Switzerland
Swiss ConfederationSchweizerische Eidgenossenschaft (German), Confederation Suisse (French), Confederazione Svizzera (Italian)
formally a confederation, but similar in structure to a federal republic
Switzerland as the 2005 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 126 fields, one of 36 editions from 1990 to 2025.
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Introduction
1 fieldBackground
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 sovreignty 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
Central Europe, east of France, north of Italy
18 fieldsLand useshare of 41,290 sq 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
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
People
19 fieldsAge structuremale left, female right · (2005 est.)
Per 1,000 population(2005 est.)
Male · female(2005 est.)
Religions(2000 census)
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:
- 0.69 male(s)/female
- total population:
- 0.97 male(s)/female (2005 est.)
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% (1980 est.)
- male:
- NA%
- female:
- NA%
Government
Formally a confederation, but similar in structure to a federal republic; President Samuel SCHMID (since 1 January 2005); President Samuel SCHMID (since 1 January 2005)
18 fieldsCouncil of States, 200 seats, elected in most cantons 19 October 2003one dot, one seat
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, 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
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
Executive branch
- chief of state:
- President Samuel SCHMID (since 1 January 2005);
- Vice President Moritz LEUENBERGER (since 1 January 2005);
- note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
- head of government:
- President Samuel SCHMID (since 1 January 2005);
- Vice President Moritz LEUENBERGER (since 1 January 2005);
- 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 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 one-year terms that run concurrently;
- election last held 8 December 2004 (next to be held December 2005)
- election results:
- Samuel SCHMID elected president;
- percent of Federal Assembly vote - 70.7%;
- Moritz LEUENBERGER elected vice president;
- percent of legislative vote - 64.8%
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 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
Political parties and leaders
- 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) [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
International organization participation
ACCT, AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EFTA, ESA, FAO, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAIA (observer), MIGA, MONUC, NAM (guest), NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNMEE, UNMIK, UNOMIG, UNTSO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO, ZC
Diplomatic representation in the US
- chief of mission:
- Ambassador Christian BLICKENSTORFER
- 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
- consulate(s):
- Boston
Diplomatic representation from the US
- chief of mission:
- Ambassador Pamela P. WILLEFORD
- 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
Switzerland is a peaceful, prosperous, and stable 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.
43 fieldsGDP - composition by sector(2003 est.)
Trading partnersexports left, imports right
Electricity
Economy - overview
Switzerland is a peaceful, prosperous, and stable 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 safe haven 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. Even so, unemployment has remained at less than half the EU average.
Exchange rates
Swiss francs per US dollar - 1.2435 (2004), 1.3467 (2003), 1.5586 (2002), 1.6876 (2001), 1.6888 (2000)
Communications
8 fieldsTelephone system
- general assessment:
- excellent domestic and international services
- domestic:
- extensive cable and microwave radio relay networks
- international:
- country code - 41; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean and Indian Ocean)
Transportation
10 fieldsMerchant marine, 23 ships by typeone square, one ship · ships (1,000 GRT or over) 604,843 GRT/1,050,914 DWT
Airports by runway lengthpaved only
Airports by runway lengthunpaved only
Networkskm
Railways
- total:
- 4,527 km
- standard gauge:
- 3,232 km 1.435-m gauge (3,211 km electrified)
- narrow gauge:
- 1,285 km 1.000-m gauge (1,273 km electrified); 10 km 0.800-m gauge (10 km electrified) (2004)
Waterways
65 km note: Rhine River between Basel-Rheinfelden and Schaffhausen-Bodensee, some canals, and 12 navigable lakes (2003)
Military
Land Forces, Swiss Air Force (Schweizer Luftwaffe)
7 fieldsMilitary service age and obligation
- the Swiss Confederation states that "every Swiss male is obligated to do military service";
- every Swiss male has to serve for at least 260 days in the armed forces;
- 19 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)
Transnational Issues
2 fieldsIllicit 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
Cite this entry
Central Intelligence Agency. “Switzerland.” The World Factbook 2005. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/switzerland/2005.