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Switzerland

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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. A constitution of 1848, subsequently modified in 1874, replaced the confederation with a centralized federal government. 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. 

Location :

Central Europe, east of France, north of Italy 

Geographic Coordinates Center :

47 00 N, 8 00 E  (Latitude, Longtitude)

Geographic Coordinates Rectangle :

West 5.96
North 47.81
East 10.49
South 45.83

Area :

total 41 277 square km
land 39 997 square km
water 1 280 square km

Land boundaries :

total 1 852 km
Austria (at) 164 km
France (fr) 573 km
Italy (it) 740 km
Liechtenstein (li) 41 km
Germany (de) 334 km

Coastline :

0.00 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 

Elevation extremes :

lowest point 195 metres
highest point 4 634 metres

Natural resources :

hydropower potential salt
timber

Land use :

arable land 9.91 %
permanent crops 0.58 %
other 89.51 %

Irrigated land :

250 square km

Natural hazards :

avalanches floods
lides

current issues :

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

international agreements :

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
Law of the Sea Marine Dumping
Marine Life Conservation Ozone Layer Protection
Ship Pollution Tropical Timber 83
Tropical Timber 94 Wetlands
Whaling

Population :

7 604 467 

Indicators :

Growth rate 0.28 %
Birth rate 9.59 births/1,000 population
Total fertility rate 1.45 children born/woman
Death rate 8.59 deaths/1,000 population
Net migration rate 1.76 migrant(s)/1,000 population

Age structure :

0-14 years 15.60 %
15-64 years 68.10 %
65 years and over 16.30 %

Median age :

total 41.00 years
male 40.00 years
female 42.00 years

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 0.71 male(s)/female
total population 0.97 male(s)/female

Health :

Infant mortality rate 4.18 deaths/1,000 live births
Life expectancy at birth - total population 80.85 years
Life expectancy at birth - male 78.03 years
Life expectancy at birth - female 83.83 years
HIV-AIDS adult prevalence rate 0.60 %
HIV-AIDS people living with HIV-AIDS 25 000
HIV-AIDS deaths 500

Religions :

Roman Catholic 41.80 %
Protestant 35.30 %
Muslim 4.30 %
Orthodox 1.80 %
other Christian 0.40 %
other 1.00 %
unspecified 4.30 %
none 11.10 %

Languages :

German 63.70 %
French 20.40 %
Italian 6.50 %
Serbo-Croatian 1.50 %
Albanian 1.30 %
Portuguese 1.20 %
Spanish 1.10 %
English 1.00 %
Romansch 0.50 %

Literacy :

total population 99.00 %
male 99.00 %
female 99.00 %

Country name :

conventional long form Swiss Confederation
conventional short form Switzerland
local long form Schweizerische Eidgenossenschaft

Country Codes :

ISO 3166 CH
ISO Numeric 756
ISO3 CHE
FIPS SZ
ccTLD ch
English Switzerland

Administrative divisions :

26 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| 

Capital :

name Bern
geographic coordinates 46 57 N, 7 26 E
time difference 1.00
daylight saving time 1

International organization participation :

ADB (nonregional member) AfDB (nonregional member)
Australia Group BIS
CE CERN
EAPC EBRD
EFTA ESA
FAO FATF
G-10 IADB
IAEA IBRD
ICAO ICC
ICCt ICRM
IDA IEA
IFAD IFC
IFRCS ILO
IMF IMO
IMSO IOC
IOM IPU
ISO ITSO
ITU ITUC
Interpol LAIA (observer)
MIGA MONUC
NEA NSG
OAS (observer) OECD
OIF OPCW
OSCE PCA
PFP Paris Club
UN UNCTAD
UNESCO UNHCR
UNIDO UNITAR
UNRWA UNTSO
UNWTO UPU
WCO WFTU
WHO WIPO
WMO WTO
ZC

Independence :

1291-08-01 

National holiday :

Foundation Day

1291-08-01

Executive branch :

President Doris LEUTHARD

Legislative branch :

SVP 29.00 %
SPS 19.50 %
FDP 15.60 %
CVP 14.60 %
Greens 9.60 %
other 11.70 %

GDP - Gross Domestic product :

PPP - Purchasing Power Parity 316 100 000 000 $
Official Exchange Rate 484 100 000 000
RGR - Real Growth rate -1.80 %
PPP - per capita 41 600 $

GDP Composition by sector :

agriculture 1.50 %
industry 34.00 %
services 64.50 %

Labor force - by occupation :

agriculture 3.90 %
industry 22.80 %
services 73.20 %

Other Indicators :

Labor force 4 080 000 people
Unemployment rate 3.70 %
Distribution of family income - Gini index 33.70
Inflation rate (consumer prices) -0.60 %
Investment (gross fixed) 21.10 % of GDP
Current account balance 79 180 000 000 $
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold 74 070 000 000 $
Debt external 1 339 000 000 000 $
Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad 731 600 000 000 $
Stock of direct foreign investment - at home 395 600 000 000 $
Market value of publicly traded shares 1 275 000 000 000 $
Military expenditures 1.00 % of GDP
Public debt 43.50 % of GDP

Household income or consumption by percentage share :

lowest 10% 2.90 %
highest 10% 25.90 %

Budget :

revenues 166 400 000 000 $
expenditures 172 600 000 000 $

Agriculture - products :

eggs fruits
grain meat
vegetables

Industries :

banking chemicals
insurance machinery
precision instruments textiles
tourism watches

Energy :

Electricity Production 63 930 000 000 kWh
Electricity Consumption 57 620 000 000 kWh
Electricity Exports 32 740 000 000 kWh
Electricity Imports 31 600 000 000 kWh
Oil Production 3 244 bbl/day
Oil Consumption 275 600 bbl/day
Oil Exports 10 310 bbl/day
Oil Imports 247 200 bbl/day
Natural gas Consumption 3 429 000 000 cubic metres
Natural gas Imports 3 429 000 000 cubic metres

Value :

190 100 000 000 $

Commodities :

agricultural products chemicals
machinery metals
watches

Value :

177 200 000 000 $

Commodities :

agricultural products chemicals
machinery metals
textiles vehicles

Currency-name :

Swiss franc 

Communications :

Telephons Main lines in use 4 820 000
Telephons Mobile, Cellular 8 780 000
FM Radio broadcast stations 106
Television broadcast stations 106
Internet Country code (ccTLD) ch
Internet Hosts 3 697 000
Internet Users 5 739 000

Transportation :

Airports with paved runways 43
Heliports 1
Pipelines - gas 1 662 km
Pipelines - oil 94 km
Pipelines - refined products 7 km
Roadways - total 71 298 km
Roadways - paved 71 298 km
Railways 4 888 km
Waterways 65 km

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