesperson responded, "No problem, these things happen."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Brook |first=Benedict |date=24 March 2017 |title=Liechtenstein, the country that's so small it keeps being invaded by its bigger neighbour |publisher=news.com.au |url=http://www.news.com.au/travel/world-travel/europe/liechtenstein-the-country-thats-so-small-it-keeps-being-invaded-by-its-bigger-neighbour/news-story/08eee6f0d3dab6467c8c1dd8566c2514 |access-date=30 April 2018}}</ref>

On 20 September 2017, Liechtenstein signed the United Nations [[Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=7 July 2017 |title=Chapter XXVI: Disarmament&nbsp;– No. 9 Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons |url=https://treaties.un.org/Pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=XXVI-9&chapter=26&clang=_en |publisher=United Nations Treaty Collection}}</ref>

=== Human rights ===
{{Main|Human rights in Liechtenstein}}

The principality is largely [[conservative]]. On 1 July 1984, Liechtenstein became the last country in [[Europe]] to grant women the right to vote, following three previous referendums which rejected it in [[1968 Liechtenstein referendums|1968]], [[1971 Liechtenstein women's suffrage referendum|1971]] and [[1973 Liechtenstein referendums|1973]]. The [[Liechtenstein women's suffrage referendum, 1984|referendum on women's suffrage]] that year, in which only men were allowed to participate, narrowly passed with 51.3% in favour.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1984/07/02/world/around-the-world-liechtenstein-women-win-right-to-vote.html "Liechtenstein Women Win Right to Vote"]. ''The New York Times''. 2 July 1984. Retrieved 8 July 2011.</ref>

In 2024, Liechtenstein passed [[Same-sex marriage in Liechtenstein|same-sex marriage]] legislation, which entered into force in 2025.<ref>{{cite web |title=Liechtenstein: Parlament berät Vorlage zur Eheöffnung |url=https://mannschaft.com/liechtenstein-parlament-beraet-vorlage-zur-eheoeffnung/ |website=Mannschaft Magazin |date=3 March 2024 |access-date=7 March 2024}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title="Ehe für Alle" ab 1. Januar 2025 |url=https://www.radio.li/p/Ehe-fur-Alle-ab-1-Januar-2025-7cXEma5JDNBlMMnKpRGduf |access-date=2024-03-08 |website=www.radio.li |language=de}}</ref><ref>[https://www.vaterland.li/liechtenstein/politik/landtag-beschliesst-ehe-fuer-alle-art-566058 Vaterland.li: Landtag beschliesst Ehe für alle], May 16, 2024</ref> [[Abortion in Liechtenstein|Abortion]] remains criminalised within Liechtenstein.

== Economy ==
{{Main|Economy of Liechtenstein}}

[[File:Vaduz Zentrum.jpg|thumb|Looking southward at Vaduz city centre]]
[[File:5 kronen Johann II of Liechtenstein 1904.png|thumb|upright=1.15|[[Silver coin]]: 5 kronen of Liechtenstein, 1904, the front of the coin is a portrait of Johann II]]
{{As of|2019|September}} the [[Prince of Liechtenstein]] is the world's fifth [[List of the richest royals|wealthiest monarch]], with an estimated wealth of {{US$}}3.5&nbsp;billion.{{cn|date=February 2026}}

Despite its limited natural resources, Liechtenstein is one of the few countries in the world with more registered companies than citizens; it has developed a prosperous, highly industrialized free-enterprise economy and a financial service sector as well as a living standard that compares favourably with those of the urban areas of Liechtenstein's much larger European neighbours.

Liechtenstein participates in a [[customs union]] with Switzerland and employs the [[Swiss franc]] as the national currency. The country imports about 85% of its energy. 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 [[European Union]]) since May 1995.

The government is working to harmonize its economic policies with those of an integrated Europe. In 2008, the unemployment rate was 1.5%. Liechtenstein has only one hospital, the Liechtensteinisches Landesspital in Vaduz. As of 2014 the [[CIA World Factbook]] estimated the gross domestic product (GDP) on a [[purchasing power parity]] basis to be $4.978&nbsp;billion. As of 2021 the estimate per capita was $184,083.<ref name="LiechCIA" />

Industries include electronics, textiles, precision instruments, metal manufacturing, power tools, anchor bolts, calculators, pharmaceuticals and food products. Its most recognizable international company and largest employer is [[Hilti]], a manufacturer of [[Nail gun|direct fastening systems]] and other high-end power tools. Many cultivated fields and small farms are found both in the [[Oberland (electoral district)|Oberland]] and [[Unterland (electoral district)|Unterland]]. Liechtenstein produces wheat, barley, corn, potatoes, dairy products, livestock and [[Liechtenstein wine|wine]].

Liechtenstein is one of the few countries in Europe (along with [[Monaco]] and [[San Marino]]) [[Tax haven|not to have a tax treaty]] with the [[United States]], and efforts towards one seem to have stalled.<ref>{{Cite web |title=United States Income Tax Treaties – A to Z  |url=https://www.irs.gov/businesses/international-businesses/united-states-income-tax-treaties-a-to-z |access-date=7 February 2021 |website=Internal Revenue Service |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.tax-news.com/news/US_And_Liechtenstein_To_Negotiate_Double_Tax_Treaty____76564.html |title=US And Liechtenstein To Negotiate Double Tax Treaty |website=Tax-News.com |first1=Ulrika |last1=Lomas |date=16 March 2018|access-date=7 February 2021 |archive-date=21 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220521064324/https://www.tax-news.com/news/US_And_Liechtenstein_To_Negotiate_Double_Tax_Treaty____76564.html |url-status=usurped }}</ref>

=== Taxation ===
[[File:Grenze Liechtenstein, Balzers.jpg|thumb|Since 1923, there has been no [[border control]] between Liechtenstein and [[Switzerland]].]]

The government of Liechtenstein taxes personal income, business income and principal (wealth). The basic rate of [[Income tax#Personal|personal income tax]] is 1.2%. When combined with the additional income tax imposed by the communes, the combined income tax rate is 17.82%.<ref>[http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/Europe/Liechtenstein-TAXATION.html Encyclopedia of the Nations]. Nationsencyclopedia.com. Retrieved 24 December 2011.</ref> An additional income tax of 4.3% is levied on all employees under the country's [[social security]] programme. This rate is higher for the self-employed, up to a maximum of 11%, making the maximum income tax rate about 29% in total. The basic [[wealth tax|tax rate on wealth]] is 0.06% per annum, and the combined total rate is 0.89%. The tax rate on corporate profits is 12.5%.<ref name=LiechCIA />

Liechtenstein's [[gift tax|gift]] and [[Inheritance tax|estate taxes]] vary depending on the relationship the recipient has to the giver and the amount of the inheritance. The tax ranges between 0.5% and 0.75% for spouses and children and 18% to 27% for non-related recipients. The estate tax is progressive.

Liechtenstein has previously received significant revenues from ''Stiftungen'' ("foundations"), financial entities created to hide the true owner of nonresident foreigners' financial holdings. The foundation is registered in the name of a Liechtensteiner, often a lawyer. This set of laws used to make Liechtenstein a popular [[tax haven]] for extremely wealthy individuals and businesses attempting to avoid or evade taxes in their home countries.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Billionaire Tax Haven Liechtenstein Loses on Bank Reforms |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2013-05-02/billionaire-tax-haven-liechtenstein-loses-on-bank-reforms |access-date=3 August 2017 |website=Bloomberg.com |date=2 May 2013}}</ref>

In recent years, Liechtenstein has displayed stronger determination to prosecute international money launderers and worked to promote an image as a legitimate finance centre. In February 2008, the country's [[LGT Group|LGT Bank]] was implicated in a [[2008 Liechtenstein tax affair|tax-fraud scandal in Germany]], which strained the ruling family's relationship with the German government. Crown Prince Alois has accused the German government of trafficking in stolen goods, referring to its $7.3&nbsp;million purchase of private banking information offered by a former employee of LGT Group.<ref>Wiesmann, Gerrit (23 February 2008). "[https://www.ft.com/content/4e54e4c4-e1b2-11dc-a302-0000779fd2ac Lilliput's giant-slayer]." ''Financial Times''. London.</ref> The [[United States Senate]]'s subcommittee on tax haven banks said that the LGT bank, owned by the princely family, and on whose board they serve, "is a willing partner, and an aider and abettor to clients trying to evade taxes, dodge creditors or defy court orders".<ref>{{Cite news |date=6 October 2008 |title=Tax Me If You Can |work=ABC News Australia |url=http://www.abc.net.au/4corners/content/2008/s2383439.htm |url-status=dead |access-date=6 June 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091212021122/http://www.abc.net.au/4corners/content/2008/s2383439.htm |archive-date=12 December 2009}}</ref>

[[File:Hilti Schaan.jpg|thumb|Headquarters of [[Hilti]] Corporation in [[Schaan]], Liechtenstein]]

The [[2008 Liechtenstein tax affair]] is a series of tax investigations in numerous countries whose governments suspect that some of their citizens have evaded tax obligations by using banks and trusts in Liechtenstein; the affair broke open with the biggest complex of investigations ever initiated for tax evasion in Germany.<ref>{{Cite news |date=17 May 2010 |title=Skandal gigantischen Ausmaßes |language=de |work=Süddeutsche Zeitung |location=Munich |url=https://www.sueddeutsche.de/wirtschaft/steuerhinterziehung-skandal-gigantischen-ausmasses-1.272873 |access-date=17 May 2010}}</ref> It was also seen as an attempt to put pressure on Liechtenstein, then one of the remaining [[FATF blacklist|uncooperative tax havens]]—along with [[Andorra]] and [[Monaco]]—as identified by the Paris-based [[Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development]] in 2007.<ref name="wsj0219">{{Cite news |last1=Esterl |first1=Mike |last2=Simpson, Glenn R. |author-link2=Glenn R. Simpson |last3=Crawford, David |date=19 February 2008 |title=Stolen Data Spur Tax Probes |work=The Wall Street Journal |location=New York |url=http://groups.google.com/group/alt.lawyers/browse_thread/thread/6782128a239af406/67aab034a3fcf850 |access-date=20 February 2008}}</ref> On 27 May 2009 the OECD removed Liechtenstein from the blacklist of uncooperative countries.<ref>[http://www.oecd.org/document/41/0,3343,en_2649_33767_42857769_1_1_1_37427,00.html Removal from OECD List of Unco-operative Tax Havens]. Oecd.org. Retrieved 24 December 2011.</ref>

In August 2009, the British government department [[HM Revenue & Customs]] agreed with Liechtenstein to start exchanging information. It is believed that up to 5,000 British investors have roughly £3&nbsp;billion deposited in accounts and trusts in the country.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8194532.stm "UK signs Liechtenstein tax deal"]. ''BBC News''. 11 August 2009. Retrieved 24 December 2011.</ref>

In October 2015, the European Union and Liechtenstein signed a tax agreement to ensure the automatic exchange of financial information in case of tax disputes. The collection of data started in 2016. It is another step to bring the principality in line with other European countries regarding its taxation of private individuals and corporate assets.<ref>{{Cite press release |title=EU and Liechtenstein sign deal on automatic exchange of tax data |date=28 October 2015 |publisher=European Council |location=Brussels |url=http://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2015/10/28-eu-liechtenstein-deal-exchange-tax-data/ |access-date=15 August 2017}}</ref>

=== Tourism ===

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Tourism accounts for a large portion of Liechtenstein's economy.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Economy {{!}} Embassy of the Principality of Liechtenstein in Washington, D.C. |url=https://www.liechtensteinusa.org/index.php/page/economy |access-date=2025-05-29 |website=www.liechtensteinusa.org}}</ref>
In 2023, Liechtenstein's accommodation establishments (hotels, vacation apartments, youth hostels, dormitories and camping) recorded a total of 116,759 guest arrivals and 222,266 overnight stays.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Tourism 2023 published |url=https://www.llv.li/en/news/tourism-2023-published |access-date=2025-09-15 |website=www.llv.li |language=en}}</ref>

=== Transport ===
==== Road ====
There are about {{convert|250|km|mi|round=5}} of paved roadway within Liechtenstein, with {{convert|90|km|mi|0|abbr=on}} of marked bicycle paths.

[[Liechtenstein Bus]] is a subsidiary of the [[PostBus Switzerland|Swiss Postbus system]], but separately run, and connects to the Swiss bus and [[Rail transport in Switzerland|train]] network at [[Buchs, St. Gallen|Buchs]] and [[Sargans]], respectively.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The history of PostBus |url=https://www.postauto.ch/en/about-us-and-news/organization/the-history-of-postbus |access-date=2023-09-27 |publisher=PostBus |language=en}}</ref> Holders of a Swiss Travel Pass (non-residents of Switzerland or Liechtenstein only) can travel for free on Liechtenstein's buses.<ref>{{Cite web |title=About Swiss Travel Pass |date=25 April 2025 |url=https://www.swiss-pass.ch/swiss-travel-pass/ |access-date=2025-04-25}}</ref>

==== Rail ====
{{Main|Rail transport in Liechtenstein}}

The single railway line in Liechtenstein is the [[Feldkirch–Buchs railway]], of which {{convert|9.5|km|mi|frac=4|abbr=on}} are located within the principality. This line connects [[Feldkirch, Vorarlberg|Feldkirch]] in [[Vorarlberg]] (Austria) with [[Buchs, St. Gallen|Buchs]] in the [[canton of St. Gallen]] (Switzerland). There are four railway stations in Liechtenstein, namely {{rws|Schaan-Vaduz}}, {{rws|Forst Hilti}}, {{rws|Nendeln}} and {{rws|Schaanwald}} (from west to east). With the exception of Schaanwald, which was closed in 2013, these stations are served by a [[regional train]], the {{ric|Vorarlberg S-Bahn|2}} of [[Vorarlberg S-Bahn]], which runs between {{rws|Feldkirch}} and {{rws|Buchs SG}} on working days only. The service is operated by [[Austrian Federal Railways]] (ÖBB).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Railways in Liechtenstein |url=https://www.sinfin.net/railways/world/liecht.html |access-date=2023-09-27 |website=www.sinfin.net}}</ref> Plans to upgrade the line and increase rail traffic were halted by a referendum in 2020.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Morgan |first=Sam |date=2020-09-02 |title=Liechtensteiners say 'nein' to new railway |url=https://www.euractiv.com/section/railways/news/liechtensteiners-say-nein-to-new-railway/ |access-date=2023-09-27 |website=www.euractiv.com |language=en-GB}}</ref>

Liechtenstein is nominally within the {{ill|Ostwind Tariff Network|de|Tarifverbund Ostwind}}, which also includes northeastern Switzerland.<ref>{{cite web |title=Ostwind zone maps |url=https://www.ostwind.ch/en/about/services/zone-maps/ |access-date=2024-10-05 | lang=en}}</ref> [[Railjet]] and [[Transalpin|EuroCity]] long-distance trains do not call at stations in Liechtenstein.

==== Air ====
Liechtenstein is one of only a few [[List of countries without an airport|countries without an airport]]. The nearest large airport is [[Zurich Airport]] near [[Zürich]], Switzerland ({{convert|130|km|mi|-1|abbr=in|disp=or}} by road). The nearest small airport is [[St. Gallen–Altenrhein Airport|St. Gallen Airport]] ({{convert|50|km|mi|-1|abbr=in|disp=or}}). [[Friedrichshafen Airport]] also provides access to Liechtenstein, as it is {{convert|85|km|mi|abbr=in}} away. [[Balzers Heliport]] is available for chartered helicopter flights.<ref>[https://www.tsis.ch/heli/heliport/balzers.php Heliport Balzers FL LSXB]. Tsis.ch. Retrieved 24 December 2011.</ref><ref>[http://www.heli.li/sites/heliports-balzers-lsxb.php Heliports – Balzers LSXB – Heli-Website von Matthias Vogt]; {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100218164644/http://www.heli.li/sites/heliports-balzers-lsxb.php |date=18 February 2010 }}. Heli.li. Retrieved 24 December 2011.</ref>

<gallery widths="200" heights="160">
File:FL 39801 Liechtenstein Bus LIEmobil.jpg|Liechtenstein Bus
File:Bahnhof Schaan-Vaduz.jpg|[[Schaan-Vaduz railway station]]
File:Hubschrauberlandeplatz Balzers Liechtenstein.jpg|[[Balzers Heliport]]
</gallery>

== Demographics ==
{{Main|Demographics of Liechtenstein}}

[[File:Liechtenstein asv2022-10 img02 Vaduz Aussicht beim Schloss.jpg|thumb|Vaduz, Liechtenstein]]
With a population of 41,232 as of 2023,<ref name="auto"/> Liechtenstein is [[List of European countries by population|Europe's fourth-smallest country]] after [[Vatican City]], [[San Marino]] and [[Monaco]]. Its population is primarily [[Alemannic German|Alemannic]]-speaking, although one third is foreign-born, primarily German speakers from [[Germany]], [[Austria]], and [[Switzerland]], along with other Swiss, Italians, and [[Turkish people|Turks]]. Foreign-born people make up two-thirds of the country's workforce.<ref>{{Cite web |title=WT/TPR/S/280 • Switzerland and Liechtenstein |url=https://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/tpr_e/s280_sum_e.pdf |access-date=26 January 2015 |publisher=WTO}}</ref>

Liechtensteiners have an average life expectancy at birth of 82.0 years, subdividing as male: 79.8 years, female: 84.8 years (2018 est.). The infant mortality rate is 4.2 per 1,000 live births, according to 2018 estimates.

=== Languages ===
The official language is German, spoken by 92% of the population as their main language in 2020. 73% of Liechtenstein's population speak an [[Alemannic German|Alemannic]] [[dialect]] of German at home that is highly divergent from [[Standard German]] but closely related to dialects spoken in neighbouring regions such as Switzerland and [[Vorarlberg]], Austria.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.statistikportal.li/statistikportal/publications/111-volkszaehlung/2020/01/1/111.2020.01_01_vz-2020-erste-ergebnisse.pdf|title=Volkszählung 2020 - Erste Ergebnisse|language=de|publisher=Amt für Statistik Fürstentum Liechtenstein|access-date=17 July 2022|archive-date=17 July 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220717101739/https://www.statistikportal.li/statistikportal/publications/111-volkszaehlung/2020/01/1/111.2020.01_01_vz-2020-erste-ergebnisse.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> In [[Triesenberg]], a [[Walser German]] dialect promoted by the municipality is spoken. [[Swiss Standard German]] is also understood and spoken by most Liechtensteiners.

=== Religion ===
{{Main|Religion in Liechtenstein}}

[[File:Liechtenstein asv2022-10 img21 Vaduz Kathedrale StFlorin.jpg|thumb|upright|St. Florin Catholic Cathedral in Vaduz]]

According to the [[Constitution of Liechtenstein]], [[Catholicism]] is its official [[state religion]]:

{{Blockquote|text=The Catholic Church is the State Church and as such shall enjoy the full protection of the State |author=[[Constitution of Liechtenstein]]<ref name="Temperman2010">{{Cite book |last=Jeroen Temperman |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Khag6tbsIn4C&pg=PA44 |title=State-Religion Relationships and Human Rights Law: Towards a Right to Religiously Neutral Governance |date=30 May 2010 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=978-90-04-18148-9 |pages=44–45 |access-date=31 July 2012}}</ref>}}

Liechtenstein offers protection to adherents of all religions, and considers the "religious interests of the people" a priority of the government.<ref name="Temperman2010" /> In Liechtenstein's schools, although exceptions are allowed, religious education in Catholicism or [[Protestantism]] (either [[Lutheran]] or [[Calvinist]], or both) is legally required.<ref name="Piano2009">{{Cite book |last=Aili Piano |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hZVhuV7h5hwC&pg=PA426 |title=Freedom in the World 2009: The Annual Survey of Political Rights & Civil Liberties |date=30 September 2009 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=978-1-4422-0122-4 |page=426 |access-date=31 July 2012}}</ref> [[Tax exemption]] is granted by the government to religious organizations.<ref name="Piano2009" /> According to the [[Pew Research Center]], social conflict caused by religious hostilities is low in Liechtenstein, and so is government restriction on the practice of religion.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Global Restrictions on Religion |url=http://www.pewforum.org/newassets/images/reports/restrictions/restrictionsfullreport.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130117012234/http://www.pewforum.org/newassets/images/reports/restrictions/restrictionsfullreport.pdf |archive-date=17 January 2013 |access-date=3 August 2017 |publisher=Pew Research Center}}</ref>

According to the 2010 census, 85.8% of the total population were Christian, of whom 75.9% adhered to the Catholic faith, constituted in the [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vaduz|Catholic Archdiocese of Vaduz]], while 9.6% were either [[Protestant]], mainly organized in the [[Evangelical Church in Liechtenstein]] (a [[United church]], Lutheran & Reformed), the [[Evangelical Lutheran Church in Liechtenstein]] and the Free Evangelical Church Schaan ([[Non-denominational Christianity|non-denominational]]), or [[Eastern Orthodoxy|Eastern Orthodox]], mainly organized in the Christian-Orthodox Church.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Aktuell :: Orthodoxie |url=https://www.orthodoxie.li |access-date=26 October 2018 |publisher=www.orthodoxie.li |language=de}}</ref> There is a small community of 30 Jewish people who attend a synagogue in Switzerland.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Liechtenstein |url=https://www.state.gov/reports/2022-report-on-international-religious-freedom/Liechtenstein/ |access-date=2025-02-11 |website=United States Department of State |language=en-US}}</ref> The largest minority religion is [[Islam]] (5.4% of the total population).<ref name="r2">{{Cite web |title=Volkszählung 2010 |url=http://www.llv.li/files/as/pdf-llv-as-vz_2010_bd1 |access-date=3 August 2017 |website=Llv.li}}</ref>

=== Education ===
{{Main|Education in Liechtenstein}}

[[File:University of Liechtenstein.JPG|thumb|[[University of Liechtenstein]]]]

The literacy rate of Liechtenstein is 100%.<ref name="LiechCIA" /> In 2006 [[Programme for International Student Assessment]] report, coordinated by the [[Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development]], ranked Liechtenstein's education as the 10th-best in the world.<ref>[http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/42/8/39700724.pdf Range of rank on the PISA 2006 science scale]. Retrieved 24 December 2011</ref> In 2012, Liechtenstein had the highest PISA scores of any European country.<ref>{{Cite web |title=PISA 2012 Results in Focus |url=https://www.oecd.org/pisa/keyfindings/pisa-2012-results-overview.pdf |access-date=3 August 2017 |publisher=OECD |location=Paris}}</ref>

Within Liechtenstein, there are four main centres for higher education:

*[[University of Liechtenstein]]
*[[Private University in the Principality of Liechtenstein]]
*[[Liechtenstein Institute]]
*[[International Academy of Philosophy, Liechtenstein]]

There are nine public high schools in the country. These include:

*[[Liechtensteinisches Gymnasium]] in Vaduz.
*[[Realschule]] Vaduz and [[Oberschule]] Vaduz, in the [[Schulzentrum Mühleholz II]] in Vaduz<ref name="WeiterSchaan">"[http://www.schaan.li/CFDOCS/cmsout/admin/index.cfm?GroupID=53&MandID=3&meID=6044& Weiterführende Schulen Schaan] {{Webarchive|url=http://arquivo.pt/wayback/20160518035742/http://www.schaan.li/CFDOCS/cmsout/admin/index.cfm?GroupID=53&MandID=3&meID=6044& |date=18 May 2016 }}." Commune of Schaan. Retrieved 12 May 2016. "Realschule Schaan Duxgass 55 9494 Schaan" and "Sportschule Liechtenstein Duxgass 55 9494 Schaan" and "Realschule Vaduz Schulzentrum Mühleholz II 9490 Vaduz" and "Oberschule Vaduz Schulzentrum Mühleholz II 9490 Vaduz"</ref>
*Realschule Schaan and Sportschule Liechtenstein in [[Schaan]]<ref name=WeiterSchaan />

== Culture ==
{{See also|Music of Liechtenstein}}
[[File:Liechtensteinisches Landesmuseum, 2014.JPG|thumb|[[Liechtenstein National Museum]]]]
[[File:KML HAF aussen vom Staedtle Barbara Buehler.jpg|thumb|Kunstmuseum, [[Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein|Liechtenstein Art Museum]]]]

As a result of its small size, Liechtenstein has been strongly affected by external cultural influences, most notably those originating in the southern regions of German-speaking Europe, including Austria, Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, Switzerland, and specifically [[German Tyrol|Tirol]] and Vorarlberg.{{citation needed|date=December 2023}}

The largest{{citation needed|date=March 2025}} museum is the [[Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein]], an international museum of modern and contemporary art with an international art collection. The building by the Swiss architects Morger, Degelo, and Kerez is a landmark in Vaduz. It was completed in November 2000 and forms a "black box" of tinted concrete and black basalt stone. The museum collection is also the national art collection of Liechtenstein.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (with Photos) |url=https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g190371-d238249-Reviews-Kunstmuseum_Liechtenstein-Vaduz.html |access-date=2023-09-27 |website=Tripadvisor |language=en}}</ref>

The Historical Society of the Principality of Liechtenstein and the [[Liechtenstein National Museum]] (''Liechtensteinisches Landesmuseum'') also play a role in preserving the culture and history of the country.<ref>{{Cite web |title=History – Liechtensteinisches Landesmuseum |url=https://www.landesmuseum.li/en/museum/history |access-date=2023-09-27 |website=www.landesmuseum.li}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Liechtenstein NationalMuseum |url=https://tourismus.li/en/lie/place/Liechtenstein%20NationalMuseum/ |access-date=2023-09-27 |website=tourismus.li}}</ref> The National Museum shows permanent exhibitions on the cultural and natural history of Liechtenstein as well as special exhibitions. There is also a stamp museum, ski museum, and a 500-year-old Rural Lifestyle Museum.<ref name="World Travel Guide">{{Cite web |title=Best things to see and do in Liechtenstein |url=https://www.worldtravelguide.net/guides/europe/liechtenstein/ |access-date=2023-04-29 |website=World Travel Guide |language=en-US}}</ref>

The [[Liechtenstein State Library]] is the library that has [[legal deposit]] for all books published in the country.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Intranda |title=English Information |url=https://www.landesbibliothek.li/english-information/ |access-date=2023-04-29 |website=Liechtensteinische Landesbibliothek |language=de-DE}}</ref> Poet [[Ida Ospelt-Amann]] published her works exclusively in the Alemannic dialect of Vaduz.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Phaf-Rheinberger |first=Ineke |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ooYTEAAAQBAJ&dq=Ida+Ospelt-Amann&pg=PA76 |title=Ricardo Porros Architektur in Vaduz und Havanna |date=2021-01-12 |publisher=Books on Demand |isbn=978-3-7526-8278-6 |pages=76 |language=de}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QS8tAQAAIAAJ&q=Ida+Ospelt-Amann |title=Allmende |date=1998 |publisher=J. Thorbecke |pages=7 |language=de}}</ref>

Historical sites include [[Vaduz Castle]], [[Gutenberg Castle]] and [[Vaduz Cathedral]].<ref name="World Travel Guide" />

The Private Art Collection of the Prince of Liechtenstein, one of the world's leading private art collections, is shown at the [[Liechtenstein Museum]] in Vienna.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Vaduz-Vienna |first=LIECHTENSTEIN The Princely Collections |title=Garden Palace {{!}} permanent presentation {{!}} |url=https://www.liechtensteincollections.at/en/presentation/exhibitions/garden-palace |access-date=2023-09-07 |website=LIECHTENSTEIN. The Princely Collections, Vaduz–Vienna |language=en-gb}}</ref>

On the country's national holiday, all subjects are invited to the castle of the head of state. A significant portion of the population attends the national celebration at the castle where speeches are made and complimentary beer is served.<ref name="Letzing">{{Cite web |last=Letzing |first=John |date=16 April 2014 |title=Liechtenstein Gets Even Smaller |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/liechtenstein-gets-even-smaller-1397700444 |access-date=21 June 2018 |website=The Wall Street Journal}}</ref>

Music and theatre are important parts of the culture. There are numerous music organizations such as the Liechtenstein Musical Company, the annual Guitar Days, and the International [[Josef Gabriel Rheinberger]] Society, which play in two main theatres.{{citation needed|date=July 2022}}

=== Media ===
{{See also|List of newspapers in Liechtenstein}}
The primary [[internet service provider]] and [[mobile network operator]] of Liechtenstein is Telecom Liechtenstein, located in Vaduz.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Top 20 Internet Service Providers in Liechtenstein {{!}} DB-IP |url=https://db-ip.com/country/LI |access-date=2025-02-12 |website=db-ip.com}}</ref>

There are two conventional television channels in the country. The private channel [[1FLTV]] was created in 2008 with a goal of joining the [[European Broadcasting Union]], which it did not accomplish and has since abandoned. The ''Landeskanal'' ({{small|[[:de:Landeskanal|de]]}}) ("National Channel") is operated by the government's Unit for Information and Communication and carries government proceedings, [[Public affairs (broadcasting)|public affairs]] programming, and cultural events. Both are seen on local cable providers, along with all major channels from the other German-speaking countries. Since Switzerland shut off its [[digital terrestrial television]] network in 2019, the only free television signals available are German and Austrian channels from the Sender Pfänder ({{small|[[:de:Sender Pfänder|de]]}}) in [[Bregenz]].

[[Radio Liechtenstein]], which was established in 2004 along with the public-service broadcaster ''[[:de:Liechtensteinischer Rundfunk|Liechtensteinischer Rundfunk]]'' (LRF) that operated it, was the country's only domestic radio station based in Schaan. Radio Liechtenstein ceased operations in 2025 after a [[2024_Liechtenstein_referendums#Privatization_of_Radio_Liechtenstein|referendum]] passed requiring the government to privatize it, but no agreement could be reached before the deadline. The three FM programs of the Swiss [[Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen|SRF]] are still broadcast from the Sender Erbi ({{small|[[:de:Sender Erbi|de]]}}) overlooking Vaduz. Liechtenstein also has one major newspaper: ''[[Liechtensteiner Vaterland]]''.

[[Amateur radio]] is a hobby of some nationals and visitors. However, unlike virtually every other sovereign nation, Liechtenstein does not have its own [[ITU prefix]]. Conventionally, amateurs are issued call signs with the Swiss prefix "HB", followed by "0" or "L".

=== Sports ===
[[File:Marco Büchel.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Marco Büchel]], the first Liechtensteiner alpine skier to compete at six [[Winter Olympic Games|Winter Olympics]]]]
[[File:Landstr. 81 in Schaan - Liechtenstein Olympic Commitees (2018).jpg|thumb|[[Liechtenstein Olympic Committee]] in [[Schaan]]]]
Liechtenstein [[Association football|football]] teams play in the Swiss football leagues. The [[Liechtenstein Football Cup]] allows access for one Liechtenstein team each year to the [[UEFA Europa Conference League]]; [[FC Vaduz]], a team playing in the [[Swiss Challenge League]], the second division in Swiss football, is the most successful team in the Cup, and scored their greatest success in the [[1996–97 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup|European Cup Winners' Cup in 1996]] when they drew with and defeated the Latvian team [[FK Jelgava|FC Universitate Riga]] by 1–1 and 4–2, to go on to a lucrative fixture against [[Paris Saint-Germain F.C.]], which they lost 0–3 and 0–4.

The [[Liechtenstein national football team]] is regarded{{according to whom|date=July 2024}} as an easy target{{clarify|date=July 2024}} for any team drawn against them; this was the basis for a book about Liechtenstein's unsuccessful qualifying campaign for the [[2002 FIFA World Cup|2002 World Cup]] by British author [[Charlie Connelly]]. In one surprising{{why|date=July 2024}} week during autumn 2004, however, the team managed a 2–2 draw with [[Portugal national football team|Portugal]], who only a few months earlier had been the losing finalists in the [[UEFA Euro 2004|European Championships]]. Four days later, the Liechtenstein team travelled to Luxembourg, where they defeated [[Luxembourg national football team|the home team]] 4–0 in a [[2006 FIFA World Cup|2006 World Cup]] qualifying match.

In the qualification stage of the European Championship 2008, Liechtenstein beat Latvia 1–0, which prompted the Latvian coach's resignation. They went on to beat Iceland 3–0 on 17 October 2007, which is considered one of the most dramatic losses of the Icelandic national football team. On 7 September 2010, they came within seconds of a 1–1 draw against [[Scotland national football team|Scotland]] in Glasgow, having led 1–0 earlier in the second half, but Liechtenstein lost 2–1 thanks to a goal by [[Stephen McManus]] in the 97th minute. On 3 June 2011, Liechtenstein defeated [[Lithuania national football team|Lithuania]] 2–0. On 15 November 2014, Liechtenstein defeated [[Moldova national football team|Moldova]] 0–1 with [[Franz Burgmeier]]'s late free kick goal in [[Chișinău]].

[[Liechtenstein national football team|Liechtenstein]] competes in the Switzerland U16 Cup Tournament, which offers young players an opportunity to play against top football clubs.

As an [[Alps|alpine]] country, the main sporting opportunity for Liechtensteiners to excel is in winter sports such as [[Downhill (ski competition)|downhill skiing]]: the country's single ski area is [[Malbun]]. [[Hanni Wenzel]] won two gold medals and one silver medal in the 1980 [[Winter Olympic Games|Winter Olympics]] (she won bronze in 1976), her brother [[Andreas Wenzel|Andreas]] won one silver medal in 1980 and one bronze medal in 1984 in the [[Giant slalom skiing|giant slalom]] event, and her daughter [[Tina Weirather]] won a bronze medal in 2018 in the [[Super-G]]. With ten medals overall (all in alpine skiing), Liechtenstein has won more Olympic medals per capita than any other nation.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Per Capita Olympic Medal Table |url=http://users.skynet.be/hermandw/olymp/reloly.html |access-date=24 January 2009 |archive-date=13 September 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080913181523/http://users.skynet.be/hermandw/olymp/reloly.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> It is the smallest country to win a medal in any Olympics, Winter or Summer, and currently the only country to win a medal in the Winter Games but not in the Summer Games. Other notable skiers from Liechtenstein are [[Marco Büchel]], [[Willi Frommelt]], [[Paul Frommelt]] and [[Ursula Konzett]].

Another discipline unusually popular with Liechtensteiners is [[Auto racing|motorsport]]; American-born German-Colombian [[Rikky von Opel]] raced under the flag of Liechtenstein in [[Formula One]] in [[1973 Formula One season|1973]] and [[1974 Formula One season|1974]], and [[Manfred Schurti]] competed in 9 editions of the [[24 Hours of Le Mans]] as a [[Porsche]] factory driver with a best finish of 4th overall in [[1976 24 Hours of Le Mans|1976]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=24 January 2015 |title=Rikky von Opel " OldRacingCars.com |publisher=OldRacingCars.com |url=https://www.oldracingcars.com/driver/Rikky_von_Opel}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=31 January 2013 |title=Manfred Schurti – Austro Classic Online (in German) |publisher=Austro Classic |url=http://www.austroclassic.at/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2264&Itemid=46 |archive-date=24 October 2020 |access-date=4 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201024154709/http://www.austroclassic.at/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2264&Itemid=46 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The country is currently represented internationally by [[Fabienne Wohlwend]] and [[Matthias Kaiser]] in [[Endurance racing (motorsport)|endurance racing]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=14 February 2020 |title=Under the Visor: Fabienne Wohlwend |publisher=[[W Series (championship)|W Series]] |url=https://wseries.com/w-hub/under-the-visor-fabienne-wohlwend/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200226190045/https://wseries.com/w-hub/under-the-visor-fabienne-wohlwend/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=26 February 2020 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=4 September 2020 |title=(FL) Matthias Kaiser – Driver Database |publisher=Driver Database |url=https://www.driverdb.com/drivers/matthias-kaiser/}}</ref>

Other sports Liechtenstein athletes have had success in include [[tennis]], with [[Stephanie Vogt]] and [[Kathinka von Deichmann]] both having varying degrees of success on the women's tour, as well as [[swimming (sport)|swimming]]; both [[Julia Hassler]] and [[Christoph Meier]] represented the country at the [[2016 Summer Olympics]] with the former the nations' flag bearer.<ref>{{Cite web |date=8 August 2016 |title=Stephanie Vogt beendet ihre Karriere (in German) |url=https://www.vaterland.li/liechtenstein/sport/Stephanie-Vogt-beendet-ihre-Karriere;art174,217482 |publisher=[[Liechtensteiner Vaterland]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=16 August 2016 |title=The Flagbearers for the Rio 2016 Opening Ceremony |url=https://www.olympic.org/news/the-flagbearers-for-the-rio-2016-opening-ceremony |access-date=27 August 2016}}</ref>

In March 2020, the distance world record for electric motorcycles was set in Liechtenstein. Artist [[Michel von Tell]] drove over 1,000 miles within 24 hours on the first electric [[Harley-Davidson]]. The Record is still current in 2023 and ended in [[Ruggell]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=S.A.P |first=El Mercurio |date=2020-03-24 |title=Moto eléctrica de Harley-Davidson rompe récord al recorrer 1.700 km en 24 horas {{!}} Emol.com |url=https://www.emol.com/noticias/Autos/2020/03/24/980873/HarleyDavidson-Livewire-record-moto-elctrica.html |access-date=2023-01-04 |website=Emol |language=Spanish}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Harley-Davidson's LiveWire EV Motorcycle {{!}} GreenCars |url=https://www.greencars.com/expert-insights/harley-davidsons-livewire-ev-motorcycle |access-date=2023-01-04 |website=www.greencars.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Bartholdi |first=Martin A. |date=2020-03-28 |title=Schweizer fährt Weltrekord auf Elektrotöff |url=https://www.blick.ch/auto/news_n_trends/harley-davidson-livewire-schweizer-faehrt-weltrekord-auf-elektrotoeff-id15818340.html |access-date=2023-01-04 |website=Blick |language=de-CH}}</ref>

== See also ==
*[[List of Liechtensteiners]]
*[[Outline of Liechtenstein]]

== Notes ==
{{Notelist}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
{{Sister project links|Liechtenstein|wikt=Liechtenstein|n=Category:Liechtenstein|q=no|s=Portal:Liechtenstein|b=no|voy=Liechtenstein|v=no|d=Q347}}
* {{official website|http://www.liechtenstein.li/}} (in German and English)
* [https://www.fuerstenhaus.li/en/ Princely House of Liechtenstein]
* [https://www.landtag.li/en/ Parliament of Liechtenstein]
* [http://www.regierung.li/default.aspx?lang=en Government of Liechtenstein]. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200527082734/https://www.regierung.li/default.aspx?lang=en |date=27 May 2020 }}.
* [https://www.tourismus.li/en/ Official tourism of Liechtenstein]
* [https://www.as.llv.li/ Statistics Office of Liechtenstein] {{in lang|de}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20260115003126/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/liechtenstein/ Liechtenstein]. ''[[The World Factbook]]''. [[Central Intelligence Agency]].
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20121002063442/http://ucblibraries.colorado.edu/govpubs/for/liechtenstein.htm Liechtenstein] from ''UCB Libraries GovPubs'' (archived 2 October 2012)
* [https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-17535108 Liechtenstein profile] from [[BBC News]]
* {{wikiatlas|Liechtenstein}}
* {{osmrelation-inline|1155955|bullet=no}}
* {{cite EB1911|wstitle=Liechtenstein |volume=16 |last= Coolidge |first= William Augustus Brevoort |author-link= William Augustus Brevoort Coolidge | pages = 592&ndash;593 |short=1 }}

{{Liechtenstein topics}}
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