Tiny kingdom in the middle of Europe: The richest place in the world but very few people know the name!

Liechtenstein's full official name is the Principality of Liechtenstein, located in Western Europe, close to the border of Switzerland and Austria. This tiny land is the second least visited place in Europe when in 2018 only attracted about 85,000 visitors. Although not too famous, known to many international friends, Liechtenstein is the richest and has a lot of interesting things.

1. Liechtenstein is the 6th smallest country in the world

Liechtenstein is the 4th smallest country in Europe.

Despite having a super small area of ​​about 160 square kilometers, only about one-eighth of the city of Los Angeles in the United States, Liechtenstein is still only the fourth smallest country in Europe. It is still larger than the other three tiny kingdoms, Vatican, Monaco and San Marino. As for the whole world, Liechtenstein is the 6th smallest recognized country. Liechtenstein is also a landlocked country, located entirely inland.

2. Liechtenstein has only about 38,000 inhabitants

In terms of population, this is also the 6th least populous country in the world.

The current population of this European kingdom is close to 38,000 inhabitants. The population density of Liechtenstein is also quite low, only 227 people/km2. Similar to area, in terms of population, this is also the 6th least populous country in the world. The largest city is the capital Vaduz with only 5,400 inhabitants.

3. Liechtenstein is the richest country on the planet by GDP per capita

 The unemployment rate of the people of this country is only 1.5%.

For many consecutive years, Liechtenstein is always in the top 5 countries with the highest GDP per capita globally. In 2020, this kingdom held the championship with an average income of 180,227 USD (about 4.2 billion VND), 7 times higher than the average global GDP.

Besides, Liechtenstein is so rich that it has almost no foreign debt. The unemployment rate of the people of this beautiful country is also super low, only 1.5%. In 2016, only 406 Liechtenstein citizens were unemployed, including women on maternity leave. The prosperity of this micro-nation largely comes from financial banking services.

4. Liechtenstein's royal family is the richest in Europe

The current head of the monarchy in this country is Prince Hans-Adam.

Although much less famous, in terms of wealth, it is difficult for any royal family in Europe to match the royal family of Liechtenstein. The current head of the monarchy in this country is Prince Hans-Adam. Unlike other constitutional monarchies, where the royal family's assets are largely managed by the government and have many constraints, the nearly $5 billion fortune of the Liechtenstein royal family is entirely personal. Prince Hans-Adam's personal wealth is about 10 times more than that of Queen Elizabeth II.

The royal family is the owner of LGT Bank - the largest bank in the country with total assets of about 41.9 billion USD. Royal family members also receive great trust and love from the people. Every year on August 15 and National Day, the Prince of Liechtenstein invites the entire population to his castle to party and drink.

5. Liechtenstein has no army

Armed security guard here is only the national police.

Liechtenstein is a rare country in the world that is completely independent without an army. The armed forces protecting security here are only the National Police (NPF) with a mere 125 people (including 90 officers and 35 civilian support staff). Even so, the crime rate in this tiny country is still very low.

Due to its small size, the Principality also does not have an airport and does not have any embassies. To get to Liechtenstein, people will have to fly to the airport in neighboring Switzerland and then go overland.

6. Liechtenstein is the "kingdom of false teeth"

As small as a typical city district, Liechtenstein is the largest manufacturer of dentures in the world. It provides about 20% of global denture production. The development of this industry is thanks to a company called Ivoclar Vivadent, located in the province of Schaan. Each year, the enterprise produces about 60 million dentures for export to all over the world.