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| Switzerland | Introduction | Back to Top |
Switzerland (French, Suisse; German, Schweiz; Italian, Svizzera), federal republic in west-central Europe, bounded to the north by France and Germany, to the east by Austria and Liechtenstein, to the south by Italy, and to the west by France. The country has an area of 41,284 sq km (15,940 sq mi). Its largest city is Zurich, and the capital is Bern.
Population 7,207,060 (1996 official estimate) Population Density 175 persons/sq km (452 persons/sq mi) (1996 estimate) Urban/Rural Breakdown 68%Urban 32%Rural Largest Cities Zürich343,869 Basel174,007 Geneva173,549 Bern127,469 (1994 estimates) Ethnic Groups 65%German 18%French 10%Italian 7%Other including Spaniards, Romansh, and Turks Languages German French Italian Official Languages Romansh Religions 46%Roman Catholicism 47%Protestantism 7%Other including Judaism, other Christian denominations, and Islam
| Switzerland | Provinces | Back to Top |
26 cantons (cantons, singular - canton in French; cantoni, singular - cantone in Italian; kantone, singular - kanton in German); Aargau, Ausser-Rhoden, Basel-Landschaft, Basel-Stadt, Bern, Fribourg, Geneve, Glarus, Graubunden, Inner-Rhoden, Jura, Luzern, Neuchatel, Nidwalden, Obwalden, Sankt Gallen, Schaffhausen, Schwyz, Solothurn, Thurgau, Ticino, Uri, Valais, Vaud, Zug, Zurich
| Switzerland | People | Back to Top |
The population of Switzerland (2001 estimate) is 7,283,274, yielding an overall population density of 176 persons per sq km (457 per sq mi). The population of Switzerland is unevenly distributed, with the principal concentrations occurring in the Swiss plateau. Some 62 percent of the population is classified as urban, but most live in small towns. Population growth is slow, and a surplus of jobs means that foreign laborers and their families make up nearly one-fifth of the population.
Etruscans, Rhaetians, Celts, Romans, and Germanic peoples have left their imprint on Switzerland in the course of its historical evolution. The present population shows traces mainly of the Alpine, “Nordic,” and southern Slav or Dinaric peoples. To survive as a cohesive unit, the disparate elements of the Swiss people have had to learn a mutual cooperation to protect the neutrality that has been their safeguard. Their outlook has been shaped largely by economic and political necessity, which has made them realistic, cautious, and prudent in accepting innovation and creative in the use of what resources they have
| Switzerland | History | Back to Top |
In pre-Roman times the territory now known as Switzerland was inhabited by the Helvetii in the west and the Rhaetians, a people believed to have been related to the Etruscans, in the east. Julius Caesar and the Romans conquered the region, which they named Helvetia, in the 1st century bc, and it became thoroughly Romanized. During the Germanic invasions that swept over the Western Roman Empire in the 4th century ad, the Burgundians and the Alamanni conquered Helvetia.
Though a hand wedge fashioned by Paleolithic hunters, found at Pratteln near Basel in 1974, is at least 350,000 years old, human habitation in Switzerland was not significant until the last glacial period, the Würm, approximately 30,000 years ago. At that time most of the land was covered by ice, many thousands of feet deep that flowed down from the Alps. But during interglacial periods nomadic hunters from encampments in the ice-free areas of the Jura and the Mittelland followed their prey, mainly reindeer and bear, into the high mountain valleys. Carved designs of animals and birds on antlers and bone, found in caves, illuminate this era of prehistory. After the melting of the glaciers, Neolithic cultures established themselves in parts of the Rhône and Rhine valleys, and from 1800 BC Bronze Age settlements were scattered throughout the Mittelland and Alpine valleys.
In 1276 Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf I of the Habsburg dynasty attempted to assert feudal rights in Switzerland, making his power a threat to the traditional liberties of the Swiss. To resist Rudolf’s aggression, the three so-called forest cantons—Uri, Schwyz, and Unterwalden—around the Lake of Lucerne, entered a league for mutual defense in 1291. During the 14th century Zürich, Glarus, Bern, Lucerne, and Zug joined the league, and in the 15th century Fribourg and Solothurn joined. In 1474 the Habsburgs, unable to cope with the militant Swiss mountaineers, abandoned their attempts to acquire the region as a family appanage, and the Swiss confederation became directly dependent on the empire.
| Switzerland | Culture | Back to Top |
Switzerland may not rank foremost among the centres of European culture, the country nevertheless can boast of an impressive list of contributors to the arts and sciences. On the one hand, because of limited opportunities at home, some of Switzerland's creative minds have chosen to live elsewhere. This has been especially true of architects. On the other hand, Switzerland's traditional neutrality and its laws of political asylum have made the country a magnet for many creative persons during times of unrest or war in Europe. The mid-19th century was such a period, as were the 1930s and '40s, when the rise of fascism caused a number of German, Austrian, and Italian writers such as Thomas Mann, Stefan George, and Ignazio Silone to seek harbour in Switzerland.
Swiss culture has contributed notably to literature, art, and music. It is an amalgam of the German, French, and Italian cultures embodied in the Swiss linguistic regions; however, it is separated from these parent cultures, for example, by Swiss dialects and cultural cross-pollination. From early times Switzerland has been exposed to many foreign influences, and as early as the Middle Ages the country had achieved a high cultural level. Carolingian culture, particularly painting and Romanesque architecture, flourished, and the Saint Gall monastery was a brilliant center of Western culture. Since then most European cultural trends, such as humanism and the Reformation, have been assimilated. Calvin and Huldreich Zwingli.
Much of modern cultural life has been influenced by television. The three networks, French, German, and Italian, while portraying their respective cultures, include many programs from France, Germany, and Italy. French-language television also includes shows from Canada and Belgium, whereas the German network presents programs from Austria. All of the country is influenced by American movies and television programs. Cable television, reflecting the Europeanization of Switzerland, has brought a wide variety of additional programs to the large urban centres.
| Switzerland | Life | Back to Top |
The Swiss people as a whole are mainly of Alpine, Nordic, and Slavic or Dinaric descent. The ethnic composition of Switzerland is generally defined by the major language communities: German, French, Italian, and Romansch (Rhaeto-Romanic). Other ethnicities, such as Spanish, Portuguese, and Turkish, make up 6 percent of the population.
| Switzerland | Land | Back to Top |
Situated at the hydrographic centre of Europe, Switzerland is the source of many major rivers. The two most important are the Rhône, which flows into the Mediterranean, and the Rhine, which empties into the North Sea. Switzerland's small area contains an unusual diversity of topographic elements, which are divisible into three distinct regions: the Jura Mountains in the north, the Alps to the south, and the Mittelland or central plateau between the two mountain ranges.
| Switzerland | Plants and Animal | Back to Top |
plants and trees such as the palm, magnolia, chestnut, walnut, apple, pear, cherry, and almond grow in the lowlands and on the Swiss plateau. Highly productive forests cover 30 percent of the total land area, primarily at elevations between about 550 and 2,000 m (about 1,800 and 6,500 ft). Deciduous forests of beech, maple, and oak are characteristic below about 1,400 m (about 4,500 ft), and coniferous forests, primarily of pine and fir, flourish above that height. At higher elevations, the flora consists of Alpine species such as edelweiss, anemone, lily, and mugho and Swiss pines. Chamois and marmots inhabit the Alpine regions. The forests contain foxes and many species of birds, including woodpeckers and blue jays. Trout are common in the streams, and salmon are found in several rivers.
| Switzerland | Economy | Back to Top |
Switzerland has a highly developed industrialized economy and one of the highest standards of living in the world. Gross domestic product in 1999 totaled $258.6 billion. Services is now the dominant sector of the Swiss economy, with trade, financial activities, government, and other services accounting for 69 percent of all employment. This area is followed by industry, including manufacturing, construction, and mining, at 26 percent; and agriculture, forestry, and fishing at 5 percent. The national budget in 1998 included $64.9 billion in revenues and $74.1 billion in expenditures.
These factors have given rise to service industries such as shipping, freight forwarding, banking, insurance, and tourism, as well as to exports such as chemicals, machines, precision instruments, and processed foods. Industry has also been boosted in wartime because of Swiss neutrality. Industrial diversity and a lack of large firms are characteristic of Swiss industry. However, a number of Swiss enterprises, such as the food giant Nestlé, Ciba-Geigy in chemicals, and Alusuisse in metals, have worldwide enterprises that employ far more people abroad than in Switzerland and account for at least 90 percent of all sales from foreign markets. A significant characteristic of the Swiss economy is the number of foreign labourers, about a quarter of the economically active population, without whom many sectors of the Swiss economy, especially hotels, restaurants, and tourism, would grind to a halt.
Switzerland, a prosperous and stable modern market economy with a per capita GDP 20% above that of the big western European economies, experienced solid growth of 3% in 2000, but growth is expected to fall back to about 2% in 2001. The Swiss in recent years have brought their economic practices largely into conformity with the EU's to enhance their international competitiveness. Although the Swiss are not pursuing full EU membership in the near term, in 1999 Bern and Brussels signed agreements to further liberalize trade ties, and the agreements should come into force in 2001. Switzerland is still considered 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.
| Switzerland | Communications | Back to Top |
excellent domestic and international services domestic: extensive cable and microwave radio relay networks international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean and Indian Ocean)
| Switzerland | Languages | Back to Top |
The official languages of Switzerland are German (spoken by 65 percent of the population), French (18 percent), and Italian (10 percent). The fourth national language, Romansch, is spoken by less than 1 percent of the people. Other languages spoken include Spanish, Portuguese, and Turkish. In a majority of the cantons the most commonly spoken language is Schwyzertütsch (Swiss German), an Allemanic dialect of German differing vastly from both written German and other German dialects. Newspapers and magazines are written in standard German, however, and German is the language of many theater, motion picture, and television productions. French is the most commonly spoken language in the cantons of Fribourg, Jura, Vaud, Valais, Neuchâtel, and Geneva, and Italian is the predominant language in Ticino.
| Switzerland | Politics | Back to Top |
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) [Adalbert DURRER, president]; 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) [Ruedi BAUMANN, president]; Radical Free Democratic Party (Freisinnig-Demokratische Partei der Schweiz or FDP, Parti Radical-Democratique Suisse or PRD, Partitio Liberal-Radicale Svizzero or PLR) [Franz STEINEGGER, 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) [Christiane BRUNNER, 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
| Switzerland | Government | Back to Top |
Switzerland is a republic governed under a constitution adopted on May 29, 1874, and amended many times since. The Swiss political system combines direct and indirect democracy with the principles of sovereignty of the people, separation of powers, and proportional representation. In federal elections, all citizens age 18 or older are eligible to vote; women gained suffrage in national elections in 1971 through a referendum. The electorate not only chooses its representatives but also decides important issues by means of referendums, an integral part of Swiss government. Constitutional amendments may be initiated by a petition of 50,000 voters and must be ratified by referendums. Federal legislation may also be made subject to referendums.
| Switzerland | Legal | Back to Top |
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 Moritz LEUENBERGER (since 1 January 2001); Vice President Kaspar VILLIGER (since 1 January 2001); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Moritz LEUENBERGER (since 1 January 2001); Vice President Kaspar VILLIGER (since 1 January 2001); 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 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 6 December 2000 (next to be held NA December 2001) election results: Moritz LEUENBERGER elected president; percent of Federal Assembly vote - 76%; Kaspar VILLIGER elected vice president; percent of legislative vote - 72% 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 - members 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 a basis of proportional representation to serve four-year terms) elections: Council of States - last held in 1999 (each canton determines when the next election will be held); National Council - last held 24 October 1999 (next to be held NA October 2003) election results: Council of States - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - FDP 18, CVP 15, SVP 7, SPS 6; National Council - percent of vote by party - SPS 22.5%, SVP 22.6%, FDP 19.9%, CVP 15.8%, other small parties all under 5%; seats by party - SPS 51, SVP 44, FDP 43, CVP 35, Greens 9, other small parties 18 Judicial branch: Federal Supreme Court (judges elected for six-year terms by the Federal Assembly)
| Switzerland | organization | Back to Top |
ACCT, AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, CCC, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, EFTA, ESA, FAO, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAIA (observer), MONUC, NAM (guest), NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN (observer), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOP, UNOMIG, UNTSO, UNU, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC
| Switzerland | Education | Back to Top |
The Swiss constitution of 1848 provided for free and compulsory education. Under the constitution of 1874, as amended in 1902, the federal government confined its efforts to higher education; the cantons and half-cantons were required to establish free, compulsory elementary schools with subsidies, but without control, from the federal government. These schools are taught in the local official language, but students may also study the other national languages as well.
| Switzerland | Defence | Back to Top |
Military branches: Army, Air Force, Frontier Guards, Fortification Guards
Military manpower - military age: 20 years of age
Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 1,849,034 (2001 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service: males age 15-49: 1,570,918 (2001 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually: males: 42,597 (2001 est.)
| Switzerland | International Disputes | Back to Top |
none
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| Switzerland | Time | Back to Top |
| Switzerland | Currency and General Information | Back to Top |
| Countries Currency Unit | CHF/Unit | Units/CHF | |
| DZD | Algeria Dinars | 0.0217181 | 46.0445 |
| USD | United States Dollars | 1.68127 | 0.594790 |
| ARS | Argentina Pesos | 0.570888 | 1.75166 |
| AUD | Australia Dollars | 0.896980 | 1.11485 |
| ATS | Austria Schillings ** | 0.106422 | 9.39655 |
| BSD | Bahamas Dollars | 1.68127 | 0.594790 |
| BBD | Barbados Dollars | 0.844857 | 1.18363 |
| BEF | Belgium Francs ** | 0.0363015 | 27.5471 |
| BMD | Bermuda Dollars | 1.68127 | 0.594790 |
| BRL | Brazil Reals | 0.723125 | 1.38289 |
| GBP | United Kingdom Pounds | 2.39725 | 0.417144 |
| BGL | Bulgaria Leva | 0.752018 | 1.32975 |
| CAD | Canada Dollars | 1.05398 | 0.948787 |
| CLP | Chile Pesos | 0.00256115 | 390.450 |
| CNY | China Yuan Renminbi | 0.203115 | 4.92331 |
| CYP | Cyprus Pounds | 2.55900 | 0.390777 |
| CZK | Czech Republic Koruny | 0.0474278 | 21.0847 |
| DKK | Denmark Kroner | 0.197122 | 5.07300 |
| XCD | East Caribbean Dollars | 0.622691 | 1.60593 |
| EGP | Egypt Pounds | 0.362928 | 2.75536 |
| EUR | Euro | 1.46440 | 0.682874 |
| FJD | Fiji Dollars | 0.752244 | 1.32936 |
| FIM | Finland Markkaa ** | 0.246294 | 4.06018 |
| FRF | France Francs ** | 0.223246 | 4.47936 |
| DEM | Germany Deutsche Marks ** | 0.748736 | 1.33558 |
| XAU | Gold Ounces | 508.155 | 0.00196790 |
| GRD | Greece Drachmae ** | 0.00429758 | 232.689 |
| HKD | Hong Kong Dollars | 0.215558 | 4.63912 |
| HUF | Hungary Forint | 0.00602226 | 166.051 |
| ISK | Iceland Kronur | 0.0168137 | 59.4753 |
| INR | India Rupees | 0.0344494 | 29.0281 |
| IDR | Indonesia Rupiahs | 0.000171131 | 5,843.47 |
| IEP | Ireland Pounds ** | 1.85940 | 0.537807 |
| ILS | Israel New Shekels | 0.354477 | 2.82105 |
| ITL | Italy Lire ** | 0.000756299 | 1,322.23 |
| JMD | Jamaica Dollars | 0.0353133 | 28.3179 |
| JPY | Japan Yen | 0.0126745 | 78.8989 |
| JOD | Jordan Dinars | 2.37132 | 0.421706 |
| LBP | Lebanon Pounds | 0.00111048 | 900.512 |
| LUF | Luxembourg Francs ** | 0.0363015 | 27.5471 |
| MYR | Malaysia Ringgits | 0.442555 | 2.25961 |
| MXN | Mexico Pesos | 0.186593 | 5.35925 |
| NZD | New Zealand Dollars | 0.740570 | 1.35031 |
| NOK | Norway Kroner | 0.189895 | 5.26607 |
| NLG | Netherlands Guilders ** | 0.664516 | 1.50486 |
| PKR | Pakistan Rupees | 0.0279978 | 35.7171 |
| PHP | Philippines Pesos | 0.0329531 | 30.3462 |
| XPT | Platinum Ounces | 872.540 | 0.00114608 |
| PLN | Poland Zlotych | 0.408892 | 2.44563 |
| PTE | Portugal Escudos ** | 0.00730439 | 136.904 |
| ROL | Romania Lei | 0.0000510480 | 19,589.40 |
| RUR | Russia Rubles | 0.0540253 | 18.5099 |
| SAR | Saudi Arabia Riyals | 0.448331 | 2.23050 |
| XAG | Silver Ounces | 7.78399 | 0.128469 |
| SGD | Singapore Dollars | 0.912640 | 1.09572 |
| SKK | Slovakia Koruny | 0.0350628 | 28.5202 |
| ZAR | South Africa Rand | 0.148028 | 6.75548 |
| KRW | South Korea Won | 0.00127291 | 785.601 |
| ESP | Spain Pesetas ** | 0.00880122 | 113.621 |
| XDR | IMF Special Drawing Rights | 2.09623 | 0.477047 |
| SDD | Sudan Dinars | 0.00646641 | 154.645 |
| SEK | Sweden Kronor | 0.162270 | 6.16257 |
| CHF | Switzerland Francs | 1.00000 | 1.00000 |
| TWD | Taiwan New Dollars | 0.0481049 | 20.7879 |
| THB | Thailand Baht | 0.0386039 | 25.9041 |
| TTD | Trinidad and Tobago Dollars | 0.274717 | 3.64011 |
| TRL | Turkey Liras | 0.00000125085 | 799,455.56 |
| VEB | Venezuela Bolivares | 0.00182590 | 547.676 |
| ZMK | Zambia Kwacha | 0.000376122 | 2,658.71 |
| Switzerland : Geographic coordinates | 47 00 N, 8 00 E |
| Switzerland : Population growth rate | 0.27% |
| Switzerland : Birth rate | 10.12 births/1,000 population |
| Switzerland : Death rate | 8.77 deaths/1,000 population |
| Switzerland : People living with HIV/AIDS | 17,000 |
| Switzerland : Independence | 1 August 1291 |
| Switzerland : National holiday | Founding of the Swiss Confederation, 1 August |
| Switzerland : Constitution | 29 May 1874 |
| Switzerland : GDP | purchasing power parity - $207 billion |
| Switzerland : GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $28,600 |
| Switzerland : Electricity - consumption | 51.862 billion kWh |
| Switzerland : Exports | $91.3 billion machinery, chemicals, metals, watches, agricultural products |
| Switzerland : Imports | $91.6 billion machinery, chemicals, vehicles, metals; agricultural products, textiles |
| Switzerland : Telephones | 4.82 million |
| Switzerland : Mobile cellular | 1.967 million |
| Switzerland : Radio broadcast stations | AM 4, FM 113 , shortwave 2 |
| Switzerland : Radios | 7.1 million |
| Switzerland : Television broadcast stations | 115 |
| Switzerland : Televisions | 3.31 million |
| Switzerland : Internet country code | .ch |
| Switzerland : Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 44 |
| Switzerland : Internet users | 2.4 million |
| Switzerland : Railways | 4,358 km |
| Switzerland : Highways | 71,059 km |
| Switzerland : Waterways | 65 km |
| Switzerland : Pipelines | crude oil 314 km; natural gas 1,506 km |
| Switzerland : Ports and harbors | Basel |
| Switzerland : Merchant marine | 24 ships |
| Switzerland : Airports | 67 |
| Switzerland : Heliports | N/A |
| Switzerland : Military branches | Army, Air Force, Frontier Guards, Fortification Guards |
| Switzerland : Military expenditures | $3.1 billion |