Liechtenstein

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.
==Economical characteristics==
* Currency: Swiss franc (ISO code: CHF)
* This country does not seem to have a central bank.
===Statistics===
Statistic / Year 	1999 	2000 	2001 	2002 	2003 	2004 	2005 	2006 	2007 	2008
GDP (million USD)World Bank. "Liechtenstein: GDP", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-29. 	2 664	2 484	2 492	2 689	3 071	3 455	3 658	3 809	4 160	
Govt. debt (% of GDP)World Bank. "Liechtenstein: government debt", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-29. 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Govt. revenue (% of GDP)World Bank. "Liechtenstein: government revenue", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-29. 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Govt. expenses (% of GDP)World Bank. "Liechtenstein: government expenses", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-29.	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Debt to revenue (years) 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
==References==
Note: statistical data was rounded. Different sources may use different methodologies for their estimates. Debt to revenue is calculated by dividing the two variables from their original ('unrounded') values. It represents how long it would a government take to repay its entire debt if it used its whole revenue for this purpose.
==External links==
* Liechtenstein on Wikipedia
* BBC country profile
Category:Countries