SWITZERLAND
GEOGRAPHY
Total area: 41,290 km2; land area: 39,770 km2
Comparative area: slightly more than twice the size of New Jersey
Land boundaries: 1,852 km total; Austria 164 km, France 573 km,
Italy 740 km, Liechtenstein 41 km, Germany 334 km
Coastline: none--landlocked
Maritime claims: none--landlocked
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
Natural resources: hydropower potential, timber, salt
Land use: arable land 10%; permanent crops 1%; meadows and pastures
40%; forest and woodland 26%; other 23%; includes irrigated 1%
Environment: dominated by Alps
Note: landlocked; crossroads of northern and southern Europe
PEOPLE
Population: 6,783,961 (July 1991), growth rate 0.6% (1991)
Birth rate: 12 births/1,000 population (1991)
Death rate: 9 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
Net migration rate: 3 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
Infant mortality rate: 5 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
Life expectancy at birth: 75 years male, 83 years female (1991)
Total fertility rate: 1.6 children born/woman (1991)
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%
Religion: Roman Catholic 47.6%, Protestant 44.3%, other 8.1%
(1980)
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%
Literacy: 99% (male NA%, female NA%) age 15 and over can
read and write (1980 est.)
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)
Organized labor: 20% of labor force
GOVERNMENT
Long-form name: Swiss Confederation
Type: federal republic
Capital: Bern
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
Independence: 1 August 1291
Constitution: 29 May 1874
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)
Legislative branch: 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
Leaders:
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)
Political parties and leaders:
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
Elections:
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
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.
GDP: $126 billion, per capita $18,700; real growth rate 2.6%
(1990)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 5.3% (1990)
Unemployment rate: 0.5% (1990)
Budget: revenues $24.0 billion; expenditures $23.8 billion,
including capital expenditures of $NA (1990)
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
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
Highways: 62,145 km total (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
Pipelines: 314 km crude oil; 1,506 km natural gas
Inland waterways: 65 km; Rhine (Basel to Rheinfelden, Schaffhausen
to Bodensee); 12 navigable lakes
Ports: Basel (river port)
Merchant marine: 20 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 258,678
GRT/441,555 DWT; includes 6 cargo, 2 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 3 chemical
tanker, 2 specialized tanker, 7 bulk
Civil air: 89 major transport aircraft
Airports: 67 total, 65 usable; 42 with permanent-surface runways;
2 with runways over 3,659 m; 6 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 17 with
runways 1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications: 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
DEFENSE FORCES
Branches: Army, Air Force, Frontier Guards, Fortification Guards
Manpower availability: males 15-49, 1,802,005; 1,549,347 fit for
military service; 42,619 reach military age (20) annually
Defense expenditures: $4.6 billion, 2% of GDP (1990)