Map of Switzerland | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
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Background: Switzerland's independence and neutrality have long been honored by the major European powers and Switzerland was not involved in either of the two World Wars. The political and economic integration of Europe over the past half century as well as Switzerland's role in many UN and international organizations has strengthened Switzerland's ties with its neighbors. However the country did not officially become a UN member until 2002. Switzerland remains active in many UN and international organizations but retains a strong commitment to neutrality.


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Location: Central Europe east of France north of Italy

Geographic coordinates: 47 00 N 8 00 E

Map reference: Europe

Area
Total: 41,290 km²
Land: 39,770 km²
Water: 1,520 km²
Comparative: slightly less than twice the size of New Jersey

Land boundaries
Total: 1,852 km
Border countries: (5) Austria 164 km; , France 573 km; , Italy 740 km; , Liechtenstein 41 km; , Germany 334 km

Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)

Maritime claims: none (landlocked)

Climate: temperate but varies with altitude; cold cloudy rainy/snowy winters; cool to warm cloudy humid summers with occasional showers

Terrain: mostly mountains (Alps in south Jura in northwest) with a central plateau of rolling hills plains and large lakes

Elevation
Extremes lowest point: Lake Maggiore 195 m
Extremes highest point: Dufourspitze 4,634 m

Natural resources: hydropower potential timber salt

Land use
Arable land: 10.42%
Permanent crops: 0.61%
Other: 88.97% (2001)

Irrigated land: 250 km² (1998 est.)

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

Natural hazards: avalanches landslides flash floods

Geography
Note: landlocked; crossroads of northern and southern Europe; along with southeastern France northern Italy and southwestern Austria has the highest elevations in the Alps


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Population: 7,450,867 (July 2004 est.)
Growth rate: 0.54% (2004 est.)
Below poverty line: NA

Nationality
Noun: Swiss (singular and plural)
Adjective: Swiss

Ethnic groups: German 65% French 18% Italian 10% Romansch 1% other 6%

Languages: German (official) 63.7% French (official) 19.2% Italian (official) 7.6% Romansch (official) 0.6% other 8.9%

Religions: Roman Catholic 46.1% Protestant 40% other 5% none 8.9% (1990)

Demographic profile

Age structure
0-14 years: 16.8% (male 647,362; female 602,333)
15-64 years: 67.9% (male 2,555,089; female 2,503,331)
65 years and over: 15.3% (male 466,615; female 676,137) (2004 est.)

Dependency ratios

Median age
Total: 39.5 years
Male: 38.5 years
Female: 40.5 years (2004 est.)

Population growth rate: 0.54% (2004 est.)

Birth rate: 9.83 births/1000 population (2004 est.)

Death rate: 8.44 deaths/1000 population (2004 est.)

Net migration rate: 4.05 migrant(s)/1000 population (2004 est.)

Population distribution

Urbanization

Major urban areas

Environment
Current issues: air pollution from vehicle emissions and open-air burning; acid rain; water pollution from increased use of agricultural fertilizers; loss of biodiversity
International agreements party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
International agreements signed but not ratified: Law of the Sea

Air pollutants

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.05 male/female
Under 15 years: 1.08 male/female
15-64 years: 1.02 male/female
65 years and over: 0.69 male/female
Total population: 0.97 male/female (2004 est.)

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate
Total: 4.43 deaths/1000 live births
Male: 4.94 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 3.89 deaths/1000 live births (2004 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 80.31 years
Male: 77.51 years
Female: 83.27 years (2004 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.42 children born/woman (2004 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate

Drinking water source

Current health expenditure

Physicians density

Hospital bed density

Sanitation facility access

Hiv/Aids
Adult prevalence rate: 0.5% (2001 est.)
People living with hivaids: 19,000 (2001 est.)
Deaths: less than 100 (2001 est.)

Major infectious diseases

Obesity adult prevalence rate

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

Education expenditures

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 99% (1980 est.)

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education

Youth unemployment


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Country name
Conventional long form: Swiss Confederation
Conventional short form: Switzerland
Local long form: Schweizerische Eidgenossenschaft (German), Confederation Suisse (French), Confederazione Svizzera (Italian)
Local short form: Schweiz (German), Suisse (French), Svizzera (Italian)

Government type: federal republic

Capital: Bern

Administrative divisions: 26 cantons (cantons singular - canton in French; cantoni singular - cantone in Italian; kantone singular - kanton in German); Aargau Appenzell Ausser-Rhoden Appenzell Inner-Rhoden Basel-Landschaft Basel-Stadt Bern Fribourg Geneve Glarus Graubunden Jura Luzern Neuchatel Nidwalden Obwalden Sankt Gallen Schaffhausen Schwyz Solothurn Thurgau Ticino Uri Valais Vaud Zug Zurich

Dependent areas

Independence: 1 August 1291 (founding of the Swiss Confederation)

National holiday: Founding of the Swiss Confederation 1 August (1291)

Constitution: revision of Constitution of 1874 approved by the Federal Parliament 18 December 1998; adopted by referendum 18 April 1999; officially entered into force 1 January 2000

Legal system: civil law system influenced by customary law; judicial review of legislative acts except with respect to federal decrees of general obligatory character; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations

International law organization participation

Citizenship

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Chief of state: President Samuel SCHMID (since 1 January 2005); Vice President Moritz LEUENBERGER (since 1 January 2005); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
Head of government: President Samuel SCHMID (since 1 January 2005); Vice President Moritz LEUENBERGER (since 1 January 2005); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
Cabinet: Federal Council or Bundesrat (in German), Conseil Federal (in French), Consiglio Federale (in Italian) elected by the Federal Assembly usually from among its own members for a four-year term
Elections: president and vice president elected by the Federal Assembly from among the members of the Federal Council for one-year terms that run concurrently; election last held 8 December 2004 (next to be held December 2005)
Election results: Samuel SCHMID elected president; percent of Federal Assembly vote - 70.7%; Moritz LEUENBERGER elected vice president; percent of legislative vote - 64.8%

Legislative branch
Elections: Council of States - last held in most cantons 19 October 2003 (each canton determines when the next election will be held); National Council - last held 19 October 2003 (next to be held NA October 2007)
Election results: Council of States - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - CVP 15, FDP 14, SVP 8, SPS 6, other 3; National Council - percent of vote by party - SVP 26.6%, SPS 23.3%, FDP 17.3%, CVP 14.4%, Greens 7.4%, other small parties all under 5%; seats by party - SVP 55, SPS 54, FDP 36, CVP 28, Green Party 13, other small parties 14

Judicial branch: Federal Supreme Court (judges elected for six-year terms by the Federal Assembly)

Political parties and leaders: Green Party (Grune Partei der Schweiz or Grune Parti Ecologiste Suisse or Les Verts Partito Ecologista Svizzero or I Verdi Partida Ecologica Svizra or La Verda) [Ruth GENNER]; Christian Democratic People's Party (Christichdemokratische Volkspartei der Schweiz or CVP Parti Democrate-Chretien Suisse or PDC Partito Democratico-Cristiano Popolare Svizzero or PDC Partida Cristiandemocratica dalla Svizra or PCD) [Doris LEUTHARD president]; Radical Free Democratic Party (Freisinnig-Demokratische Partei der Schweiz or FDP Parti Radical-Democratique Suisse or PRD Partitio Liberal-Radicale Svizzero or PLR) [Marianne KLEINER-SCHLAEPFER president]; Social Democratic Party (Sozialdemokratische Partei der Schweiz or SPS Parti Socialist Suisse or PSS Partito Socialista Svizzero or PSS Partida Socialdemocratica de la Svizra or PSS) [Hans-Juerg FEHR president]; Swiss People's Party (Schweizerische Volkspartei or SVP Union Democratique du Centre or UDC Unione Democratica de Centro or UDC Uniun Democratica dal Center or UDC) [Ueli MAURER president]; and other minor parties

International organization participation: ACCT AfDB AsDB Australia Group BIS CE CERN EAPC EBRD EFTA ESA FAO G-10 IADB IAEA IBRD ICAO ICC ICCt ICFTU ICRM IDA IEA IFAD IFC IFRCS ILO IMF IMO Interpol IOC IOM ISO ITU LAIA (observer) MIGA MONUC NAM (guest) NEA NSG OAS (observer) OECD OPCW OSCE Paris Club PCA PFP UN UNCTAD UNESCO UNHCR UNIDO UNITAR UNMEE UNMIK UNOMIG UNTSO UPU WCL WCO WHO WIPO WMO WToO WTO ZC

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Christian BLICKENSTORFER
In the us chancery: 2,900 Cathedral Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20,008
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 745-7,900
In the us fax: [1] (202) 387-2,564
In the us consulates general: Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco
In the us consulates: Boston
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador Pamela P. WILLEFORD
From the us embassy: Jubilaumsstrasse 93, CH-3,005 Bern
From the us mailing address: use embassy street address
From the us telephone: [41] (031) 357 70 11
From the us fax: [41] (031) 357 73 44

Flag description: red square with a bold equilateral white cross in the center that does not extend to the edges of the flag

National symbols

National anthem

National heritage


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Economy overview: Switzerland is a prosperous and stable modern market economy with low unemployment a highly skilled labor force and a per capita GDP larger than that of the big Western European economies. The Swiss in recent years have brought their economic practices largely into conformity with the EU's to enhance their international competitiveness. Switzerland remains a safe haven for investors because it has maintained a degree of bank secrecy and has kept up the franc's long-term external value. Reflecting the anemic economic conditions of Europe GDP growth dropped in 2001 to about 0.8% to 0.2% in 2002 and to -0.3% in 2003.

Real gdp purchasing power parity

Real gdp growth rate: -0.5% (2003 est.)

Real gdp per capita: purchasing power parity - $32,700 (2003 est.)

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 1.5%
Industry: 34%
Services: 64.5% (2003 est.)

Agriculture products: grains fruits vegetables; meat eggs

Industries: machinery chemicals watches textiles precision instruments

Industrial production growth rate: 0.4% (2003)

Labor force: 3.72 million (2003)
By occupation agriculture: 4.6%
By occupation industry: 26.3%
By occupation services: 69.1% (1998)

Unemployment rate: 3.7% (2003 est.)

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line: NA

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10: 2.6%
Highest 10: 25.2% (1992)

Distribution of family income gini index: 33.1 (1992)

Budget
Revenues: $123.2 billion
Expenditures: $128 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2003 est.)

Taxes and other revenues

Public debt: 57.1% of GDP (2003)

Revenue

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices: 0.6% (2003 est.)

Central bank discount rate

Commercial bank prime lending rate

Stock of narrow money

Stock of broad money

Stock of domestic credit

Market value of publicly traded shares

Current account balance: $36 billion (2003)

Exports: $110 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.)
Commodities: machinery chemicals metals watches agricultural products
Partners: Germany 20.8% US 11.3% France 8.7% Italy 8.3% UK 4.9% Japan 4% (2003)

Imports: $102.2 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.)
Commodities: machinery chemicals vehicles metals; agricultural products textiles
Partners: Germany 32.3% France 10.8% Italy 10.7% US 5.5% Netherlands 5% Austria 4.2% UK 4.1% (2003)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

Debt external: NA (2000)

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates: Swiss francs per US dollar - 1.3467 (2003) 1.5586 (2002) 1.6876 (2001) 1.6888 (2000) 1.5022 (1999)


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Electricity
Production: 68.68 billion kWh (2001)
Consumption: 53.43 billion kWh (2001)
Exports: 34.54 billion kWh (2001)
Imports: 24.1 billion kWh (2001)

Coal

Petroleum

Crude oil

Refined petroleum

Natural gas
Production: 0 m³ (2001 est.)
Consumption: 3.093 billion m³ (2001 est.)
Exports: 0 m³ (2001 est.)
Imports: 3.093 billion m³ (2001 est.)

Carbon dioxide emissions

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones
Main lines in use: 5.419 million (2002)
Mobile cellular: 6.172 million (2003)

Telephone system
General assessment: excellent domestic and international services
Domestic: extensive cable and microwave radio relay networks
International: country code - 41; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean and Indian Ocean)

Broadcast media

Internet
Country code: .ch
Hosts: 667,275 (2004)
Users: 2.556 million (2002)

Broadband fixed subscriptions


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Military expenditures
Dollar figure: $2.548 billion (FY01)
Percent of gdp: 1% (FY01)

Military and security forces

Military service age and obligation

Space program

Terrorist groups


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National air transport system

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

Airports: 65 (2003 est.)
With paved runways total: 42
With paved runways over 3047 m: 3
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 5
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 10
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 8
With paved runways under 914 m: 16 (2004 est.)
With unpaved runways total: 23
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 23 (2004 est.)

Heliports: 2 (2003 est.)

Pipelines: gas 1831 km; oil 94 km; refined products 7 km (2004)

Railways
Total: 4,533 km
Standard gauge: 3,483 km 1.435-m gauge (3,472 km electrified)
Narrow gauge: 1,004 km 1.000-m gauge (974 km electrified); 46 km 0.800-m gauge (46 km electrified) (2003)

Roadways

Waterways
Note: Rhine River between Basel-Rheinfelden and Schaffhausen-Bodensee, some canals, and 12 navigable lakes (2003)

Merchant marine
Total: 30 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 604,843 GRT/1,050,914 DWT
By type: bulk 15, cargo 6, chemical tanker 3, container 3, petroleum tanker 2, specialized tanker 1
Foreign owned: Belgium 1, Netherlands 1, United Kingdom 6, United States 1
Registered in other countries: 182 (2004 est.)

Ports and terminals


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Disputes international: none

Refugees and internally displaced persons

Illicit drugs: a major international financial center vulnerable to the layering and integration stages of money laundering; despite significant legislation and reporting requirements secrecy rules persist and nonresidents are permitted to conduct business through offshore entities and various intermediaries; transit country for and consumer of South American cocaine and Southwest Asian heroin