Map of Switzerland | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year: Guide1989199019911992199319941995199619971998199920002001200220032004200520062007200820092010201120122013201420152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 | More stats

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Background: The Swiss Confederation was founded in 1291 as a defensive alliance among three cantons. In succeeding years other localities joined the original three. The Swiss Confederation secured its independence from the Holy Roman Empire in 1499. A constitution of 1848 subsequently modified in 1874 replaced the confederation with a centralized federal government. Switzerland's sovereignty and neutrality have long been honored by the major European powers and the country 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

Area
Rank: 136
Land: 39,997 km²
Water: 1280 km²
Comparative: slightly less than twice the size of New Jersey

Land boundaries
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 highest point: Dufourspitze 4,634 m

Natural resources: hydropower potential timber salt

Land use
Permanent crops: 0.57%
Other: 89.63% (2011)

Irrigated land: 550 km² (2007)

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources: 53.5 km³ (2011)

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: 7,996,026 (July 2013 est.)
Rank: 96
Growth rate: 0.85% (2013 est.)
Growth rate rank: 129
Below poverty line: 7.9% (2010)

Nationality
Adjective: Swiss

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

Languages: German (official) 63.7% French (official) 20.4% Italian (official) 6.5% Serbo-Croatian 1.5% Albanian 1.3% Portuguese 1.2% Spanish 1.1% English 1% Romansch (official) 0.5% other 2.8% (2000 census)

Religions: Roman Catholic 41.8% Protestant 35.3% Muslim 4.3% Orthodox 1.8% other Christian 0.4% other 1% unspecified 4.3% none 11.1% (2000 census)

Demographic profile

Age structure
15-24 years: 11.6% (male 471,401/female 453,568)
25-54 years: 44% (male 1,766,228/female 1,749,672)
55-64 years: 12% (male 476,495/female 479,642)
65 years and over: 17.3% (male 600,754/female 784,940) (2013 est.)

Dependency ratios
Youth dependency ratio: 21.9 %
Elderly dependency ratio: 26.2 %
Potential support ratio: 3.8 (2013)

Median age
Male: 40.8 years
Female: 42.7 years (2013 est.)

Population growth rate: 0.85% (2013 est.)
Rank: 129

Birth rate: 10.45 births/1000 population (2013 est.)
Rank: 184

Death rate: 8.08 deaths/1000 population (2013 est.)
Rank: 96

Net migration rate: 6.14 migrant(s)/1000 population (2013 est.)
Rank: 19

Population distribution

Urbanization
Rate of urbanization: 0.5% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.)

Major urban areas
Population: Zurich 1.143 million; BERN (capital) 346,000 (2009)

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 signed but not ratified: Law of the Sea

Air pollutants

Sex ratio
0-14 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
15-24 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
25-54 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
55-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.76 male(s)/female
Total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2013 est.)

Mothers mean age at first birth: 30.2 (2010 est.)

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate
Rank: 202
Male: 4.21 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 3.36 deaths/1000 live births (2013 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Rank: 8
Male: 79.99 years
Female: 84.71 years (2013 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.53 children born/woman (2013 est.)
Rank: 187

Contraceptive prevalence rate: 82%

Drinking water source:

Current health expenditure

Physicians density: 4.08 physicians/1000 population (2010)

Hospital bed density: 5 beds/1000 population (2010)

Sanitation facility access:

Hiv/Aids
Adult prevalence rate: 0.4% (2009 est.)
Adult prevalence rate rank: 77
People living with hivaids: 18,000 (2009 est.)
People living with hivaids rank: 80
Deaths: fewer than 100 (2009 est.)
Deaths rank: 139

Major infectious diseases

Obesity adult prevalence rate: 17.5% (2008)
Rank: 111

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

Education expenditures: 5.4% of GDP (2009)
Rank: 61

Literacy
Total population: 99%
Male: 99%
Female: 99% (2003 est.)

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education
Male: 16 years
Female: 16 years (2011)

Youth unemployment


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Country name
Conventional short form: Switzerland
Local long form: Schweizerische Eidgenossenschaft (German); Confederation Suisse (French); Confederazione Svizzera (Italian); Confederaziun Svizra (Romansh)
Local short form: Schweiz (German); Suisse (French); Svizzera (Italian); Svizra (Romansh)

Government type: formally a confederation but similar in structure to a federal republic

Capital
Geographic coordinates: 46 55 N 7 28 E
Time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington DC during Standard Time)
Daylight saving time: +1hr begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October

Administrative divisions: 26 cantons (cantons singular - canton in French; cantoni singular - cantone in Italian; Kantone singular - Kanton in German); Aargau Appenzell Ausserrhoden Appenzell Innerrhoden Basel-Landschaft Basel-Stadt Bern Fribourg Geneve Glarus Graubuenden Jura Luzern Neuchatel Nidwalden Obwalden Sankt Gallen Schaffhausen Schwyz Solothurn Thurgau Ticino Uri Valais Vaud Zug Zuerich

Dependent areas

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

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

Constitution: previous 1848 1874 (extensive revision of 1848 version); latest adopted by referendum 18 April 1999 effective 1 January 2000; amended several times last in 2012 (2012)

Legal system: civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts except for federal decrees of a general obligatory character

International law organization participation: accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

Citizenship

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Head of government: President of the Swiss Confederation Ueli MAURER (since 1 January 2013); Vice President Didier BURKHALTER (since 1 January 2013)
Cabinet: Federal Council or Bundesrat (in German) Conseil Federal (in French) Consiglio Federale (in Italian) is elected by the Federal Assembly usually from among its 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 a one-year term (they may not serve consecutive terms); election last held on 5 December 2012 (next to be held in early December 2013)
Election results: Ueli MAURER elected president; number of Federal Assembly votes - 148 of 202; Didier BURKHALTER elected vice president

Legislative branch: bicameral Federal Assembly or Bundesversammlung (in German) Assemblee Federale (in French) Assemblea Federale (in Italian) consists of the Council of States or Staenderat (in German) Conseil des Etats (in French) Consiglio degli Stati (in Italian) (46 seats; membership consists of 2 representatives from each canton and 1 from each half canton; members serve four-year terms) and the National Council or Nationalrat (in German) Conseil National (in French) Consiglio Nazionale (in Italian) (200 seats; members elected by popular vote on the basis of proportional representation serve four-year terms)
Elections: Council of States - last held in most cantons on 23 October 2011 (each canton determines when the next election will be held); National Council - last held on 23 October 2011 (next to be held in October 2015)
Election results: Council of States - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - CVP 13 FDP 11 SVP 5 SPS 11 other 6; National Council - percent of vote by party - SVP 26.6% SPS 18.7% FDP 15.1% CVP 12.3% Green Party 8.4% GLP 5.4% BDP 5.4% other 8.1%; seats by party - SVP 54 SPS 46 FDP 30 CVP 28 Green Party 15 GLP 12 BDP 9 other small parties 6

Judicial branch
Judge selection and term of office: judges elected by the Federal Assembly for 6-year terms; note - judges are affiliated with political parties and are elected according to linguistic and regional criteria in approximate proportion to the level of party representation in the Federal Assembly
Subordinate courts: Federal Criminal Court (began in 2004); Federal Administrative Court (began in 2007); note - each of Switzerland's 26 cantons has its own courts

Political parties and leaders:

International organization participation: ADB (nonregional member) AfDB (nonregional member) Australia Group BIS CD CE CERN EAPC EBRD EFTA EITI (implementing country) ESA FAO FATF G-10 IADB IAEA IBRD ICAO ICC (national committees) ICRM IDA IEA IFAD IFC IFRCS IGAD (partners) ILO IMF IMO IMSO Interpol IOC IOM IPU ISO ITSO ITU ITUC (NGOs) LAIA (observer) MIGA MONUSCO NEA NSG OAS (observer) OECD OIF OPCW OSCE Paris Club PCA PFP Schengen Convention UN UNCTAD UNESCO UNHCR UNIDO UNITAR UNMISS UNRWA UNTSO UNWTO UPU WCO WHO WIPO WMO WTO ZC

Diplomatic representation
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 consulate general: Atlanta Chicago Los Angeles New York San Francisco
In the us consulate: Boston
From the us embassy: Sulgeneckstrasse 19 CH-3,007 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; various medieval legends purport to describe the origin of the flag; a white cross used as identification for troops of the Swiss Confederation is first attested at the Battle of Laupen (1339)

National symbols: Swiss cross (white cross on red field; arms equal length)

National anthem
Lyrics and music: Leonhard WIDMER [German] Charles CHATELANAT [French] Camillo VALSANGIACOMO [Italian] and Flurin CAMATHIAS [Romansch]/Alberik ZWYSSIG

National heritage


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Economy overview: Switzerland is a peaceful prosperous and modern market economy with low unemployment a highly skilled labor force and a per capita GDP among the highest in the world. Switzerland's economy benefits from a highly developed service sector led by financial services and a manufacturing industry that specializes in high-technology knowledge-based production. Its economic and political stability transparent legal system exceptional infrastructure efficient capital markets and low corporate tax rates also make Switzerland one of the world's most competitive economies. The Swiss have brought their economic practices largely into conformity with the EU's to enhance their international competitiveness but some trade protectionism remains particularly for its small agricultural sector. The fate of the Swiss economy is tightly linked to that of its neighbors in the euro zone which purchases half of all Swiss exports. The global financial crisis of 2008 and resulting economic downturn in 2009 stalled export demand and put Switzerland in a recession. The Swiss National Bank (SNB) during this period effectively implemented a zero-interest rate policy to boost the economy as well as prevent appreciation of the franc and Switzerland's economy recovered in 2010 with 3.0% growth. The sovereign debt crises currently unfolding in neighboring euro-zone countries pose a significant risk to Switzerland's financial stability and are driving up demand for the Swiss franc by investors seeking a safe-haven currency. The independent SNB has upheld its zero-interest rate policy and conducted major market interventions to prevent further appreciation of the Swiss franc but parliamentarians have urged it to do more to weaken the currency. The franc's strength has made Swiss exports less competitive and weakened the country's growth outlook; GDP growth fell to 1.9% in 2011 and 0.8% in 2012. Switzerland has also come under increasing pressure from individual neighboring countries the EU the US and international institutions to reform its banking secrecy laws. Consequently the government agreed to conform to OECD regulations on administrative assistance in tax matters including tax evasion. The government has renegotiated its double taxation agreements with numerous countries including the US to incorporate the OECD standard and is considering the possibility of imposing taxes on bank deposits held by foreigners. These steps will have a lasting impact on Switzerland's long history of bank secrecy.

Real gdp purchasing power parity:
Rank: 38

Real gdp growth rate:
Rank: 158

Real gdp per capita:
Rank: 15

Gross national saving:
Rank: 21

Gdp composition by end use
Government consumption: 11.2%
Investment in fixed capital: 20.1%
Investment in inventories: 0.9%
Exports of goods and services: 52.3%
Imports of goods and services: -41.9%: (2012 est.)

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Industry: 26.8%
Services: 72.5% (2012 est.)

Agriculture products: grains fruits vegetables; meat eggs

Industries: machinery chemicals watches textiles precision instruments tourism banking and insurance

Industrial production growth rate: 1% (2012 est.)
Rank: 120

Labor force: 4.954 million (2012 est.)
Rank: 77
By occupation industry: 23.4%
By occupation services: 73.2% (2010)

Unemployment rate: 2.8% (2011 est.)
Rank: 22

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line: 7.9% (2010)

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Highest 10: 19% (2007)

Distribution of family income gini index: 33.1 (1992)
Rank: 117

Budget
Expenditures: $212.1 billion
Surplus or deficit: 0.1% of GDP (2012 est.)
Surplus or deficit rank: 44

Taxes and other revenues: 34.2% of GDP (2012 est.)
Rank: 71

Public debt: 54.5% of GDP (2010)
Rank: 57

Revenue

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices: 0.2% (2011 est.)
Rank: 3

Central bank discount rate: 0.75% (31 December 2009 est.)
Rank: 132

Commercial bank prime lending rate: 2.72% (31 December 2011 est.)
Rank: 178

Stock of narrow money: $464.8 billion (31 December 2011 est.)
Rank: 11

Stock of broad money: $1.05 trillion (31 December 2011 est.)
Rank: 15

Stock of domestic credit: $1.159 trillion (31 December 2011 est.)
Rank: 15

Market value of publicly traded shares:
Rank: 12

Current account balance: $39.6 billion (2011 est.)
Rank: 9

Exports: $345.6 billion (2011 est.)
Rank: 18
Commodities: machinery chemicals metals watches agricultural products
Partners: Germany 19.8% US 11.1% Italy 7.2% France 7.1% UK 5.4% (2012)

Imports: $320.4 billion (2011 est.)
Rank: 19
Commodities: machinery chemicals vehicles metals; agricultural products textiles
Partners: Germany 29.7% Italy 10.2% France 8.4% US 5.6% China 5.6% Austria 4.2% (2012)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $331.9 billion (31 December 2011 est.)
Rank: 6

Debt external: $1.424 trillion (31 December 2011)
Rank: 12

Stock of direct foreign investment at home: $925 billion (31 December 2011 est.)
Rank: 9

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad: $1.307 trillion (31 December 2011 est.)
Rank: 5

Exchange rates:


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Electricity
Production: 60.18 billion kWh (2011 est.)
Production rank: 45
Consumption: 60.42 billion kWh (2011 est.)
Consumption rank: 41
Exports: 34.57 billion kWh (2012 est.)
Exports rank: 5
Imports: 32.25 billion kWh (2012 est.)
Imports rank: 5
Installed generating capacity: 18.07 million kW (2010 est.)
Installed generating capacity rank: 42
Generation sources fossil fuels: 3.1% of total installed capacity (2010 est.)
Generation sources fossil fuels rank: 199
Generation sources nuclear: 18% of total installed capacity (2010 est.)
Generation sources nuclear rank: 12
Generation sources hydroelectricity: 65.9% of total installed capacity (2010 est.)
Generation sources hydroelectricity rank: 28
Generation sources other renewable sources: 3% of total installed capacity (2010 est.)
Generation sources other renewable sources rank: 58

Coal

Petroleum
Petroleum total petroleum production: 3,613 bbl/day (2012 est.)
Petroleum total petroleum production rank: 101
Crude oil exports: 0 bbl/day (2011 est.)
Crude oil exports rank: 188
Crude oil imports: 258,200 bbl/day (2011 est.)
Crude oil imports rank: 28
Crude oil proven reserves: 0 bbl (1 January 2013 es)
Crude oil proven reserves rank: 189

Crude oil

Refined petroleum
Products production: 96,710 bbl/day (2010 est.)
Products production rank: 76
Products consumption: 258,200 bbl/day (2011 est.)
Products consumption rank: 50
Products exports: 7,585 bbl/day (2010 est.)
Products exports rank: 86
Products imports: 157,600 bbl/day (2010 est.)
Products imports rank: 36

Natural gas
Production: 0 m³ (2011 est.)
Production rank: 195
Consumption: 3.682 billion m³ (2010 est.)
Consumption rank: 67
Exports: 8.494 billion m³ (2012 est.)
Exports rank: 32
Imports: 11.77 billion m³ (2012 est.)
Imports rank: 27
Proven reserves: 0 m³ (1 January 2011 es)
Proven reserves rank: 195

Carbon dioxide emissions
From consumption of energy: 43.36 million Mt (2011 est.)
From consumption of energy rank: 69

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones
Main lines in use: 4.382 million (2012)
Main lines in use rank: 38
Mobile cellular: 10.46 million (2012)
Mobile cellular rank: 77

Telephone system
Domestic: ranked among leading countries for fixed-line teledensity and infrastructure; mobile-cellular subscribership roughly 125 per 100 persons; extensive cable and microwave radio relay networks
International: country code - 41; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean and Indian Ocean) (2011)

Broadcast media: the publicly owned radio and TV broadcaster Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SRG/SSR) operates 7 national TV networks 3 broadcasting in German 2 in Italian and 2 in French; private commercial TV stations broadcast regionally and locally; TV broadcasts from stations in Germany Italy and France are widely available via multi-channel cable and satellite TV services; SRG/SSR operates 18 radio stations that along with private broadcasters provide national to local coverage (2009)

Internet
Country code: .ch
Hosts: 5.301 million (2012)
Hosts rank: 20
Users: 6.152 million (2009)
Users rank: 42

Broadband fixed subscriptions


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Military expenditures: 1% of GDP (2005 est.)
Rank: 128

Military and security forces

Military service age and obligation: 19-26 years of age for male compulsory military service; 18 years of age for voluntary male and female military service; every Swiss male has to serve at least 260 days in the armed forces; conscripts receive 18 weeks of mandatory training followed by seven 3-week intermittent recalls for training during the next 10 years (2012)

Space program

Terrorist groups


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National air transport system

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

Airports: 63 (2013)
Rank: 78
With paved runways over 3047 m: 3
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 2
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 12
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 6
With paved runways under 914 m: 17 (2013)
With unpaved runways: 23 (2013)

Heliports: 2 (2013)

Pipelines: gas 1800 km; oil 94 km; refined products 7 km (2013)

Railways
Rank: 37
Standard gauge: 3,846 km 1.435-m gauge (3,591 km electrified)
Narrow gauge: 1020 km 1.000-m gauge (1013 km electrified); 10 km 0.800-m gauge (10 km electrified) (2008)

Roadways
Rank: 66
Paved: 71,464 km (includes 1415 of expressways) (2011)

Waterways: 1292 km (there are 1227 km of waterways on lakes and rivers for public transport and another 65 km on the Rhine River between Basel-Rheinfelden and Schaffhausen-Bodensee used for the transport of commercial goods) (2010)
Rank: 58

Merchant marine
Rank: 78
By type: bulk carrier 19 cargo 9 chemical tanker 5 container 4 petroleum tanker 1
Registered in other countries: 127 (Antigua and Barbuda 7 Bahamas 1 Belize 1 Cayman Islands 1 France 5 Germany 2 Hong Kong 5 Italy 13 Liberia 25 Luxembourg 1 Malta 20 Marshall Islands 12 NZ 2 Panama 15 Portugal 3 Russia 3 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 7 Singapore 3 Spain 1) (2010)

Ports and terminals: Basel


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Disputes international: none

Refugees and internally displaced persons
Stateless persons: 69 (2012)

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 Southwest Asian heroin and Western European synthetics; domestic cannabis cultiva