Switzerland

Swiss ConfederationSchweizerische Eidgenossenschaft (German),

federal republicIndependence 1 August 1291

Switzerland as the 1998 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 99 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

Position47 00 N, 8 00 E

Area41,290 sq km

LocationCentral Europe, east of France, north of Italy

Populationas each edition published it

7.26 million July 1998 est. · 6.74m in 1990

Population growth% a year

0.22% 1998 est. · 0.83% in 1993

Median ageyears

Not in this edition 40.2 yrs in 2003

Life expectancyyears at birth

78.88 years 1998 est. · 77.99 yrs in 1993

Fertility ratechildren per woman

1.46 children per woman 1998 est. · 1.6 in 1990

Infant mortalitydeaths per 1,000 live births

4.92 deaths per 1,000 live births 1998 est. · 5 in 1990

GDP per capitaeach edition's own dollars

$23,800 1997 est. · $22,300 in 1993

GDP real growth% a year

0.4% 1997 est. · -0.6% in 1993

Geography

Central Europe, east of France, north of Italy

18 fields

Land useshare of 41,290 sq km

arable land 10%permanent crops 2%permanent pastures 28%forests and woodland 32%other 28% (1993 est.)irrigated 250 sq km (1993 est.)

Area

41,290sq km

land: 39,770 sq kmwater: 1,520 sq kmslightly less than twice the size of New Jersey

Coastline

0km

(landlocked)Maritime claims: none (landlocked)

Highest point

4,634m

Dufourspitzelowest point: Lake Maggiore 195 m

Land boundaries

1,852km

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

Location

Central Europe, east of France, north of Italy

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

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-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified:: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Law of the Sea

Geography-note

landlocked;
crossroads of northern and southern Europe;
along with southeastern France and northern Italy, contains the highest elevations in Europe

People

15 fields

Population

7,260,357

(July 1998 est.)growth rate: 0.22% (1998 est.)

Per 1,000 population(1998 est.)

Birth

10.81Death

9.03Net migration

0.42

Ethnic groups

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

Religions(1990)

Roman Catholic 46.1%Protestant 40%other 5%no religion 8.9% (1990)

Literacy

99%

(1980 est.)definition: age 15 and over can read and writemale: NA%female: NA%

Age structure

0-14 years:: 17% (male 642,365; female 613,931)
15-64 years:: 68% (male 2,506,653; female 2,415,647)
65 years and over:: 15% (male 436,804; female 644,957) (July 1998 est.)

Sex ratio

at birth:: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years:: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years:: 1.04 male(s)/female
65 years and over:: 0.68 male(s)/female (1998 est.)

Infant mortality rate

4.92 deaths/1,000 live births (1998 est.)

Life expectancy at birth

total population:: 78.88 years
male:: 75.71 years
female:: 82.22 years (1998 est.)

Nationality

noun:: Swiss (singular and plural)
adjective:: Swiss

Languages

German 63.7%, French 19.2%, Italian 7.6%, Romansch 0.6%, other 8.9% note: figures for Swiss nationals only: German 74%, French 20%, Italian 4%, Romansch 1%, other 1%

Government

Federal republic; President Flavio COTTI (since 1 January 1998); President Flavio COTTI (since 1 January 1998)

20 fields

Legislature, 200 seatsone dot, one seat

FDP 45SPS 54CVP 34SVP 29Greens 9LPS 7FPS 7LdU 3EVP 2SD 3PdAdS 3Ticino League 1EDU 1FRAP 1CSP 1

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)

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

National holiday

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

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

Executive branch

chief of state:: President Flavio COTTI (since 1 January 1998);
Vice President Ruth DREIFUSS (since 1 January 1998);
note-the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government:: President Flavio COTTI (since 1 January 1998);
Vice President Ruth DREIFUSS (since 1 January 1998);
note-the president is both the chief of state and head of government
cabinet:: Federal Council or German-Bundesrat, French-Conseil Federal, Italian - Consiglio Federale 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 10 December 1997 (next to be held NA December 1998)
election results:: Flavio COTTI elected president;
percent of Federal Assembly vote-Flavio COTTI 90%;
Ruth DREIFUSS elected vice president;
percent of legislative vote - Ruth DREIFUSS 69%

bicameral Federal Assembly or German-Bundesversammlung, French-Assemblee Federale, Italian-Assemblea Federale consists of the Council of States or German-Standerat, French-Conseil des Etats, Italian-Consiglio degli Stati (46 seats; members are elected two from each canton and one from each half canton to serve four-year terms) and the National Council or German - Nationalrat, French-Conseil National, Italian-Consiglio Nazionale (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 throughout 1997 (each canton determines when the next election will be held);
National Council-last held 20 October 1995 (next to be held probably 24 October 1999)
election results:: Council of States-percent of vote by party-NA;
seats by party - FDP 17, CVP 16, SVP 5, SPS 5, LPS 2, LdU 1;
National Council-percent of vote by party-NA;
seats by party-FDP 45, SPS 54, CVP 34, SVP 29, Greens 9, LPS 7, FPS 7, LdU 3, EVP 2, SD 3, PdAdS 3, Ticino League 1, EDU 1, FRAP 1, CSP 1

Judicial branch

Federal Supreme Court, judges elected for six-year terms by the Federal Assembly

Political parties and leaders

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) [Ursula KOCH, president];
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];
Swiss People's Party (Schweizerische Volkspartei or SVP, Union Democratique du Centre or UDC, Unione Democratica de Centro or UDC, Uniun Democratica da Center or UDC) [Ueli MAURER, 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];
Freedom Party or FPS [Roland BORER];
Liberal Party (Liberale Partei der Schweiz or LPS, Parti Liberal Suisse or PLS, Partito Liberale Svizzero or PLS) [Francois Jeanneset, president];
Alliance of Independents' Party (Landesring der Unabhaengigen or LdU, Alliance des Independants or AdI) [Daniel ANDRES, president];
Ticino League (Lega dei Ticinesi) [Giuliano BIGNASCA, president];
and other minor parties including Swiss Democratic Party (Schweizer Demokraten or SD, Democrates Suisses or DS, Democratici Svizzeri or DS), Workers' Party (Parti Suisse du Travail or PST, Partei der Arbeit der Schweiz or PdAdS, Partito Svizzero del Lavoro or PSdL), Evangelical People's Party (Evangelische Volkspartei der Schweiz or EVP, Parti Evangelique Suisse or PEV, Partito Evangelico Svizzero or PEV), and the Union of Federal Democrats (Eidgenossisch-Demokratische Union or EDU, Union Democratique Federale or UDF, Unione Democratica Federale or UDF);
note-see elections

International organization participation

ACCT, AfDB, AG (observer), AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, CCC, CE, CERN, EBRD, ECE, EFTA, ESA, FAO, G- 8, 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), MTCR, NAM (guest), NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN (observer), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNMIBH, UNMOP, UNMOT, UNOMIG, UNPREDEP, UNTSO, UNU, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC

Diplomatic representation in the US

chief of mission:: Ambassador Alfred DEFAGO (since April 1997)
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, and San Francisco

Diplomatic representation from the US

chief of mission:: Ambassador Madeleine May KUNIN (since 8 August 1996)
embassy:: Jubilaeumstrasse 93, 3005 Bern
mailing address:: use embassy street address
telephone:: [41] (31) 357 70 11

FAX

[41] (31) 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

Switzerland, a fundamentally prosperous and stable | modern economy with a per capita GDP roughly 10% above that of the big | West European economies, is experiencing continued economic | difficulties.

28 fields

GDP, purchasing power parity

-$172.4billion

purchasing power parity · (1997 est.)

GDP per capita, PPP

-$23,800

purchasing power parity · (1997 est.)

Real growth rate

0.4%

(1997 est.)industrial production growth: 0% (1996)

Inflation, consumer prices

-0.1%

(1997)

GDP-composition by sector(1995)

agriculture 2.8%industry 31.1%services 66.1% (1995)

Budget

Revenues

$25.8 billionExpenditures

$30.8 billion (1997)

expenditures including capital expenditures of $2.3 billion

Fixed lines

5.24 million

(including 663 million car-mobile phones) (1996 est.)

Economy-overview

Switzerland, a fundamentally prosperous and stable modern economy with a per capita GDP roughly 10% above that of the big West European economies, is experiencing continued economic difficulties. GDP growth was a minus 0.2% in 1996 and a weak plus 0.4% in 1997. Weak domestic consumer demand is partly at fault;

stagnating real disposable income combines with a reluctance to reduce saving rates in the face of an uncertain employment outlook. Switzerland's leading sectors, including financial services, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, and special-purpose machines, therefore are more reliant on export markets.

Exports should lead an upturn in Swiss economic performance in 1998-99, provided the franc does not appreciate substantially as a result of Swiss monetary policy or instability in the run up to EMU.

Labor force

total:: 3.8 million (850,000 foreign workers, mostly Italian)
by occupation:: services 67%, manufacturing and construction 29%, agriculture and forestry 4% (1995)

Unemployment rate

5% (1997 est.)

Industries

machinery, chemicals, watches, textiles, precision instruments

Electricity-capacity

14.27 million kW (1995)

Electricity-production

55 billion kWh (1996)

Electricity-consumption per capita

6,850 kWh (1996 est.)

Agriculture-products

grains, fruits, vegetables; meat, eggs

Exports

total value:: $99.2 billion (f.o.b., 1997)
commodities:: machinery 29%, chemicals 26%, metals 8%, agricultural products 4% (1996)
partners:: EU countries 61%, US 9%, Japan 4% (1996)

Imports

total value:: $86.6 billion (c.i.f., 1997)
commodities:: machinery 22%, chemicals 20%, metals 8%, agricultural products 9% (1996)
partners:: EU 79%, US 7%, Japan 3% (1996)

Debt-external

$NA

Economic aid

donor: ODA, $1.034 billion (1995)

Currency

1 Swiss franc, franken, or franco (SFR) = 100 centimes, rappen, or centesimi

Exchange rates

Swiss francs, franken, or franchi (SFR) per US$1-1.4757 (January 1998), 1.4513 (1997), 1.2360 (1996), 1.1825 (1995), 1.3677 (1994), 1.4776 (1993)

Fiscal year

calendar year Communications

Telephone system

excellent domestic and international services

domestic:: extensive cable and microwave radio relay networks
international:: satellite earth stations-2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean and Indian Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations

AM 7, FM 50 (state-owned 10, private 40, shortwave 1 (1997)

Radios

2.8 million (1996)

Television broadcast stations

15 of which state-owned 5, private 10 (repeaters 1,322) (1997)

Televisions

2.647 million licenses (1996)

Transportation

9 fields

Merchant marine, 22 ships by typeone square, one ship · (1997 est.)

bulk 13cargo 1chemical tanker 5oil tanker 2roll-on/roll-off cargo 1

Airports by runway lengthpaved only

under 914 m

over 3,047 m: 4 2,438 to 3,047 m: 5 1,524 to 2,437 m: 12 914 to 1,523 m: 6

Airports by runway lengthunpaved only

under 914 m

total: 25 914 to 1,523 m: 1

Networkskm

Highways

71,117Railways

5,249Waterways

Highways: (including 1,594 km of expressways) · paved: NA km · unpaved: NA km (1996 est.) · Railways: (1,564 km double track) · standard gauge: 3,741 km 1.435-m gauge (3,119 km electrified; 808 km nongovernment owned) · narrow gauge: 1,438 km 1.000-m gauge (1,088 km electrified; 1,364 km nongovernment owned) · other gauge: 70 km 0.750-m or 0.800-m gauge (1996) · Waterways: ; Rhine (Basel to Rheinfelden, Schaffhausen to Bodensee); 12 navigable lakes

Railways

total:: 5,249 km (1,564 km double track)
standard gauge:: 3,741 km 1.435-m gauge (3,119 km electrified; 808 km nongovernment owned)
narrow gauge:: 1,438 km 1.000-m gauge (1,088 km electrified; 1,364 km nongovernment owned)
other gauge:: 70 km 0.750-m or 0.800-m gauge (1996)

Highways

total:: 71,117 km (including 1,594 km of expressways)
paved:: NA km
unpaved:: NA km (1996 est.)

Waterways

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

Military

Army, Air Force, Frontier Guards, Fortification | Guards

7 fields

Military expenditures-percent of GDP

1.2%

(1997)

Transnational Issues

2 fields

Disputes-international

none

Illicit drugs

because of more stringent government regulations, significantly less used as a money-laundering center;
transit country for and consumer of South American cocaine and Southwest Asian heroin SYRIA

Central Intelligence Agency. “Switzerland.” The World Factbook 1998. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/switzerland/1998.

How to cite ← 1997 edition 1999 edition →