from
CIA World Factbook 2006
Switzerland
Introduction
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. 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.
Geography
Location: Central Europe, east of France, north of Italy
Geographic 47 00 N, 8 00 E
coordinates:
Map Europe
references:
Area: total: 41,290 sq km
land: 39,770 sq km
water: 1,520 sq km
Area - slightly less than twice the size of New Jersey
comparative:
Land total: 1,852 km
boundaries: border countries: Austria 164 km, France 573 km, Italy
740 km, Liechtenstein 41 km, Germany 334 km
Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)
Maritime none (landlocked)
claims:
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 lowest point: Lake Maggiore 195 m
extremes: highest point: Dufourspitze 4,634 m
Natural hydropower potential, timber, salt
resources:
Land use: arable land: 9.91%
permanent crops: 0.58%
other: 89.51% (2005)
Irrigated 250 sq km (2003)
land:
Natural avalanches, landslides, flash floods
hazards:
Environment - air pollution from vehicle emissions and open-air
current burning; acid rain; water pollution from increased use
issues: of agricultural fertilizers; loss of biodiversity
Environment - party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides,
international Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air
agreements: 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 - landlocked; crossroads of northern and southern Europe;
note: along with southeastern France, northern Italy, and
southwestern Austria, has the highest elevations in the
Alps
People
Population: 7,523,934 (July 2006 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 16.3% (male 637,585/female 591,297)
15-64 years: 68.1% (male 2,585,062/female 2,539,345)
65 years and over: 15.6% (male 480,198/female 690,447)
(2006 est.)
Median age: total: 40.1 years
male: 39 years
female: 41.1 years (2006 est.)
Population 0.43% (2006 est.)
growth rate:
Birth rate: 9.71 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Death rate: 8.49 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Net migration 3.12 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)
rate:
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.08 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female
total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2006 est.)
Infant total: 4.34 deaths/1,000 live births
mortality male: 4.84 deaths/1,000 live births
rate: female: 3.81 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)
Life total population: 80.51 years
expectancy at male: 77.69 years
birth: female: 83.48 years (2006 est.)
Total 1.43 children born/woman (2006 est.)
fertility
rate:
HIV/AIDS - 0.4% (2001 est.)
adult
prevalence
rate:
HIV/AIDS - 13,000 (2001 est.)
people living
with HIV/AIDS:
HIV/AIDS - less than 100 (2003 est.)
deaths:
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%, Orthodox 1.8%,
other Christian 0.4%, Muslim 4.3%, 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.)
Government
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 formally a confederation, but similar in structure to a
type: 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 26 cantons (cantons, singular - canton in French;
divisions: 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 Founding of the Swiss Confederation, 1 August (1291)
holiday:
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 chief of state: President Moritz LEUENBERGER (since 8
branch: January 2006); Vice President Micheline CALMY-REY
(since 8 January 2006); note - the president is both
the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Moritz LEUENBERGER (since
8 January 2006); Vice President Micheline CALMY-REY
(since 8 January 2006)
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 a one-year term (they may not serve
consecutive terms); election last held 7 December 2005
(next to be held December 2006)
election results: Moritz LUENBERGER elected president;
percent of Federal Assembly vote - NA; Micheline
CALMY-REY elected vice president; percent of
legislative vote - NA
Legislative bicameral Federal Assembly or Bundesversammlung (in
branch: 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 -
consists of two representatives from each canton and
one 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 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 19 October 2003 (each canton determines when
the next election will be held); National Council -
last held 19 October 2003 (next to be held 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 Federal Supreme Court (judges elected for six-year
branch: terms by the Federal Assembly)
Political Green Party (Grune Partei der Schweiz or Grune, Parti
parties and Ecologiste Suisse or Les Verts, Partito Ecologista
leaders: 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
Political NA
pressure
groups and
leaders:
International ACCT, AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, CE, CERN, EAPC,
organization EBRD, EFTA, ESA, FAO, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO,
participation: ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS,
ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, 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, UPU, WCL, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO,
WToO, WTO, ZC
Diplomatic chief of mission: Ambassador Urs ZISWILER
representation chancery: 2900 Cathedral Avenue NW, Washington, DC
in the US: 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 chief of mission: Ambassador Peter R. CONEWAY
representation embassy: Jubilaumsstrasse 93, CH-3005 Bern
from the US: mailing address: use embassy street address
telephone: [41] (031) 357 70 11
FAX: [41] (031) 357 73 44
Flag red square with a bold, equilateral white cross in the
description: center that does not extend to the edges of the flag
Economy
Economy - Switzerland is a peaceful, prosperous, and stable
overview: 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
safehaven 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, with a small rise to 1.8% in 2004-05. Even so,
unemployment has remained at less than half the EU
average.
GDP $240.9 billion (2005 est.)
(purchasing
power parity):
GDP (official $367 billion (2005 est.)
exchange
rate):
GDP - real 1.9% (2005 est.)
growth rate:
GDP - per $32,200 (2005 est.)
capita (PPP):
GDP - agriculture: 1.5%
composition by industry: 34%
sector: services: 64.5% (2003 est.)
Labor force: 3.8 million (2005 est.)
Labor force - agriculture: 4.6%
by occupation: industry: 26.3%
services: 69.1% (1998)
Unemployment 3.8% (2005 est.)
rate:
Population NA%
below poverty
line:
Household lowest 10%: 2.6%
income or highest 10%: 25.2% (1992)
consumption by
percentage
share:
Distribution 33.1 (1992)
of family
income - Gini
index:
Inflation rate 1.2% (2005 est.)
(consumer
prices):
Investment 21.3% of GDP (2005 est.)
(gross fixed):
Budget: revenues: $138.1 billion
expenditures: $143.6 billion; including capital
expenditures of $NA (2005 est.)
Public debt: 52% of GDP (2005 est.)
Agriculture - grains, fruits, vegetables; meat, eggs
products:
Industries: machinery, chemicals, watches, textiles, precision
instruments
Industrial 3% (2005 est.)
production
growth rate:
Electricity - 63.4 billion kWh (2003)
production:
Electricity - fossil fuel: 1.3%
production by hydro: 59.5%
source: nuclear: 37.1%
other: 2% (2001)
Electricity - 55.86 billion kWh (2003)
consumption:
Electricity - 33.2 billion kWh (2003)
exports:
Electricity - 30.1 billion kWh (2003)
imports:
Oil - 1,950 bbl/day (2003 est.)
production:
Oil - 258,900 bbl/day (2003 est.)
consumption:
Oil - exports: 10,420 bbl/day (2001)
Oil - imports: 289,500 bbl/day (2001)
Natural gas - 0 cu m (2003 est.)
production:
Natural gas - 3.209 billion cu m (2003 est.)
consumption:
Natural gas - 0 cu m (2001 est.)
exports:
Natural gas - 3.093 billion cu m (2001 est.)
imports:
Current $58.24 billion (2005 est.)
account
balance:
Exports: $148.6 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)
Exports - machinery, chemicals, metals, watches, agricultural
commodities: products
Exports - Germany 19.4%, US 10.9%, Italy 9.1%, France 8.7%, UK
partners: 5.4%, Spain 4.1% (2005)
Imports: $135 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)
Imports - machinery, chemicals, vehicles, metals; agricultural
commodities: products, textiles
Imports - Germany 31.6%, Italy 10.5%, France 10%, US 5.6%,
partners: Netherlands 4.8%, Austria 4.6%, UK 4.4% (2005)
Reserves of $57.64 billion (2005 est.)
foreign
exchange and
gold:
Debt - $856 billion (30 June 2005)
external:
Economic aid - ODA, $1.1 billion (1995)
donor:
Currency Swiss franc (CHF)
(code):
Currency code: CHF
Exchange Swiss francs per US dollar - 1.2452 (2005), 1.2435
rates: (2004), 1.3467 (2003), 1.5586 (2002), 1.6876 (2001)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications
Telephones - 5.123 million (2005)
main lines in
use:
Telephones - 6.847 million (2005)
mobile
cellular:
Telephone general assessment: excellent domestic and
system: international services
domestic: extensive cable and microwave radio relay
networks
international: country code - 41; satellite earth
stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean and Indian Ocean)
Radio AM 4, FM 113 (plus many low power stations), shortwave
broadcast 2 (1998)
stations:
Radios: 7.1 million (1997)
Television 115 (plus 1,919 repeaters) (1995)
broadcast
stations:
Televisions: 3.31 million (1997)
Internet .ch
country code:
Internet 2,442,659 (2006)
hosts:
Internet 44 (Switzerland and Liechtenstein) (2000)
Service
Providers
(ISPs):
Internet 5,097,822 (2005)
users:
Transportation
Airports: 65 (2006)
Airports - total: 42
with paved over 3,047 m: 3
runways: 2,438 to 3,047 m: 4
1,524 to 2,437 m: 11
914 to 1,523 m: 8
under 914 m: 16 (2006)
Airports - total: 23
with unpaved under 914 m: 23 (2006)
runways:
Heliports: 2 (2006)
Pipelines: gas 1,831 km; oil 94 km; refined products 7 km (2006)
Railways: total: 4,583 km
standard gauge: 3,234 km 1.435-m gauge (3,223 km
electrified)
narrow gauge: 1,339 km 1.000-m gauge (1,338 km
electrified); 10 km 0.800-m gauge (10 km electrified)
(2005)
Roadways: total: 71,297 km
paved: 71,297 km (including 1,726 of expressways)
(2004)
Waterways: 65 km (Rhine River between Basel-Rheinfelden and
Schaffhausen-Bodensee) (2003)
Merchant total: 27 ships (1000 GRT or over) 492,434 GRT/810,559
marine: DWT
by type: bulk carrier 9, cargo 10, chemical tanker 3,
container 4, specialized tanker 1
foreign-owned: 2 (Monaco 2)
registered in other countries: 320 (Antigua and Barbuda
4, Bahamas 2, Belize 1, Bermuda 2, Cyprus 4, France 2,
French Southern and Antarctic Lands 1, Germany 1,
Indonesia 3, Liberia 7, Malta 21, Marshall Islands 13,
Mauritius 2, Morocco 1, Panama 226, Portugal 3, Russia
7, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 13, Tonga 1, Turkey
1, UK 3, Vanuatu 2) (2006)
Ports and Basel
terminals:
Military
Military Swiss Armed Forces: Land Forces, Swiss Air Force
branches: (Schweizer Luftwaffe); Switzerland has no navy, but
maintains a fleet of military patrol boats to patrol
Swiss borders (2006)
Military the Swiss Constitution states that "every Swiss male is
service age obliged to do military service"; every Swiss male has
and to serve for at least 260 days in the armed forces; 19
obligation: years of age for compulsory military service; 17 years
of age for voluntary military service; conscripts
receive 15 weeks of compulsory training, followed by 10
intermittent recalls for training over the next 22
years; women are accepted on a voluntary basis but are
not drafted (2005)
Manpower males age 19-49: 1,707,694
available for females age 19-49: 1,662,099 (2005 est.)
military
service:
Manpower fit males age 19-49: 1,375,889
for military females age 19-49: 1,342,945 (2005 est.)
service:
Manpower males age 18-49: 46,319
reaching females age 19-49: 43,829 (2005 est.)
military
service age
annually:
Military $2.548 billion (FY01)
expenditures -
dollar figure:
Military 1% (FY01)
expenditures -
percent of
GDP:
Transnational
Issues
Disputes - none
international:
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