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Switzerland

 Flag of Switzerland
Last reviewed: 04.06.09

Country information

Map of Switzerland

Area: 41,293 sq km (16,000 sq mi)
Population: 7.5 million (2007)
Capital City: Berne
People: German (64%), French (19%), Italian (8%), Romansch (1%)
Languages: Swiss German, French, Italian, Rhaeto-Rumantsch
Religion(s): Roman Catholic (46.1%), Protestant (40%), Muslim (4.3%)
Currency: Swiss franc (SFr)
Major political parties: Radicals (FDP - (party president) Fulvio Pelli), Christian Democrats (CVP - Christophe Darbellay), Social Democrats (Hans-Jurg Fehr), People's Party (SVP - Ueli Maurer)
Government: 7 member Federal Council
Political system: Federal Republic with strong local governments (cantons)
President: Hans-Rudolf Merz
Foreign Minister: Micheline Calmy-Rey (since 2003)
Membership of international groupings/organisations: Council of Europe, EAPC/PfP, EBRD, EFTA, IBRD, IMF, OECD, OSCE, UN, UNESCO, UNHCR, WTO

DID YOU KNOW

  • Zurich ranks first as the world's top city for quality of life, with Geneva following closely behind, according to Mercer Human Resources Consulting. London is in 39th place.
  • Nestlé is the largest company in Switzerland, yet more than 98% of its revenue comes from outside the country.
  • Swiss Guards still protect the Pope at the Vatican.
  • The Red Cross was started in 1864 by Henri Dunant in Geneva. The symbol of the Red Cross is based on a reversed Swiss flag.
  • Women were not given the right to vote until 1971.
  • Switzerland manages 35% of all private and institutional offshore funds and is world number one in Private Funds.
  • Switzerland is responsible for around half the value of the worlds watch production.
  • There are five 'designer' public conveniences in the Eastern Swiss town of St Gallen, one of which plays the sound of twittering birds and a stream rushing over pebbles to its users.
  • Swiss physicist and explorer Auguste Piccard was the model for Professor Calculus in the Tintin comic books. Author Hergé described him as the "archetypal scientist."
  • Switzerland has the densest rail network in Europe - 121.9 km of rail per 1000 km2, more than 2.5 times the European average.
  • Zurich Council banned chocolate in 1722, due to it reputation as an aphrodisiac. Today, the Swiss eat more chocolate per head than anyone else in the world – an annual average consumption in 2006 of 12 kg per head.
  • Switzerland has the steepest funicular railway in the world: the Gelmerbahn at the foot of the Grimsel Pass, which reaches 106% gradient in places.
  • Switzerland is the second most densely forested country in Europe (30%).

ECONOMY

Basic Economic Facts

GDP: US $ 387.7bn in 2006 ($418.1 forecast for 2007)
GDP per head: $38,602 in 2006
Annual Growth: 2.8% (2007)
Inflation: 0.8% (est. 2008)
Unemployment: 3.1% (February 2007)
Major Industries: Banking and insurance, machine and precision tools, textile machinery, chemicals and pharmaceuticals, watches, telecoms, graphic machinery, food processing and packaging materials, electrical and mechanical engineering.
Major trading partners: Germany, France, US, Italy, UK, Japan, Netherlands, Austria
Exchange rate: £1 = Swiss Fr. 2.14 February 2008

Switzerland has more global companies than any comparable country, four of which feature among the top ten largest in Continental Europe. With few natural resources, the two mainstays of the Swiss economy are its substantial “invisibles” sector and its well-established, largely export-orientated, industrial manufacturing base. World-famous for its high-quality precision engineering industry, Switzerland is also very successful in other key sectors such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals, telecommunications, food processing and packaging, graphics and electrical and mechanical engineering. Some sectors, such as pharmaceuticals, banking, insurance and re-insurance, recorded record profits in 2006. An estimated one third of global private wealth is managed from Switzerland. In the 2006 World Economic Forum Global Competitiveness Index Switzerland ranked No 1 for the first time. In October 2006 Transparency International ranked Swiss companies the least susceptible to paying bribes to win business overseas.

HISTORY

Switzerland is in many ways unique. Swiss politics has two defining characteristics - neutrality and direct democracy (see Politics below) – shared by few others. Despite four official languages, divisions between Catholic and Protestant areas, and a foreign resident population of 21.8% in 2006, politics is still defined more by consensus than conflict. Traditions of consensus building, neutrality and direct democracy are anchored in Switzerland’s past and above all its Constitution.

The Swiss Confederation was originally founded in 1291, when three cantons (Uri, Schwyz and Unterwalden) agreed on a defensive alliance to protect the inhabitants’ autonomy under the Habsburg Empire. In the following centuries, the Confederation grew steadily as other cantons, towns and villages joined the alliance. In 1798, it was invaded by France and became the unified Helvetic Republic. After regaining its independence in 1815, the Confederation’s borders were fixed by the Congress of Vienna. Switzerland's policy of permanent armed neutrality became internationally recognised.

In 1848 the previous loose confederation of states was replaced by a soundly structured federal state, and the Swiss Federal Constitution was drawn up. This reserved some limited powers to the federal authorities but gave all the rest to the cantons. In the course of time further obligations were allotted to the central authorities and a number of popular rights were guaranteed federally. The distribution of power between approximately 3,000 independent communes, 26 sovereign cantons and the central Confederation with its seat in Berne has remained unaltered to the present day. This Constitution has become part of Swiss identity, helping to overcome the inherent divisions of language and religion. It was thoroughly revised in 2000. The Constitution enshrines both the principle of neutrality and the autonomy of the cantons on which the system of direct democracy is based.

Switzerland’s economy developed as a result of its position on major North-South trading routes. Despite a lack of natural resources it was one of the earliest countries to industrialise. By the end of the 19th century it was one of the most industrialised countries in Europe. It remained neutral in both WWI and WWII, which contributed to its economic stability and created conditions for sustained post-war economic growth. This only came to an end in the 1990s when Switzerland experienced its longest post-war recession and increasing unemployment, in part prompting the rise of the right-wing Swiss People’s Party. But underlying prosperity and commitment to the political principles laid out in its Constitution remain..

Longer Historical Perspective

BBC News Country Timeline: Switzerland

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

Switzerland has been a member of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) since 1959 and a member of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) since 1995. Switzerland is not a member of the EEA after membership was rejected by referendum in 1992. A March 2001 referendum on opening an EU accession dialogue was resoundingly defeated. This was partly due to its traditions of neutrality and direct democracy which are to an extent incompatible with EU legislative processes and other aspects such as the EU’s Common Foreign and Security Policy.

Nonetheless the political debate on EU membership continues, and in general Swiss laws continue to be made compatible with EU legislation. A June 2006 Swiss Government report concluded that the continuation of a series of bilateral agreements between Switzerland and the EU was the best short- and mid- term option.

In 2002, the ‘Bilaterals I’ package came into force, including an agreement on the Free Movement of Persons (FMoP) between Switzerland and the then 15 EU members, and agreements on air and land transport, agriculture, removing barriers to trade, public procurement and research. FMoP was agreed for an initial period of 7 years. The Swiss parliament will vote in summer 2008 on whether the agreement should continue and be extended to include the newest EU members, Bulgaria and Romania.

A ‘Bilaterals II’ package was concluded in 2004, covering participation in the Schengen frontier free zone, the Dublin asylum repatriation arrangements, the taxation of savings, the fight against fraud and Swiss participation in a range of EU programmes.

Ratification of the some of the Bilateral II agreements is still pending. The government won a referendum in November 2006 to approve the 1 billion Swiss francs that Switzerland has agreed to pay to help reduce social and economic disparities in the new Member States (“Cohesion Payments”). The UK recently ratified the EU-Swiss Fraud Agreement and is keen to bring it into effect provisionally between the UK and Switzerland, pending ratification by other Member States.

Switzerland joined the UN in September 2002 after a narrow vote in favour, but remains keen to steer a neutral/humanitarian course. Despite this it is the second largest per-capita contributor to the UN system, and Geneva plays host to a number of UN agencies. Switzerland was a key player behind the creation of the UN Human Rights Council in 2006.

Although Switzerland is not a member of NATO, it participates in some of its activities through the Partnership for Peace. Following a referendum in June 2001 the electorate approved a government proposal to allow the arming of military units deployed for peacekeeping operations. Switzerland now has approximately 220 military personnel involved in KFOR (the NATO force in Kosovo), as well as 28 military and civilian observers spread across a number of other UN and OSCE missions. Switzerland also contributed 26 personnel and 2 COUGAR helicopters to the EU’s peacekeeping mission EUFOR in Bosnia.

Switerzerland's relations with the UK

Relations remain excellent. There is regular contact at ministerial and official level covering issues from the Balkans to mutual legal assistance and cultural affairs. Recent highlights have been the visit to London by Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey in March 2006, and the Foreign Secretary’s talks with Foreign Minister Calmy-Rey in Davos in January 2008, where John Hutton, Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform also met Doris Leuthard, Swiss Minister for Economic Affairs.

Cultural Relations with the UK

British Council - Switzerland

Recent Visits

Inward

  • State Secretary for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Michael Ambühl, visited London in December 2007 for talks with FCO Permanent Under Secretary, Peter Ricketts.
  • State Secretary for the Economy Jean-Daniel Gerber visited London in March 2006, meeting Andrew Cahn, Chief Executive of UK Trade and Investment.
  • Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey visited London in 9 March 2006, meeting the Foreign Secretary Jack Straw.
  • Federal Councillor for Finance, Hans-Rudolf Merz, visited London in November 2005 to meet the Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown and the Lord Mayor of the City London Alderman David Brewer.
  • President Samuel Schmid visited London in June 2005 for an Audience with Her Majesty The Queen and a meeting with the Prime Minister.

Outward

  • Foreign Secretary David Miliband met Swiss Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey for bilateral talks at Davos in January 2008.
  • Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform John Hutton met Swiss Minister for Economic Affairs Doris Leuthard at the World Economic Forum in Davos in January 2008.
  • Minister of State for Transport Dr Stephen Ladyman visited Berne and Basel in January 2007 for talks on transport policy with Federal Councillor Leuenberger.
  • Prime Minister Tony Blair and Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown attended the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos in January 2007. Other key UK attendees included HRH The Duke of York, the Secretary of State for Trade Alistair Darling, the Secretary of State for Health Patricia Hewitt and the Secretary of State for Environment, Health and Rural Affairs David Miliband. Attendees in 2006 were the Foreign Secretary Jack Straw and the Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown.
  • HRH The Prince of Wales visited Switzerland in December 2005 to attend the official opening of a bridge and tunnel in the ski resort of Klosters.
  • Lord Bach, Minister for the Environment and Rural Affairs visited Berne in November 2005 to attend a Youth Summit on Climate Change which brought together young scientists and opinion formers from the UK, Switzerland, Bangladesh and the US. 

Map of SwitzerlandGEOGRAPHY

Switzerland is a small, landlocked country (approximately twice the size of Wales), bordered by France, Germany, Italy, Austria and Liechtenstein. It is mainly mountainous (Alps and Jura) with a central plateau of rolling hills, plains and lakes - the largest of which is Lake Geneva. It is the second most densely forested country in Europe. One quarter of the land is unproductive and, with the exception of water (and hydroelectric production), there are few natural resources. Zurich (population 364,000) is the country’s financial and commercial centre. The other major cities are Basel (199,000), Geneva (180,000), Berne (129,000), and Lausanne (124,000).

Trade and Investment with the UK

In 2006 Switzerland was the UK’s 2nd largest non-EU market after the US, with goods exports totalling more than £4 bn (£5.1 bn in 2005). Swiss consumers buy, on average, more British products than their French or German neighbours. Switzerland is the sixth largest investor in the UK, with Swiss companies estimated to provide over 100,000 UK jobs.

Further information about Switzerland's economy can be found at UK Trade Investment Country Profile: Switzerland.

POLITICS

Swiss politics are characterised by consensus and stability and voters have a large say in the political and administrative life of their country through a long-standing tradition of direct democracy. The legislative process can be slow as a result. All constitutional changes must be submitted to the vote (compulsory referendum). If a minimum of 50,000 voters challenge federal laws, these are put to the vote (optional referendum). The use of referenda has increased in recent years although turnout has decreased to an average of 46% at federal level. Even after lengthy debate to encourage consensus, referenda are often rejected. The government can decide to re-submit rejected legislation at a later date, but the voters always have the final say.

Cantons and communes enjoy extensive powers and each raise taxes, administer themselves and elect their own parliaments. Responsibility for legislation rests with the lowest level of government deemed appropriate. The Federal government is formally only responsible for defence, foreign and economic policy. Although its influence is slowly growing, Federal expenditure accounts for only 30% of total public expenditure.

The government is a “grand coalition” of the four main parties, all represented in the Federal Council (cabinet) of seven Councillors of equal rank. This is elected every four years by the two chambers of parliament: the National Council with 200 members elected to represent constituencies, and the State Council representing the 26 cantons. Parties try to ensure that the main languages, religions and regions are represented in the Federal Council. Like all executive bodies at all levels of authority in Switzerland, the Council is run on what is known as the collegial system. Although composed of members of different political parties, these do not form a coalition. Members vote according to their convictions, but the decisions they take must be upheld by all the members collectively. The Chairmanship of the Federal Council rotates annually and its holder is the President of the Confederation.

The arrangement outlined above has long been stable. But economic and social challenges since the 1990s have prompted some changes, most notably the rise of the populist Swiss People’s Party. Before their electoral success in October 2003 seats on the Federal Council were allocated according a 'Magic Formula' agreed in 1959. The four main parties divided the seven Federal Council seats between them:2 seats each for the Radicals, Christian Democrats and Social Democrats and 1 seat for the Swiss People's Party. Since 2003 the Swiss People's Party have gained a seat at the expense of the Christian Democratic Party.

Parliamentary elections held in October 2007 saw the right wing Swiss People’s Party (SVP) as the biggest winners. They attracted an unprecedented 29% of the vote and gained 7 seats. The Green Party also made gains and only just failed in their efforts to secure 10% of the vote. The centre-left Social Democratic Party (SP) suffered a surprisingly heavy loss of 9 seats, their worst result since 1991. The election campaign was dominated by the People’s Party anti-immigration stance, which attracted both domestic and international criticism and sparked violent protests by left wing groups in the lead up to the ballot.

In an unexpected series of events on 12 December 2007, the two chambers of the Swiss parliament, meeting to elect the Federal Council to serve the next four year term, ousted the controversial right-wing Justice Minister Christoph Blocher, and replaced him with Eveline Widmer-Shlumpf, a moderate from his own party. The voting for the other six cabinet positions was uneventful with the current incumbents keeping their seats. Pascal Couchepin was appointed President for 2008 and his Radical Party colleague Hans-Rudolf Merz was nominated Vice President.

The current Federal Councillors are:


Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications - Moritz Leuenberger (Social Democratic Party; Councillor since 1995)
Home Affairs - Pascal Couchepin (President for 2008, Radical Party; Councillor since 1998)
Economic Affairs – Doris Leuthard (Christian Democratic Party; Councillor since 2006)
Defence, Civil Protection and Sports - Samuel Schmid (Swiss People's Party; Councillor since 2001)
Foreign Affairs - Micheline Calmy-Rey (Social Democratic Party; Councillor since 2003)
Justice and Police - Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf (Swiss People’s Party, Councillor since 2007)
Finance - Hans-Rudolf Merz (Vice President for 2008, Radical Party; Councillor since 2004)

Elections

National elections are held every four years, most recently on 21 October 2007. The results were:

Swiss People's Party (SVP) 29.0% (+2.3%) 62 seats
Social Democrats (SP) 19.5% (-3.8%) 43 seats
Radical Party (FDP) 15.6% (-1.7%) 31 seats
Christian Democrats (CVP) 114.6% (+ 0.2%) 31 seats
Green Party 9.6% (+1.7%) 20 seats
Others 11.8% (+ 1.1%) 13 seats

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Contacts

Switzerland

Address:

Embassy of Switzerland
16/18 Montagu Place
London W1H 2BQ

Telephone:

(020) 7616 6000

Fax:

(020) 7724 7001

Email: swissembassy@lon.rep.adminh.ch

Office hours:

Mon–Fri: 0900–1200

Website: http://www.swissembassy.org.uk