Country data

Location: Europe

Time zone: CET

Total area: 41,277 km²

Land area: 39,997 km²

Water area: 1,280 km²

Length of the state border: 1,852 km

Bordering countries:
Germany: 334 km
France: 573 km
Italy: 740 km
Liechtenstein: 41 km
Austria: 164 km

Coastline: 0 km

Capital: Bern

Cantons: 26
Aargau, Ausser-Rhoden, Basel-Landschaft, Basel-Stadt, Bern, Friborg, Geneve, Glarus, Graubunden, Inner-Rhoden, Jura, Lucerne, Neuchatel, Nidwalden, Obwalden, Sankt Gallen, Schaffhausen, Schwyz, Solothurn, Thurgau, Ticino, Uri, Valais, Vaud, Zug, Zurich

Electric current: 220 V / 50 Hz

Telephone code: 00 41 (Source: Allcitycodes)

Highest point: Dufourspitze 4,634 m

Population

Population: approx. 8.1 million residents (Countryaah, 2021)

Population growth: 0.8% per year

Population density (residents per km²): 196

Life expectancy: 80 (male), 85 (female)

Official language: German, French, Italian, Romansh

Religions:

• 38% Roman Catholic
• 27% Protestants
• 5% Muslim
• 30% other

Climate

Since the altitudes show strong climatic differences, the climate in Switzerland is regionally different.

North and West:
The climate is temperate. The daytime temperatures are on average 15-20 ° C. In winter the temperature drops to 0 to -5 ° C.

South:
Due to the closer location to the Mediterranean Sea, it is always a bit warmer here than in the rest of Switzerland. During the day the thermometer rises to around 18-25 ° C. In winter, the temperature occasionally drops to 3 ° C.

Inland:
In the highlands of the Alps, there is daily sun almost all year round. However, due to the altitude, it is a few degrees Celsius colder than in the surrounding regions.

Currency / finance

Currency unit: Swiss franc (CHF)

Division: 1 franc = 100 cents

ATMs: Available in many cities, with credit / debit card and pin number.

International credit cards: These are accepted by many hotels and shops.

Regulations: Foreign and national currencies can be imported and exported in unlimited amounts.

Customs regulations

The following may be carried duty-free:

• 200 cigarettes or 50 cigars or 250 g of tobacco
• 1 liter of alcoholic beverages (max. 15% alcohol volume)
• small amounts of perfume

(Information applies to people aged 18 and over)

Tourists and people in transit can bring items of personal use with them duty-free.

Travel advice

There is currently no country-specific safety notice for Switzerland.

Economy

Thanks to industrial development, Switzerland has become an important industrial nation.

Although there are virtually no raw materials in the country, around a quarter of all working people are employed in industry.

Switzerland is best known for the high quality of its precision instruments. Watches are among the most popular and well-known export items.

Industries: chemistry, mechanical engineering, precision measuring instruments, textiles, tourism, clocks

Natural resources: wood, salt, hydropower

Land use:

• Usable land: 10%
• Grain cultivation: 2%
• Pasture area: 28%
• Forests: 32%
• other: 28%