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)                            
                                                                                
