Liechtenstein Principality of Liechtenstein
Status	Independent State
Social and Moral Index	54th best
Capital	Vaduz
Land Area	160km²₁
Location	Europe
Population	37 910₂
Life Expectancy	80.16yrs (2017)₃
GNI	$75 065 (2017)₄
ISO3166-1 Codes	LI, LIE, 438₅
Internet Domain	.li₆
Currency	Franc (CHF)₇
Telephone	+423₈

1. Overview

#switzerland

“The Principality of Liechtenstein was established within the Holy Roman Empire in 1719. Occupied by both French and Russian troops during the Napoleonic Wars, it became a sovereign state in 1806 and joined the Germanic Confederation in 1815. Liechtenstein became fully independent in 1866 when the Confederation dissolved. Until the end of World War I, it was closely tied to Austria, but the economic devastation caused by that conflict forced Liechtenstein to enter into a customs and monetary union with Switzerland. Since World War II (in which Liechtenstein remained neutral), the country's low taxes have spurred outstanding economic growth. In 2000, shortcomings in banking regulatory oversight resulted in concerns about the use of financial institutions for money laundering. However, Liechtenstein implemented anti-money laundering legislation and a Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty with the US that went into effect in 2003.”
CIA's The World Factbook (2013)₉

“With a history and monarchy as story-book as its melodious mountain scenery, rich old Liechtenstein puts a whole new perspective on `doing a country´. If Liechtenstein didn´t exist, someone would have invented it. A tiny mountain principality governed by an iron-willed monarch in the heart of 21st-century Europe, it certainly has novelty value. Only 25km long by 12km wide (at its broadest point) - just larger than Manhattan - Liechtenstein doesn´t have an international airport, and access from Switzerland is by local bus. However, the country is a rich banking state and, we are told, the world´s largest exporter of false teeth.
Most blaze through Liechtenstein en route to Switzerland, stopping only for snapshots of the castle and a souvenir passport stamp. That´s a shame, as the country has an overwhelming amount of natural beauty for its size. Strike out into the Alpine wilderness beyond Vaduz and, suddenly, this landlocked sliver of a micro-nation no longer seems quite so small.”
"The World" by Lonely Planet (2014)₁₀

2. Liechtenstein National and Social Development

#economics #human_development

UN HDI (2016)₁₁
Pos.		Lower is better Rank₁₁
1	Norway	1
2	Australia	2
3	Switzerland	2
	...
12	Hong Kong	12
13	New Zealand	13
14	Sweden	14
15	Liechtenstein	15
16	UK	16
17	Japan	17
18	S. Korea	18
19	Israel	19
	World Avg	94.3
q=188.

Gross National Income Per-Capita (2011)₁₂
Pos.		Higher is better PPP $₁₂
1	Qatar	$129 916
2	Singapore	$78 162
3	Kuwait	$76 075
4	Liechtenstein	$75 065
5	Brunei	$72 843
6	Norway	$67 614
7	UAE	$66 203
8	Luxembourg	$62 471
9	Switzerland	$56 364
10	Hong Kong	$54 265
11	USA	$53 245
12	Saudi Arabia	$51 320
	World Avg	$17 240
q=193.

Social & Moral Development Index₁₃_,₁₄
Pos.		Lower is better Avg Rank₁₃_,₁₄
1	Taiwan	30.2
2	Denmark	30.5
3	Norway	30.9
	...
52	Malaysia	73.2
53	Moldova	73.2
54	Bosnia & Herzegovina	73.5
55	Liechtenstein	73.5
56	Mongolia	73.5
57	Peru	74.4
58	Maldives	74.4
59	Barbados	74.5
	World Avg	86.4
q=195.

The United Nations produces an annual Human Development Report which includes the Human Development Index. The factors taken into account include life expectancy, education and schooling and Gross National Income (GNI) amongst many others..

The Social and Moral Development Index concentrates on moral issues and human rights, violence, public health, equality, tolerance, freedom and effectiveness in climate change mitigation and environmentalism, and on some technological issues. A country scores higher for achieving well in those areas, and for sustaining that achievement in the long term. Those countries towards the top of this index can truly said to be setting good examples and leading humankind onwards into a bright, humane, and free future. See: Which are the Best Countries in the World? The Social and Moral Development Index.

3. Liechtenstein's Demographics

#health #immigration #life_expectancy #longevity #migration #population

Population:

Liechtenstein's population is predicted to rise to 41 553 by 2030.

Population (2018)₂
Pos.		Population₂
1	China	1.4b
2	India	1.4b
3	USA	327.1m
	...
188	Marshall Islands	58 413
189	St Kitts & Nevis	52 441
190	Monaco	38 682
191	Liechtenstein	37 910
192	San Marino	33 785
193	Palau	17 907
194	Tuvalu	11 508
195	Nauru	10 670
	World Avg	39.0m
q=195.

Life Expectancy (2015)₁₂
Pos.		Higher is better Years₁₂
1	Hong Kong	84.16
2	Japan	83.68
3	Italy	83.34
	...
29	Slovenia	80.58
30	Denmark	80.41
31	Cyprus	80.33
32	Liechtenstein	80.16
33	Costa Rica	79.61
34	Cuba	79.57
35	Lebanon	79.54
36	USA	79.22
	World Avg	71.27
q=190.

Migration:

Immigrants (2017)₁₅
Pos.		%₁₅
1	UAE	88.4%
2	Kuwait	75.5%
3	Qatar	65.2%
4	Liechtenstein	65.1%
5	Monaco	54.9%
6	Andorra	53.3%
7	Bahrain	48.4%
8	Singapore	46.0%
9	Luxembourg	45.3%
10	Oman	44.7%
11	Hong Kong	39.1%
12	Saudi Arabia	37.0%
	World Avg	9.4%
q=195.

Emigrants (2010)₁₆
Pos.		%₁₆
1	Dominica	104.8%
2	Palestine	68.4%
3	Samoa	67.3%
	...
32	Belarus	18.4%
33	Eritrea	18.0%
34	Croatia	17.1%
35	Liechtenstein	17.1%
36	Cyprus	17.0%
37	Marshall Islands	16.6%
38	Ireland	16.1%
39	Belize	16.1%
	World Avg	11.5%
q=192.

4. Human Rights, Equality & Tolerance

#china #equality #freedom #human_rights #Liechtenstein #politics #russia #tolerance

Liechtenstein does relatively well in ensuring human rights and freedom, compared to many other countries. Liechtenstein comes in the best 20 when it comes to supporting press freedom₁₇. It does better than average in terms of its nominal commitment to Human Rights₁₈, commentary in Human Rights Watch reports₁₉ (but low for Europe) and in LGBT equality₂₀ (but low for Europe). Liechtenstein does not succeed in everything, however. It does worse than average when it comes to speed of uptake of HR treaties₂₁ (amongst the highest in Europe). Human Rights Watch has declared that Liechtenstein "has worked incredibly hard, beyond all expectations given its size and resources, to establish routes to combat mass genocide at the United Nations in circumstances where investigations are being blocked by countries such as Russia and China"₂₂.

For tables, charts and commentary, see:

Human Rights and Freedom in Liechtenstein

5. Liechtenstein's Health

#health #Liechtenstein #life_expectancy #longevity

Health:

Public health in Liechtenstein is very good. Liechtenstein does better than average when it comes to its average life expectancy₁₂. The prevalence of overweight adults has increased by 14% over the past 40 years.

Life Expectancy (2015)₁₂
Pos.		Higher is better Years₁₂
1	Hong Kong	84.16
2	Japan	83.68
3	Italy	83.34
	...
29	Slovenia	80.58
30	Denmark	80.41
31	Cyprus	80.33
32	Liechtenstein	80.16
33	Costa Rica	79.61
34	Cuba	79.57
35	Lebanon	79.54
36	USA	79.22
	World Avg	71.27
q=190.

6. Liechtenstein's Modernity and Learning

#education #the_internet

Modernity and Education:

Length of Schooling (2018)₂₃
Pos.		Higher is better Years₂₃
1	Australia	22.1
2	Belgium	19.7
3	Finland	19.3
	...
59	Bulgaria	14.8
60	Serbia	14.8
61	Iran	14.7
62	Liechtenstein	14.7
63	Algeria	14.7
64	Cyprus	14.7
65	Oman	14.7
66	Thailand	14.7
	World Avg	13.2
q=193.

Technology and Information:

Internet Users (2016)₂₄
Pos.		Higher is better₂₄
1	Iceland	100%
2	Faroe Islands	99%
3	Norway	98%
4	Bermuda	97%
5	Andorra	97%
6	Denmark	96%
7	Liechtenstein	96%
8	Luxembourg	95%
9	Netherlands	94%
10	Sweden	93%
11	Monaco	93%
12	UK	93%
	World Avg	48.1%
q=201.

IPv6 Uptake (2017)₂₅
Pos.		Higher is better Ratio₂₅
1	Belgium	55.4
2	Germany	41.8
3	Switzerland	35.1
	...
77	Croatia	0.1
78	Costa Rica	0.1
79	Serbia	0.1
80	Liechtenstein	0.0
81	Cyprus	0.0
82	Philippines	0.0
83	Macedonia	0.0
84	Pakistan	0.0
	World Avg	3.82
q=176.

7. The Natural Environment

#biodiversity #over-exploitation #the_environment

Forest Area Change 1990-2015 (2015)₂₆
Pos.		Higher is better %₂₆
1	Iceland	205.6
2	Bahrain	144.4
3	Uruguay	131.3
	...
52	Fiji	06.7
53	Laos	06.3
54	Poland	06.3
55	Liechtenstein	06.2
56	Latvia	05.8
57	Uzbekistan	05.7
58	New Zealand	05.1
59	Slovenia	05.1
	World Avg	02.8
q=184.

Convention on Biological Diversity
Pos.		Earlier is better Signed
1	China	1993 Dec 29
2	Guinea	1993 Dec 29
3	Cook Islands	1993 Dec 29
	...
168	Gabon	1997 Jun 12
169	Burundi	1997 Jul 14
170	Tajikistan	1998 Jan 27
171	Liechtenstein	1998 Feb 17
172	Macedonia	1998 Mar 02
173	Angola	1998 Jun 30
174	Tonga	1998 Aug 17
175	Palau	1999 Apr 06
	World Avg	1899 Dec 30
q=197.

8. Religion and Beliefs

#buddhism #christianity #hinduism #islam #judaism

Data from the Pew Forum, a professional polling outfit, states that in 2010 the religious makeup of this country was as follows in the table below₂₇:

Christian	91.9%
Muslim	5%
Hindu	0.1%
Buddhist	0.1%
Folk Religion	0.1%
Jew	0.1%
Unaffiliated	2.9%

The CIA World Factbook has slightly different data, and states: Roman Catholic (official) 76.2%, Protestant 7%, unknown 10.6%, other 6.2% (June 2002)₂₈.

The International Humanist and Ethical Union produced a report in 2012 entitled "Freedom of Thought" (2012)₂₉, in which they document bias and prejudice at the national level that is based on religion, belief and/or lack of belief. Their entry for Liechtenstein states:

“The constitution and other laws and policies protect freedom of religion or belief. However, the constitution makes the Catholic Church the "National Church" of the country, and as such it enjoys the full protection of the state. The government gives money not only to the Catholic Church, but also to other denominations. Catholic and Protestant churches receive regular annual contributions from the government in proportion to membership as determined in the 2000 census; smaller religious groups are eligible to apply for grants for associations of foreigners or specific projects. Religious education is part of the curriculum at public schools. Catholic or Protestant religious education is compulsory in all primary schools. The curriculum for Catholic confessional education is determined by the Roman Catholic Church with only a minor complementary supervisory role by the municipalities. At the secondary school level, parents and pupils choose between traditional confessional education organized by their religious community and the nonconfessional (secular) subject "Religion and Culture." Since its introduction in 2003, 90 percent of Catholic pupils have chosen the non-confessional subject.”
"Freedom of Thought" by IHEU (2012)₃₀

Links:

A List of All Religions and Belief Systems