koottalavillage - Switzerland

Main
People
Government
Economy
Communications
Transportation
Military
Transnational Issues

Main: 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. 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.

Location

Central Europe, east of France, north of Italy

Geographic coordinates

47 00 N, 8 00 E

Map references

Europe

Area

total: 41,290 sq km
land: 39,770 sq km
water: 1,520 sq km

Area - comparative

slightly less than twice the size of New Jersey

Land boundaries

total: 1,852 km
border countries: 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
highest point: Dufourspitze 4,634 m

Natural resources

hydropower potential, timber, salt

Land use

arable land: 9.91%
permanent crops: 0.58%
other: 89.51% (2005)

Irrigated land

250 sq km (2003)

Natural hazards

avalanches, landslides, flash floods

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

Environment - 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
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea

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

Population

7,554,661 (July 2007 est.)

Age structure

0-14 years: 16.1% (male 630,341/female 584,167)
15-64 years: 68.2% (male 2,596,996/female 2,553,108)
65 years and over: 15.8% (male 489,895/female 700,154) (2007 est.)

Median age

total: 40.4 years
male: 39.3 years
female: 41.4 years (2007 est.)

Population growth rate

0.381% (2007 est.)

Birth rate

9.66 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)

Death rate

8.51 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)

Net migration rate

2.66 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)

Sex ratio

at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.079 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.017 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female
total population: 0.969 male(s)/female (2007 est.)

Infant mortality rate

total: 4.28 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 4.77 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 3.77 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 80.62 years
male: 77.8 years
female: 83.59 years (2007 est.)

Total fertility rate

1.44 children born/woman (2007 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate

0.4% (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS

13,000 (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths

less than 100 (2003 est.)

Nationality

noun: Swiss (singular and plural)
adjective: Swiss

Ethnic groups

German 65%, French 18%, Italian 10%, Romansch 1%, other 6%

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)

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 0.5%, other 2.8% (2000 census)

note: German, French, Italian, and Romansch are all national languages, but only the first three are official languages

Literacy

definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99%
male: 99%
female: 99% (2003 est.)

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

formally a confederation but similar in structure to a federal republic

Capital

name: Bern
geographic coordinates: 46 57 N, 7 26 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 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

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

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

Executive branch

chief of state: President Micheline CALMY-REY (since 1 January 2007); Vice President Pascal COUCHEPIN (since 1 January 2007); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Micheline CALMY-REY (since 1 January 2007); Vice President Pascal COUCHEPIN (since 1 January 2007)
cabinet: Federal Council or Bundesrat (in German), Conseil Federal (in French), Consiglio Federale (in Italian) 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 13 December 2006 (next to be held in December 2007)
election results: Micheline CALMY-REY elected president; percent of Federal Assembly vote - 76.5%; Pascal COUCHEPIN elected vice president; percent of Federal Assembly vote - 86.5%

Legislative branch

bicameral Federal Assembly or Bundesversammlung (in German), Assemblee Federale (in French), Assemblea Federale (in Italian) consists of the Council of States or Standerat (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; to serve four-year terms) and the National Council or Nationalrat (in German), Conseil National (in French), Consiglio Nazionale (in Italian) (200 seats; members are elected by popular vote on the basis of proportional representation to serve four-year terms)

elections: Council of States - last held in most cantons on 19 October 2003 (each canton determines when the next election will be held); National Council - last held on 19 October 2003 (next to be held in 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 11%; 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 (Gruene 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) [Christophe DARBELLAY]; Radical Free Democratic Party (Freisinnig-Demokratische Partei der Schweiz or FDP, Parti Radical-Democratique Suisse or PRD, Partitio Liberal-Radicale Svizzero or PLR) [Fulvio PELLI]; 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]; 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]; and other minor parties

Political pressure groups and leaders

International organization participation

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

Diplomatic representation in the US

chief of mission: Ambassador Urs ZISWILER
chancery: 2900 Cathedral Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 745-7900
FAX: [1] (202) 387-2564
consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco
consulate(s): Boston

Diplomatic representation from the US

chief of mission: Ambassador Peter R. CONEWAY
embassy: Jubilaumsstrasse 93, CH-3005 Bern
mailing address: use embassy street address
telephone: [41] (031) 357 70 11
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

Economy - overview

GDP (purchasing power parity)

$255.5 billion (2006 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate)

$386.1 billion (2006 est.)

GDP - real growth rate

2.7% (2006 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP)

$34,000 (2006 est.)

GDP - composition by sector

agriculture: 1.5%
industry: 34%
services: 64.5% (2003 est.)

Labor force

3.81 million (2006 est.)

Labor force - by occupation

agriculture: 4.6%
industry: 26.3%
services: 69.1% (1998)

Unemployment rate

3.3% (2006 est.)

Population below poverty line

NA%

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)

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

1.2% (2006 est.)

Investment (gross fixed)

21.8% of GDP (2006 est.)

Budget

revenues: $141 billion
expenditures: $139.1 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2006 est.)

Public debt

51% of GDP (2006 est.)

Agriculture - products

Industries

machinery, chemicals, watches, textiles, precision instruments, tourism, banking, and insurance

Industrial production growth rate

6.5% (2006 est.)

Electricity - production

61.97 billion kWh (2004)

Electricity - production by source

fossil fuel: 1.3%
hydro: 59.5%
nuclear: 37.1%
other: 2% (2001)

Electricity - consumption

56.93 billion kWh (2004)

Electricity - exports

27.8 billion kWh (2004)

Electricity - imports

27.1 billion kWh (2004)

Oil - production

2,241 bbl/day (2004 est.)

Oil - consumption

268,100 bbl/day (2004 est.)

Oil - exports

10,420 bbl/day (2001)

Oil - imports

289,500 bbl/day (2001)

Natural gas - production

0 cu m (2004 est.)

Natural gas - consumption

3.311 billion cu m (2004 est.)

Natural gas - exports

0 cu m (2004 est.)

Natural gas - imports

3.311 billion cu m (2004 est.)

Current account balance

$50.44 billion (2006 est.)

Exports

$166.3 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)

Exports - commodities

machinery, chemicals, metals, watches, agricultural products

Exports - partners

Germany 21.5%, US 9.5%, France 8.6%, Italy 8.4%, UK 5.3% (2006)

Imports

$162.3 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)

Imports - commodities

machinery, chemicals, vehicles, metals; agricultural products, textiles

Imports - partners

Germany 27.3%, Italy 10.1%, US 9.1%, France 8.1%, Russia 7.6%, UK 4.9%, Austria 4.1% (2006)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

$38.29 billion (August 2006 est.)

Debt - external

$1.077 trillion (30 June 2006)

Economic aid - donor

ODA, $1.1 billion (1995)

Currency (code)

Swiss franc (CHF)

Currency code

CHF

Exchange rates

Swiss francs per US dollar - 1.2539 (2006), 1.2452 (2005), 1.2435 (2004), 1.3467 (2003), 1.5586 (2002)

Fiscal year

calendar year