Switzerland

federal republicIndependence 1 August 1291

Switzerland as the 1991 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 69 fields, one of 36 editions from 1990 to 2025.

field in that editiontext changed from the edition beforenot in that editionthe open editionEach field below ends in its editions, 1990 to 2025. Point at a year above to follow it down.

CapitalBern

Area41,290 km2

Populationas each edition published it

6.78 million July 1991 · 6.74m in 1990

Population growth% a year

Not in this edition 0.83% in 1993

Median ageyears

Not in this edition 40.2 yrs in 2003

Life expectancyyears at birth

Not in this edition 77.99 yrs in 1993

Fertility ratechildren per woman

1.6 children per woman 1991 · 1.6 in 1990

Infant mortalitydeaths per 1,000 live births

5 deaths per 1,000 live births 1991 · 5 in 1990

GDP per capitaeach edition's own dollars

Not in this edition $22,300 in 1993

GDP real growth% a year

Not in this edition -0.6% in 1993

Geography

11 fields

Total area

41,290km2

land area: 39,770 km2Comparative area: slightly more than twice the size of New Jersey

Land boundaries

1,852km total

Austria 164 km, France 573 km, Italy 740 km, Liechtenstein 41 km, Germany 334 km

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

Land use

arable land 10%;
permanent crops 1%;
meadows and pastures 40%;
forest and woodland 26%;
other 23%;
includes irrigated 1%

Note

landlocked; crossroads of northern and southern Europe

People

14 fields

Population

6,783,961

(July 1991), growth rate 0.6% (1991)

Per 1,000 population(1991)

Birth

12Death

9Net migration

Religion(1980)

Roman Catholic 47.6%Protestant 44.3%other 8.1% (1980)

Literacy

99%

(male NA%, female NA%) age 15 and over can read and write (1980 est.)

Nationality

noun--Swiss (sing. & pl.); adjective--Swiss

Ethnic divisions

total population--German 65%, French 18%, Italian 10%, Romansch 1%, other 6%; Swiss nationals--German 74%, French 20%, Italian 4%, Romansch 1%, other 1%

Language

total population--German 65%, French 18%, Italian 12%, Romansch 1%, other 4%; Swiss nationals--German 74%, French 20%, Italian 4%, Romansch 1%, other 1%

Labor force

3,310,000;
904,095 foreign workers, mostly Italian;
services 50%, industry and crafts 33%, government 10%, agriculture and forestry 6%, other 1% (1989)

Government

Federal republic

16 fields

Council of States, 46 seats, elected throughout 1991one dot, one seat

FDP 15CVP 14SVP 4LPS 3LDU 1

Administrative divisions

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

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

National holiday

Anniversary of the Founding of the Swiss Confederation, 1 August (1291)

Executive branch

president, vice president, Federal Council (German--Bundesrat, French--Conseil Federal, Italian--Consiglio Federale)

bicameral Federal Assembly (German--Bundesversammlung, French--Assemblee Federale, Italian--Assemblea Federale) consists of an upper council or Council of States (German--Standerat, French--Conseil des Etats, Italian--Consiglio degli Stati) and a lower council or National Council (German--Nationalrat, French--Conseil National, Italian--Consiglio Nazionale)

Judicial branch

Federal Supreme Court Chief of State and Head of Government--President Flavio COTTI (1991 calendar year; presidency rotates annually);
Vice President Rene FELBER (term runs concurrently with that of president) Free Democratic Party (FDP), Bruno HUNZIKER, president;
Social Democratic Party (SPS), Helmut HUBACHER, chairman;
Christian Democratic People's Party (CVP), Eva SEGMULLER-WEBER, chairman;
Swiss People's Party (SVP), Hans UHLMANN, president;
Green Party (GPS), Peter SCHMID, president;
Automobile Party (AP), DREYER;
Alliance of Independents' Party (LdU), Dr. Franz JAEGER, president;
Swiss Democratic Party (SD), NA;
Evangelical People's Party (EVP), Max DUNKI, president;
Workers' Party (PdA; Communist), Jean SPIELMANN, general secretary;
Ticino League, leader NA Liberal Party (LPS), Gilbert COUTAU, president;
National Action Party (NA), Rudolph KELLER, chairman;
Republican Party (RP), Franz BAUMGARTNER, president;
Progressive Organizations of Switzerland (POCH), Georg DEGEN, secretary;
Unitary Socialist Party (PSU), Dario ROBBIANI, president

Suffrage

universal at age 20 Council of States--last held throughout 1991 (next to be held 1995; results--percent of vote by party NA; seats--(46 total) FDP 15, CVP 14, SVP 4, LPS 3, LDU 1; note--9 seats require run-off elections, to be held in November1991 National Council--last held 20 October 1991 (next to be held October 1995); results--FDP %, SPS %, CVP %, SVP %, GPS %, LPS %, AP %, LDU %,SD %, EVP %, Workers Party %, Ticino League 23%, other %; seats--(200 total) FDP 44, SPS 42, CVP 37, SVP 25, GPS 14, LPS 10, AP 8, LDU 6, SD 5, EVP 3, Workers Party 2, Ticino League 2, other 2

Communists

4,500 members (est.)

Member of

AfDB, AG (observer), AsDB, BIS, CCC, CE, CERN, CSCE, EBRD, ECE, EFTA, ESA, FAO, G-8, G-10, GATT, IADB, IAEA, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, IEA, IFAD, ILO, IMF (observer), IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LORCS, NAM (guest), NEA, OAS (observer), OECD, PCA, UN (observer), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation

Ambassador Edouard BRUNNER;
Chancery at 2900 Cathedral Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008;
telephone (202) 745-7900;
there are Swiss Consulates General in Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco;
US--Ambassador Joseph B. GILDENHORN;
Embassy at Jubilaeumstrasse 93, 3005 Bern;
telephone [41] (31) 437-011;
there is a Branch Office of the Embassy in Geneva and a Consulate General in Zurich

Flag

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

Economy

Switzerland's economic success is matched in few, if any, other nations.

16 fields

GDP, purchasing power parity

$126billion

per capita $18,700; real growth rate 2.6% (1990)

Inflation, consumer prices

5.3%

(1990)

Unemployment rate

0.5%

(1990)

Budget

Revenues

$24.0 billionExpenditures

$23.8 billion

expenditures, including capital expenditures of $NA (1990)

Overview

Switzerland's economic success is matched in few, if any, other nations. Per capita output, general living standards, education and science, health care, and diet are unsurpassed in Europe. Inflation remains low because of sound government policy and harmonious labor-management relations.

Unemployment is negligible, a marked contrast to the larger economies of Western Europe. This economic stability helps promote the important banking and tourist sectors. Since World War II, Switzerland's economy has adjusted smoothly to the great changes in output and trade patterns in Europe and presumably can adjust to the challenges of the 1990s, in particular, the further economic integration of Western Europe and the amazingly rapid changes in East European political/economic prospects.

Exports

$63.4 billion (f.o.b., 1990);
commodities--machinery and equipment, precision instruments, metal products, foodstuffs, textiles and clothing;
partners--Western Europe 64% (EC 56%, other 8%), US 9%, Japan 4%

Imports

$70.5 billion (c.i.f., 1990);
commodities--agricultural products, machinery and transportation equipment, chemicals, textiles, construction materials;
partners--Western Europe 78% (EC 71%, other 7%), US 6%

External debt

$NA

Industrial production

growth rate 2.1% (1990)

Electricity

17,710,000 kW capacity; 59,070 million kWh produced, 8,930 kWh per capita (1989)

Industries

machinery, chemicals, watches, textiles, precision instruments

Agriculture

dairy farming predominates;
less than 50% self-sufficient;
food shortages--fish, refined sugar, fats and oils (other than butter), grains, eggs, fruits, vegetables, meat

Economic aid

donor--ODA and OOF commitments (1970-89), $3.5 billion

Currency

Swiss franc, franken, or franco (plural--francs, franken, or franchi); 1 Swiss franc, franken, or franco (SwF) = 100 centimes, rappen, or centesimi

Exchange rates

Swiss francs, franken, or franchi (SwF) per US$1--1.2724 (January 1991), 1.3892 (1990), 1.6359 (1989), 1.4633 (1988), 1.4912 (1987), 1.7989 (1986), 2.4571 (1985)

Fiscal year

calendar year

Communications

9 fields

Merchant marine, 20 ships by typeone square, one ship

cargo 6roll-on/roll-off cargo 2chemical tanker 3specialized tanker 2bulk 720 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 258,678 GRT/441,555 DWT

Airports, 67 total, 65 usable

permanent-surface runways

42runways over 3,659 m

2runways 2,440-3,659 m

6runways 1,220-2,439 m

Networkskm

Highways

62,145Inland waterways

65Pipelines

314

Highways: (all paved), of which 18,620 km are canton and 1,057 km are national highways (740 km autobahn); 42,468 km are communal roads · Inland waterways: ; Rhine (Basel to Rheinfelden, Schaffhausen to Bodensee); 12 navigable lakes · Pipelines: ; 1,506 km natural gas

Railroads

5,174 km total;
2,971 km are government owned and 2,203 km are nongovernment owned;
the government network consists of 2,897 km 1.435-meter standard gauge and 74 km 1.000-meter narrow gauge track;
1,432 km double track, 99% electrified;
the nongovernment network consists of 710 km 1.435-meter standard gauge, 1,418 km 1.000-meter gauge, and 75 km 0.790-meter gauge track, 100% electrified

65 km;
Rhine (Basel to Rheinfelden, Schaffhausen to Bodensee);
12 navigable lakes

excellent domestic, international, and broadcast services;
5,890,000 telephones;
stations--6 AM, 36 (400 relays) FM, 145 (1,250 relays) TV;
communications satellite earth stations operating in the INTELSAT (4 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean) and EUTELSAT systems