Switzerland

• temperate, but varies with altitude;
• cold, cloudy, rainy/snowy winters;
• cool to warm, cloudy, humid summers with occasional showers

agricultural land:

38.7%;

• arable land 10.2%;
• permanent crops 0.6%;
• permanent pasture 27.9%

forest:

31.5%

other:

29.8% (2011 est.)

• air pollution from vehicle emissions and open-air burning;
• acid rain;
• water pollution from increased use of agricultural fertilizers;
• loss of biodiversity

• landlocked;
• crossroads of northern and southern Europe;
• along with southeastern France, northern Italy, and southwestern Austria, has the highest elevations in the Alps

noun:

Swiss (singular and plural)

adjective:

Swiss

at birth:

1.06 male(s)/female

0-14 years:

1.06 male(s)/female

15-24 years:

1.04 male(s)/female

25-54 years:

1.01 male(s)/female

55-64 years:

1 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.78 male(s)/female

total population:

0.97 male(s)/female (2016 est.)

conventional long form:

Swiss Confederation

conventional short form:

Switzerland

local long form:

• Schweizerische Eidgenossenschaft (German);
• Confederation Suisse (French);
• Confederazione Svizzera (Italian);
• Confederaziun Svizra (Romansh)

local short form:

• Schweiz (German);
• Suisse (French);
• Svizzera (Italian);
• Svizra (Romansh)

etymology:

name derives from the canton of Schwyz, one of the founding cantons of the Old Swiss Confederacy that formed in the 14th century

name:

Bern

geographic coordinates:

46 55 N, 7 28 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

• previous 1848, 1874;
• latest adopted by referendum 18 April 1999, effective 1 January 2000;
• amended many times, last in 2016 (2016)

citizenship by birth:

no

citizenship by descent only:

at least one parent must be a citizen of Switzerland

dual citizenship recognized:

yes

residency requirement for naturalization:

12 years including at least 3 of the last 5 years prior to application

chief of state:

• President of the Swiss Confederation Johann N. SCHNEIDER-AMMANN (since 1 January 2016);
• Vice President Doris LEUTARD (since 1 January 2016; note - the Federal Council, which is comprised of 7 federal councillors, constitutes the federal government of Switzerland; council members rotate in a 1-year term as federal president (chief of state and head of government)

head of government:

President of the Swiss Confederation Johann N. SCHNEIDER-AMMANN (since 1 January 2016); Vice President Doris LEUTARD (since 1 January 2016)

cabinet:

Federal Council or Bundesrat (in German), Conseil Federal (in French), Consiglio Federale (in Italian) indirectly elected usually from among its members by the Federal Assembly for a 4-year term

elections/appointments:

• president and vice president indirectly elected by the Federal Assembly from among members of the Federal Council for a 1-year, non-consecutive term;
• election last held on 9 December 2015 (next to be held in early December 2016)

election results:

• Johann N. SCHNEIDER-AMMANN elected president;
• Federal Assembly vote - 196 of 208;
• Doris LEUTHARD elected vice president

description:

bicameral Federal Assembly or Bundesversammlung - in German, Assemblee Federale - in French, Assemblea Federale - in Italian consists of the Council of States or Staenderat - in German, Conseil des Etats - in French, Consiglio degli Stati - in Italian (46 seats; members in multi-seat constituencies representing cantons and single-seat constituencies representing half cantons directly elected by simple majority vote; members serve 4-year terms) and the National Council or Nationalrat - in German, Conseil National - in French, Consiglio Nazionale - in Italian (200 seats; 195 members in cantons directly elected by proportional representation vote and 5 in half cantons directly elected by simple majority vote; members serve 4-year terms)

elections:

• Council of States - last held in most cantons on 18 October 2015 (each canton determines when the next election will be held);
• National Council - last held on 18 October 2015 (next to be held in October 2019)

election results:

• Council of States - percent of vote by party - NA;
• seats by party (as of 18 October 2015) - Christian Democratic People's Party 13, FDP.The Liberals 13, SDP 12, Swiss People's Party 6, other 2;
• National Council - percent of vote by party - SVP 29.4%, SPS 18.8%, FDP 16.4%, CVP 11.6%, Green Party 7.1%, GLP 4.6%, BDP 4.1%, other 8.0%;
• seats by party - SVP 65, SPS 43, FDP 33, CVP 27, Green Party 11, GLP 7, BDP 7, other 7

highest court(s):

Federal Supreme Court (consists of 38 judges and 31 substitutes and organized into 5 sections)

judge selection and term of office:

• judges elected by the Federal Assembly for 6-year terms;
• note - judges are affiliated with political parties and are elected according to linguistic and regional criteria in approximate proportion to the level of party representation in the Federal Assembly

subordinate courts:

• Federal Criminal Court (began in 2004);
• Federal Administrative Court (began in 2007);
• note - each of Switzerland's 26 cantons has its own courts

chief of mission:

Ambassador Martin DAHINDEN (since 18 November 2014)

chancery:

2900 Cathedral Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone:

[1] (202) 745-7900

FAX:

[1] (202) 387-2564

consulate(s) general:

Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco

chief of mission:

Ambassador Suzan G. LEVINE (since 2 June 2014); note - also accredited to Liechtenstein

embassy:

Sulgeneckstrasse 19, CH-3007 Bern

mailing address:

use embassy street address

telephone:

[41] (031) 357-70-11

FAX:

[41] (031) 357-73-44

• red square with a bold, equilateral white cross in the center that does not extend to the edges of the flag;
• various medieval legends purport to describe the origin of the flag;
• a white cross used as identification for troops of the Swiss Confederation is first attested at the Battle of Laupen (1339)

agriculture:

3.4%

industry:

23.4%

services:

73.2% (2010)

lowest 10%:

7.5%

highest 10%:

19% (2007)

general assessment:

highly developed telecommunications infrastructure with excellent domestic and international services

domestic:

• ranked among leading countries for fixed-line teledensity and infrastructure;
• mobile-cellular subscribership roughly 145 per 100 persons;
• extensive cable and microwave radio relay networks

international:

country code - 41; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean and Indian Ocean) (2015)

• the publicly owned radio and TV broadcaster, Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SRG/SSR), operates 7 national TV networks, 3 broadcasting in German, 2 in Italian, and 2 in French;
• private commercial TV stations broadcast regionally and locally;
• TV broadcasts from stations in Germany, Italy, and France are widely available via multi-channel cable and satellite TV services;
• SRG/SSR operates 18 radio stations that, along with private broadcasters, provide national to local coverage (2009)

number of registered air carriers:

12; inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 163

annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers:

26,843,991

annual freight traffic on registered air carriers:

1,322,379,468 mt-km (2015)

total:

5,651.5 km

standard gauge:

4,424.8 km 1.435-m gauge (3,634.1 km electrified)

narrow gauge:

• 2 km 1.200-m gauge (2 km electrified);
• 1,188.3 km 1.000-m gauge (1,167.3 km electrified);
• 36.4 km 0.800-m gauge (36.4 km electrified) (2014)

country comparison to the world: 33

total:

71,464 km

paved:

71,464 km (includes 1,415 of expressways) (2011)

country comparison to the world: 65

• 19-26 years of age for male compulsory military service;
• 18 years of age for voluntary male and female military service;
• every Swiss male has to serve at least 260 days in the armed forces;
• conscripts receive 18 weeks of mandatory training, followed by seven 3-week intermittent recalls for training during the next 10 years (2012)

refugees (country of origin):

21,000 (Eritrea); 8,695 (Syria) (2015)

stateless persons:

69 (2015)

• 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, Southwest Asian heroin, and Western European synthetics;
• domestic cannabis cultivation and limited ecstasy production