SwitzerlandThe Swiss Confederation is a small landlocked federal state in central Europe, with neighbours Germany, France, Italy, Austria and Liechtenstein.\nThe country has a strong tradition of political and military neutrality, but also of international co-operation, as it is home to many international organizations. Confoederatio Helvetica, the Latin version of the official name, avoids choosing one of the four official languages. Its abbreviation, CH, is, for example, used as Internet TLD. {| align="right" width="300px" style="margin:1em 0em 1em 1em;"\n|\n{| border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" width="100%" style="font-size: small;"\n| align="right" | German:\n| Schweizerische Eidgenossenschaft\n|-\n| align="right" | French:\n| Confédération Suisse\n|-\n| align="right" | Italian:\n| Confederazione Svizzera\n|-\n| align="right" | Romansh:\n| Confederaziun Svizra'\n|}\n{| border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" style="font-size:small;" width="100%"\n| style="background:#efefef;" align="center" colspan="2" |\n{| border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" width="100%"\n|- align="center"\n| \n| rowspan="2" |  \n|-\n| align=center | (In Detail)\n|}\n|-\n| align="center" colspan="2" | National motto: None\n|-\n| align=center colspan=2 |  \n|-\n| Official languages || German, French, Italian, Romansh\n|-\n| Capital || Bern\n|-\n| Largest city || Zürich\n|-\n| Federal Council || \nMoritz Leuenberger\nPascal Couchepin \nJoseph Deiss (Pres) \nSamuel Schmid \nMicheline Calmy-Rey \nChristoph Blocher \nHans-Rudolf Merz\n|-\n| Area - Total - % water\n| Ranked 132nd 41'285 km² 3.7%\n|-\n| Population - Total (2001) - Density\n| Ranked 92nd 7'261'200 176/km²\n|-\n| Independence - Declared - Recognised Federal state\n| Eternal Alliance August 1, 1291 October 24, 1648 1848\n|-\n| Currency || Swiss franc ( CHF, 756)\n|-\n| Time zone || UTC +1\n|-\n| National anthem || Swiss Psalm\n|-\n| Internet TLD || .ch\n|-\n| Calling Code || +41\n|}\n|}
Geography\nMain article: Geography of Switzerland
The Swiss landscape is characterised by the Alps, a high mountain range running across the central-south of the country. Amongst the high peaks of the Swiss Alps, the highest of which is the Dufour Peak at 4,634 m, are found countless valleys, some with glaciers. From these the headwaters of several major European rivers such as the Rhine, the Rhône, the Inn, the Aare or the Ticino, flow down into lakes such as Lake Geneva, Lake Zürich, Lake Neuchâtel, and Lake Constance and farther down.
The northern, more populous part of the country is more open, but can still be fairly mountainous such as with the Jura Mountains, a smaller range in the northwest. The Swiss climate is generally temperate, but it can vary greatly locally, from the harsh conditions on the high mountains to the pleasant mediterranean climate at Switzerland's southern tip.
See: List of lakes of Switzerland, List of rivers of Switzerland, List of mountain passes in Switzerland Economy\nMain article: Economy of Switzerland Switzerland is a prosperous and stable modern market economy with a per capita GDP higher than that of the big western European economies. The Swiss in recent years have brought their economic practices largely into conformity with the European Union's to enhance their international competitiveness. Although the Swiss are not pursuing full EU membership in the near term, in 1999 Bern and Brussels signed agreements to further liberalise trade ties. They continue to discuss further areas for cooperation. Switzerland is however a member of the European Free Trade Association. Switzerland remains a safe haven for investors, because it has maintained a degree of bank secrecy (see Swiss bank account) and has kept up the franc's long-term external value. Swiss bank secrecy has often been controversial abroad, since, critics say, it helps criminals hide dubious transactions (corruption...) and launder money. The GDP growth rate dipped to 1.6% in 2001, and the government projects that it will slow further to 1.3% in 2002.Demographics\nMain article: Demographics of Switzerland
Switzerland sits at the crossroads of several major European cultures, which have heavily influenced the country's languages and cultural practices. Switzerland has four official languages: German (64%; yellow) in the north and centre, French (19%; purple) to the west, Italian (8%; green) in the south, and finally Romansh, a Romance language spoken by a small minority (<1%; red) in the southeastern canton of Graubünden. The German spoken here is predominantly a Swiss dialect known as Swiss German, but newspapers and some broadcasts use High German. Many Swiss speak more than one language and resident foreigners and temporary foreign workers make up about 20% of the population.
The largest religion in Switzerland is Roman Catholicism, to which some 43% of the population adhere. Various Protestant faiths number some 35% of the population, and immigration has established Islam (4%) and Eastern Orthodoxy (2%) as sizable minority religions. The remainder belongs to very small minorities or is unaffiliated. The stability and prosperity of Switzerland, combined with a linguistically and religiously diverse population has led some to describe the country as a consociational state.
Culture\nMain article: Culture of Switzerland The culture of Switzerland is influenced by its neighbours, but over the years a distinctive culture with strong regional differences has developed. Traditionally Switzerland is not considered one of the centres of European culture, but this conception might be deceptive. A number of culturally active Swiss have chosen to move abroad, probably given the limited opportunities in their homeland. At the same time, the neutrality of Switzerland has attracted many creative people from all over the world. In war times the tradition of political asylum helped to attract artists, whilst recently low taxes seem predominant. Strong regionalism in Switzerland makes it difficult to speak of a homogenous Swiss culture. The influence of German, French and Italian culture on their neighbouring parts cannot be denied. The Rhaeto-Romanic culture in the eastern mountains of Switzerland is robust. The Swiss are noted for their banks, their chocolate, their cheese, their pocket knives, their watches, and their private boarding schools. The tallest building in Switzerland is the Basler Messeturm.Miscellaneous topics\n* Communications in Switzerland\n* Transportation in Switzerland\n* Military of Switzerland\n* Foreign relations of Switzerland\n* Stamps and postal history of Switzerland\n* Data codes for Switzerland\n* List of cities in Switzerland\n* List of Switzerland-related topicsExternal links\n*The Federal Authorities\n*The Swiss Parliament\n*Federal Supreme Court - (in German, French and Italian)\n*Swiss Statistics - statistics from the Swiss Federal Statistical Office\n*Culturelinks.ch - a portal giving access to Swiss culture websites\n*Swissworld - an encyclopedic presentation of the country by the Swiss Confederation\n*About.ch - another presentation of the country\n*Historical Dictionary of Switzerland - (in German, French and Italian)\n*Switzerland's news and information platform - maintained by the public Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (in 9 languages) Category:European countries\nCategory: Switzerland\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nnds:Schweiz\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nsimple:Switzerland |
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"Whenever I climb I am followed by a dog called 'Ego'." - Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) |
