Switzerland (
German:
die Schweiz,
[note 3] French:
Suisse,
Italian:
Svizzera,
Romansh:
Svizra), officially the
Swiss Confederation (
Latin:
Confoederatio Helvetica, hence its abbreviation
CH), is a
federal republic consisting of
26 cantons, with
Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in
Western Europe,
[note 4] where it is bordered by
Germany to the north,
France to the west,
Italy to the south, and
Austria and
Liechtenstein to the east.
Switzerland is a
landlocked country geographically divided between the
Alps, the
Central Plateau and the
Jura, spanning an area of 41,285 km
2 (15,940 sq mi). While the Alps occupy the greater part of the territory, the Swiss population of approximately 7.9 million people concentrates mostly on the Plateau, where the largest cities are to be found. Among them are the two
global cities and economic centres of
Zurich and
Geneva.
The Swiss Confederation has a long history of
neutrality—it has not been in a state of war internationally since 1815—and did not join the
United Nations until 2002. It pursues, however, an active foreign policy and is frequently involved in peace-building processes around the world.
[6] Switzerland is also the birthplace of the
Red Cross and home to a large number of international organizations, including the
second largest UN office. On the European level, it is a founding member of the
European Free Trade Association and is part of the
Schengen Area – although it is notably not a member of the
European Union, nor the
European Economic Area.
In
nominal terms, Switzerland is one of the
richest countries in the world by
per capita gross domestic product, with a nominal per capita GDP of $75,835.
[4] In 2010, Switzerland had the highest
wealth per adult of any country in the world (with $372,692 for each person).
[7] Switzerland also has one of the world's largest
account balances as a percentage of GDP, only placing behind a few oil producing countries. Zurich and Geneva have respectively been ranked as the cities with the second and third highest quality of life in the world.
[8] In 2010 the
World Economic Forum ranked Switzerland as the most competitive country in the world,
[9] while ranked by the
European Union as
Europe's most
innovative country by far.
[10]
Switzerland comprises three main linguistic and cultural regions: German, French, and Italian, to which the
Romansh-speaking valleys are added. The
Swiss therefore do not form a
nation in the sense of a common ethnic or linguistic identity. The strong sense of belonging to the country is founded on the common historical background, shared values (
federalism,
direct democracy,
neutrality)
[11] and
Alpine symbolism.
[12] The establishment of the Swiss Confederation is traditionally dated to 1 August 1291;
Swiss National Day is celebrated on the anniversary.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Switzerland
