Nestled between Switzerland and Austria lies a tiny European principality that is, in fact, the richest country in the world. Despite having a population of less than 40,000 and spanning just 62 square miles, the microstate of Liechtenstein has surged to the top of the list for the world’s richest nation. Its GDP per capita now exceeds that of Luxembourg, Singapore and Monaco – nations that have long been associated with exceptional wealth.
Liechtenstein’s story is unusual compared to most countries, as it was not created through conquest or revolution, but through dynastic manoeuvring and the legal quirks of the once-powerful Holy Roman Empire. The House of Liechtenstein was an old noble family that had been powerful in Austria and Moravia (modern Czech Republic) for centuries. However, while they owned vast estates, most of them were fiefs – land held under other lords. Because of this, they were unable to qualify for a seat in the Imperial Diet (the parliament of the Holy Roman Empire), which required holding land directly from the emperor. To fix this, the Liechtensteins looked for small territories they could buy that were directly subject to the emperor. In the early 18th century, they purchased two tiny principalities, Schellenberg and Vaduz. Both were poor, rural areas in the Alps, but, crucially, were answerable to the emperor.
In January 1719, Emperor Charles VI officially declared that Schellenberg and Vaduz were united as the Principality of Liechtenstein. In 1806, when Napoleon dissolved the Holy Roman Empire, Liechtenstein became fully sovereign under the Confederation of the Rhine. After Napoleon’s fall, Liechtenstein joined the German Confederation (1815–1866), before declaring full independence in 1866 when the confederation dissolved.
Since then, Liechtenstein has survived by keeping close ties with Austria, and later with Switzerland, which still handles much of its defence and economics today. Liechtenstein is not a member of the European Union, but it does participate in both the Schengen Area and the European Economic Area. In September 1990, it was admitted into the UN as the 160th member state.
The semi-constitutional monarchy of Liechtenstein is headed by the Prince of the House of Liechtenstein, currently under the leadership of Hans-Adam II, one of Europe’s wealthiest men. Liechtenstein is also one of the rare countries worldwide without debt. In 2020, it had the highest number of millionaire households per capita – known as millionaire density – where 19% of households are millionaires.
Youtuber Harry Jaggard recently visited the country and said: “There’s no corruption, they have a good governance and there’s no national debt [which] means that the people of Liechtenstein are very happy and very wealthy”.
“However, walking around it, it seems like a pretty boring city,” Mr Jaggard added. “But, it is also a very clean city, so credit where credit’s due”.
Unfortunately, Mr Juggard was not the only visitor to give Leichtenstein this title. In a blog post by Kami & The Rest of the World, the author wrote: “Not many people know about Liechtenstein and even less visit it. To be honest, I can’t blame them – I’ve been there twice so far, and I couldn’t find anything exceptional to even like the place.
“It lacked soul and the vibe and that made it just another random destination and I don’t think I will visit it again anytime soon (or at all).”
Nevertheless, Kami continued: “Even if I’m obviously not a fan of this tiny country I still think it’s worth [visiting] Liechtenstein. Each time when I was in Liechtenstein there were only [a] few tourists around and that gave me an impression of the off the beaten path destination. The cities are boring and don’t offer much but there still are few interesting places, such as the Post Museum, the vineyards or the walk to the Castle.”