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Background:
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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 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.
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Location:
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Central Europe, east of France, north of Italy
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Geographic coordinates:
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47 00 N, 8 00 E
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Map references:
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Area:
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total: 41,290 sq km
land: 39,770 sq km
water: 1,520 sq km
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Area - comparative:
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slightly less than twice the size of New Jersey
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Land boundaries:
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total: 1,852 km
border countries: Austria 164 km, France 573 km, Italy 740 km, Liechtenstein 41 km, Germany 334 km
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Coastline:
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0 km (landlocked)
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Maritime claims:
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none (landlocked)
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Climate:
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temperate, but varies with altitude; cold, cloudy, rainy/snowy winters; cool to warm, cloudy, humid summers with occasional showers
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Terrain:
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mostly mountains (Alps in south, Jura in northwest) with a central plateau of rolling hills, plains, and large lakes
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Elevation extremes:
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lowest point: Lake Maggiore 195 m
highest point: Dufourspitze 4,634 m
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Natural resources:
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hydropower potential, timber, salt
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Land use:
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arable land: 9.91%
permanent crops: 0.58%
other: 89.51% (2005)
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Irrigated land:
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250 sq km (2003)
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Total renewable water resources:
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53.3 cu km (2005)
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Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):
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Total: 2.52 cu km/yr (24%/74%/2%)
Per capita: 348 cu m/yr (2002)
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Natural hazards:
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avalanches, landslides, flash floods
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Environment - current issues:
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air pollution from vehicle emissions and open-air burning; acid rain; water pollution from increased use of agricultural fertilizers; loss of biodiversity
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Environment - international agreements:
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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
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Geography - note:
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landlocked; crossroads of northern and southern Europe; along with southeastern France, northern Italy, and southwestern Austria, has the highest elevations in the Alps
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Population:
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7,554,661 (July 2007 est.)
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Age structure:
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0-14 years: 16.1% (male 630,341/female 584,167)
15-64 years: 68.2% (male 2,596,996/female 2,553,108)
65 years and over: 15.8% (male 489,895/female 700,154) (2007 est.)
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Median age:
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total: 40.4 years
male: 39.3 years
female: 41.4 years (2007 est.)
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Population growth rate:
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0.381% (2007 est.)
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Birth rate:
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9.66 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
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Death rate:
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8.51 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
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Net migration rate:
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2.66 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)
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Sex ratio:
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at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.079 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.017 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female
total population: 0.969 male(s)/female (2007 est.)
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Infant mortality rate:
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total: 4.28 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 4.77 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 3.77 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
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Life expectancy at birth:
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total population: 80.62 years
male: 77.8 years
female: 83.59 years (2007 est.)
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Total fertility rate:
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1.44 children born/woman (2007 est.)
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HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
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0.4% (2001 est.)
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HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
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13,000 (2001 est.)
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HIV/AIDS - deaths:
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less than 100 (2003 est.)
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Nationality:
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noun: Swiss (singular and plural)
adjective: Swiss
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Ethnic groups:
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German 65%, French 18%, Italian 10%, Romansch 1%, other 6%
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Religions:
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Roman Catholic 41.8%, Protestant 35.3%, Muslim 4.3%, Orthodox 1.8%, other Christian 0.4%, other 1%, unspecified 4.3%, none 11.1% (2000 census)
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Languages:
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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 (official) 0.5%, other 2.8% (2000 census)
note: German, French, Italian, and Romansch are all national and official languages
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Literacy:
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definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99%
male: 99%
female: 99% (2003 est.)
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This page was last updated on 24 January, 2008
- The Central Intelligence Agency's World Factbook - |
