]! ^! The Swiss Confederation was founded in 1291 as a defensive alliance among three cantons. In succeeding years, other localities joined the original three. The Swiss Confederation secured its independence from the Holy Roman Empire in 1499. Switzerland's sovreignty and neutrality have long been honored by the major European powers, and the country was not involved in either of the two World Wars. The political and economic integration of Europe over the past half century, as well as Switzerland's role in many UN and international organizations, has strengthened Switzerland's ties with its neighbors. However, the country did not officially become a UN member until 2002. Switzerland remains active in many UN and international organizations, but retains a strong commitment to neutrality. 
]" ^" Central Europe, east of France, north of Italy ^# 47 00 N, 8 00 E ^$ Europe ^% `! 41,290 sq km `" 39,770 sq km `# 1,520 sq km ^& slightly less than twice the size of New Jersey ^' `! 1,852 km `U Austria 164 km, France 573 km, Italy 740 km, Liechtenstein 41 km, Germany 334 km ^( 0 km (landlocked) ^) none (landlocked) ^* temperate, but varies with altitude; cold, cloudy, rainy/snowy winters; cool to warm, cloudy, humid summers with occasional showers ^+ mostly mountains (Alps in south, Jura in northwest) with a central plateau of rolling hills, plains, and large lakes ^, `% Lake Maggiore 195 m `& Dufourspitze 4,634 m ^- hydropower potential, timber, salt ^. `' 10.42% `( 0.61% `) 88.97% (2001) ^/ 250 sq km (1998 est.) ^0 avalanches, landslides, flash floods ^1 air pollution from vehicle emissions and open-air burning; acid rain; water pollution from increased use of agricultural fertilizers; loss of biodiversity _J `K Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling `L Law of the Sea ^2 landlocked; crossroads of northern and southern Europe; along with southeastern France, northern Italy, and southwestern Austria, has the highest elevations in the Alps 
]# ^3 7,489,370 (July 2005 est.) ^4 `* 16.6% (male 643,497/female 597,565) `+ 68% (male 2,570,544/female 2,522,365) `, 15.4% (male 472,769/female 682,630) (2005 est.) ^5 `! 39.77 years `- 38.75 years `. 40.81 years (2005 est.) ^6 0.49% (2005 est.) ^7 9.77 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) ^8 8.48 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) ^9 3.58 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) ^: `/ 1.05 male(s)/female `0 1.08 male(s)/female `+ 1.02 male(s)/female `, 0.69 male(s)/female `1 0.97 male(s)/female (2005 est.) ^; `! 4.39 deaths/1,000 live births `- 4.9 deaths/1,000 live births `. 3.86 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) ^< `1 80.39 years `- 77.58 years `. 83.36 years (2005 est.) ^= 1.42 children born/woman (2005 est.) ^> 0.4% (2001 est.) ^? 13,000 (2001 est.) ^@ less than 100 (2003 est.) ^A `2 Swiss (singular and plural) `3 Swiss ^B German 65%, French 18%, Italian 10%, Romansch 1%, other 6% ^C Roman Catholic 41.8%, Protestant 35.3%, Orthodox 1.8%, other Christian 0.4%, Muslim 4.3%, other 1%, unspecified 4.3%, none 11.1% (2000 census) ^D German (official) 63.7%, French (official) 20.4%, Italian (official) 6.5%, Serbo-Croatian 1.5%, Albanian 1.3%, Portuguese 1.2%, Spanish 1.1%, English 1%, Romansch 0.5%, other 2.8% (2000 census) note: German, French, Italian, and Romansch are all national languages, but only the first three are official languages ^E `M age 15 and over can read and write `1 99% (1980 est.) `- NA% `. NA% 
]$ ^F `4 Swiss Confederation `5 Switzerland `V Schweizerische Eidgenossenschaft (German), Confederation Suisse (French), Confederazione Svizzera (Italian) `W Schweiz (German), Suisse (French), Svizzera (Italian) ^H formally a confederation, but similar in structure to a federal republic ^I Bern ^J 26 cantons (cantons, singular - canton in French; cantoni, singular - cantone in Italian; kantone, singular - kanton in German); Aargau, Appenzell Ausser-Rhoden, Appenzell Inner-Rhoden, Basel-Landschaft, Basel-Stadt, Bern, Fribourg, Geneve, Glarus, Graubunden, Jura, Luzern, Neuchatel, Nidwalden, Obwalden, Sankt Gallen, Schaffhausen, Schwyz, Solothurn, Thurgau, Ticino, Uri, Valais, Vaud, Zug, Zurich ^K 1 August 1291 (founding of the Swiss Confederation) ^L Founding of the Swiss Confederation, 1 August (1291) ^M revision of Constitution of 1874 approved by the Federal Parliament 18 December 1998, adopted by referendum 18 April 1999, officially entered into force 1 January 2000 ^N 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 ^O 18 years of age; universal ^P `6 President Samuel SCHMID (since 1 January 2005); Vice President Moritz LEUENBERGER (since 1 January 2005); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government `7 President Samuel SCHMID (since 1 January 2005); Vice President Moritz LEUENBERGER (since 1 January 2005); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government `8 Federal Council or Bundesrat (in German), Conseil Federal (in French), Consiglio Federale (in Italian) elected by the Federal Assembly usually from among its own members for a four-year term `9 president and vice president elected by the Federal Assembly from among the members of the Federal Council for one-year terms that run concurrently; election last held 8 December 2004 (next to be held December 2005) `: Samuel SCHMID elected president; percent of Federal Assembly vote - 70.7%; Moritz LEUENBERGER elected vice president; percent of legislative vote - 64.8% ^Q bicameral Federal Assembly or Bundesversammlung (in German), Assemblee Federale (in French), Assemblea Federale (in Italian) consists of the Council of States or Standerat (in German), Conseil des Etats (in French), Consiglio degli Stati (in Italian) (46 seats - members serve four-year terms) and the National Council or Nationalrat (in German), Conseil National (in French), Consiglio Nazionale (in Italian) (200 seats - members are elected by popular vote on the basis of proportional representation to serve four-year terms) `9 Council of States - last held in most cantons 19 October 2003 (each canton determines when the next election will be held); National Council - last held 19 October 2003 (next to be held October 2007) `: Council of States - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - CVP 15, FDP 14, SVP 8, SPS 6, other 3; National Council - percent of vote by party - SVP 26.6%, SPS 23.3%, FDP 17.3%, CVP 14.4%, Greens 7.4%, other small parties all under 5%; seats by party - SVP 55, SPS 54, FDP 36, CVP 28, Green Party 13, other small parties 14 ^R Federal Supreme Court (judges elected for six-year terms by the Federal Assembly) ^S Green Party (Grune Partei der Schweiz or Grune, Parti Ecologiste Suisse or Les Verts, Partito Ecologista Svizzero or I Verdi, Partida Ecologica Svizra or La Verda) [Ruth GENNER]; Christian Democratic People's Party (Christichdemokratische Volkspartei der Schweiz or CVP, Parti Democrate-Chretien Suisse or PDC, Partito Democratico-Cristiano Popolare Svizzero or PDC, Partida Cristiandemocratica dalla Svizra or PCD) [Doris LEUTHARD, president]; Radical Free Democratic Party (Freisinnig-Demokratische Partei der Schweiz or FDP, Parti Radical-Democratique Suisse or PRD, Partitio Liberal-Radicale Svizzero or PLR) [Marianne KLEINER-SCHLAEPFER, president]; Social Democratic Party (Sozialdemokratische Partei der Schweiz or SPS, Parti Socialist Suisse or PSS, Partito Socialista Svizzero or PSS, Partida Socialdemocratica de la Svizra or PSS) [Hans-Juerg FEHR, president]; Swiss People's Party (Schweizerische Volkspartei or SVP, Union Democratique du Centre or UDC, Unione Democratica de Centro or UDC, Uniun Democratica dal Center or UDC) [Ueli MAURER, president]; and other minor parties ^T NA ^U ACCT, AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EFTA, ESA, FAO, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAIA (observer), MIGA, MONUC, NAM (guest), NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNMEE, UNMIK, UNOMIG, UNTSO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO, ZC ^V `N Ambassador Christian BLICKENSTORFER `O 2900 Cathedral Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 `P [1] (202) 745-7900 `Q [1] (202) 387-2564 `R Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco `g Boston ^W `N Ambassador Pamela P. WILLEFORD `Z Jubilaumsstrasse 93, CH-3005 Bern `[ use embassy street address `P [41] (031) 357 70 11 `Q [41] (031) 357 73 44 ^X red square with a bold, equilateral white cross in the center that does not extend to the edges of the flag 
]% ^Y Switzerland is a peaceful, prosperous, and stable modern market economy with low unemployment, a highly skilled labor force, and a per capita GDP larger than that of the big Western European economies. The Swiss in recent years have brought their economic practices largely into conformity with the EU's to enhance their international competitiveness. Switzerland remains a safe haven for investors, because it has maintained a degree of bank secrecy and has kept up the franc's long-term external value. Reflecting the anemic economic conditions of Europe, GDP growth dropped in 2001 to about 0.8%, to 0.2% in 2002, and to -0.3% in 2003, with a small rise to 1.8% in 2004. Even so, unemployment has remained at less than half the EU average. ^Z $251.9 billion (2004 est.) ^[ 1.8% (2004 est.) ^\ purchasing power parity - $33,800 (2004 est.) ^] `; 1.5% `< 34% `= 64.5% (2003 est.) ^^ 3.77 million (2004 est.) ^_ agriculture 4.6%, industry 26.3%, services 69.1% (1998) ^` 3.4% (2004 est.) ^a NA _! `> 2.6% `? 25.2% (1992) _d 33.1 (1992) _" 0.9% (2004 est.) _P 20.4% of GDP (2004 est.) _# `@ $131.5 billion `A $140.4 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.) _Q 57.2% of GDP (2004 est.) _$ grains, fruits, vegetables; meat, eggs _% machinery, chemicals, watches, textiles, precision instruments _& 4.7% (2004 est.) _' 63.47 billion kWh (2002) _( 54.53 billion kWh (2002) _) 32.3 billion kWh (2002) _* 27.8 billion kWh (2002) _+ 0 bbl/day (2001 est.) _, 290,400 bbl/day (2001 est.) _- 10,420 bbl/day (2001) _. 289,500 bbl/day (2001) _S 0 cu m (2001 est.) _T 3.093 billion cu m (2001 est.) _U 0 cu m (2001 est.) _V 3.093 billion cu m (2001 est.) _X $40.95 billion (2004 est.) _/ $130.7 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.) _0 machinery, chemicals, metals, watches, agricultural products _1 Germany 20.2%, US 10.5%, France 8.7%, Italy 8.3%, UK 5.1%, Spain 4% (2004) _2 $121.1 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.) _3 machinery, chemicals, vehicles, metals; agricultural products, textiles _4 Germany 32.8%, Italy 11.3%, France 9.9%, US 5.2%, Netherlands 5%, Austria 4.3% (2004) _Y $69.58 billion (2003) _5 $NA (2000) _Z ODA, $1.1 billion (1995) _7 Swiss franc (CHF) _8 Swiss francs per US dollar - 1.2435 (2004), 1.3467 (2003), 1.5586 (2002), 1.6876 (2001), 1.6888 (2000) _9 calendar year 
]& _: 5.419 million (2002) _; 6.172 million (2003) _< `B excellent domestic and international services `C extensive cable and microwave radio relay networks `D country code - 41; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean and Indian Ocean) _= AM 4, FM 113 (plus many low power stations), shortwave 2 (1998) _> 115 (plus 1,919 repeaters) (1995) _? .ch _@ 667,275 (2004) _A 2.556 million (2002) 
]' _e `! 4,527 km `b 3,232 km 1.435-m gauge (3,211 km electrified) `c 1,285 km 1.000-m gauge (1,273 km electrified); 10 km 0.800-m gauge (10 km electrified) (2004) _B `! 71,212 km `E 71,212 km (including 1,706 of expressways) `F 0 km (2002) _b 65 km note: Rhine River between Basel-Rheinfelden and Schaffhausen-Bodensee, some canals, and 12 navigable lakes (2003) _[ gas 1,831 km; oil 94 km; refined products 7 km (2004) _C Basel _K `! 23 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 604,843 GRT/1,050,914 DWT by type: bulk carrier 12, cargo 6, chemical tanker 2, container 3 `S 6 (United Kingdom 6) `\ 291 (2005) _D 65 (2004 est.) _E `! 42 `] 3 `G 5 `^ 10 `_ 8 `T 16 (2004 est.) _L `! 23 `T 23 (2004 est.) _\ 2 (2004 est.) 
]( _F Land Forces, Swiss Air Force (Schweizer Luftwaffe) _M the Swiss Confederation states that "every Swiss male is obligated to do military service"; every Swiss male has to serve for at least 260 days in the armed forces; 19 years of age for compulsory military service; 17 years of age for voluntary military service; conscripts receive 15 weeks of compulsory training, followed by 10 intermittent recalls for training over the next 22 years; women are accepted on a voluntary basis, but are not drafted (2005) _] males age 19-49: 1,707,694 (2005 est.) Manpower fit for military service: males age 19-49: 1,375,889 (2005 est.) _^ `` 46,319 (2005 est.) _N $2.548 billion (FY01) _O 1% (FY01) 
]) _H none _I a major international financial center vulnerable to the layering and integration stages of money laundering; despite significant legislation and reporting requirements, secrecy rules persist and nonresidents are permitted to conduct business through offshore entities and various intermediaries; transit country for and consumer of South American cocaine and Southwest Asian heroin 