Switzerland

World Book Index

Introduction

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. The major European powers have long honored Switzerland's sovereignty and neutrality, and the country was not involved in either World War.

Geography

Area
total : 41,277 sq km
land: 39,997 sq km
water: 1,280 sq km

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

Natural resources
hydropower potential, timber, salt

People and Society

Population
total: 8,860,574 (2024 est.)

Ethnic groups
Swiss 69.2%, German 4.2%, Italian 3.2%, Portuguese 2.5%, French 2.1%, Kosovan 1.1%, Turkish 1%, other 16.7% (2020 est.)

Languages
German (or Swiss German) (official) 62.1%, French (official) 22.8%, Italian (official) 8%, English 5.7%, Portuguese 3.5%, Albanian 3.3%, Serbo-Croatian 2.3%, Spanish 2.3%, Romansh (official) 0.5%, other 7.9% (2019 est.)

Religions
Roman Catholic 34.4%, Protestant 22.5%, other Christian 5.7%, Muslim 5.4%, other 1.5%, none 29.4%, unspecified 1.1% (2020 est.)

Population growth rate
0.75% (2024 est.)

Government

Government type
federal republic (formally a confederation)

Capital
name: Bern

Executive branch
chief of state: President of the Swiss Confederation Karin KELLER-SUTTER (since 1 January 2025)
head of government: President of the Swiss Confederation Karin KELLER-SUTTER (since 1 January 2025)

Diplomatic representation in the US
chief of mission: Ambassador Ralph HECKNER (since 18 September 2024)

Diplomatic representation from the US
chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Chargé d’Affaires Bradford BELL (since January 2025) note - also accredited to Liechtenstein

Economy

Economic overview
high-income, non-EU European economy; top ten in GDP per capita; renowned banking and financial hub; low unemployment and inflation; slowed GDP growth post-pandemic; highly skilled but aging workforce; key pharmaceutical and precision manufacturing exporter; leader in innovation and competitiveness indices

Real GDP (purchasing power parity)
$741.035 billion (2024 est.)
$731.508 billion (2023 est.)
$726.544 billion (2022 est.)

Real GDP per capita
$82,000 (2024 est.)
$82,300 (2023 est.)
$82,800 (2022 est.)

Exports
$675.059 billion (2024 est.)
$654.175 billion (2023 est.)
$628.737 billion (2022 est.)

Exports - partners
Germany 14%, China 12%, USA 11%, Italy 5%, Turkey 5% (2023)

Exports - commodities
gold, packaged medicine, vaccines, nitrogen compounds, base metal watches (2023)

Imports
$582.554 billion (2024 est.)
$556.351 billion (2023 est.)
$518.002 billion (2022 est.)

Imports - partners
Germany 17%, USA 9%, Italy 8%, France 6%, China 5% (2023)

Imports - commodities
gold, packaged medicine, vaccines, cars, jewelry (2023)

Human Development Index

The country's Human Development Index (HDI) is 0.970, ranking it 2nd out of 193 countries tested. (more information)

World Happiness Report

The World Happiness Report ranked the country 13th out of 158 countries tested with a score of 6.955. (more information)