Outline of Switzerland

The flag of Switzerland

The coat of arms of Switzerland

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Switzerland:

Switzerland – alpine country in Central Europe, located mostly in the Alps. Switzerland is the oldest neutral country in the world; it has not fought a foreign war since its neutrality was established by the Treaty of Paris in 1815. It is not a member of the European Union. Swiss cultural icons include Switzerland's quality of life, its neutrality, the Swiss Alps, watches, yodeling, cheese and chocolate.

General reference

• Pronunciation: English: /ˈswɪtsərlənd/
  • German: Schweiz [ˈʃvaɪts] ^ⓘ
  • French: Suisse [sɥis] ^ⓘ
  • Italian: Svizzera [ˈzvittsera]
  • Romansh: Svizra [ˈʒviːtsrɐ] ^ⓘ
• Common English country name: Switzerland
• Official English country name: The Swiss Confederation
• Common endonym(s):
• Official endonym(s):
• Adjectival: Swiss
• Demonym: Swiss
• Etymology: Name of Switzerland
• International rankings of Switzerland
• ISO country codes: CH, CHE, 756
• ISO region codes: See ISO 3166-2:CH
• Internet country code top-level domain: .ch

Geography of Switzerland

An enlargeable topographic map of Switzerland

Geography of Switzerland

• Switzerland is: a landlocked country
• Location:
  • Northern Hemisphere and Eastern Hemisphere
  • Eurasia
    • Europe
      • Central Europe
      • Western Europe
  • Time zone: Central European Time (UTC+01), Central European Summer Time (UTC+02)
  • Geographical centre of Switzerland
  • Extreme points of Switzerland
    • High: Monte Rosa 4,634 m (15,203 ft)
    • Low: Lake Maggiore 195 m (640 ft)
  • Land boundaries: 1,852 km

Italy 740 km

France 573 km

Germany 334 km

Austria 164 km

Liechtenstein 41 km

• Coastline: none

• Population of Switzerland: 8,606,000 (2019) - 99th most populous country
• Area of Switzerland: 41,285 km²
• Atlas of Switzerland

Environment of Switzerland

An enlargeable satellite image of Switzerland

Environment of Switzerland

• Environmental movement in Switzerland
• Climate of Switzerland
• Geology of Switzerland
• Hydrology of Switzerland
• Protected areas of Switzerland
  • Biosphere reserves in Switzerland
  • National parks of Switzerland
  • Nature parks in Switzerland
  • List of reserves for waterbirds and migratory birds in Switzerland
• Solar power in Switzerland
• Forests of Switzerland
• Wildlife of Switzerland
  • Animal welfare and rights in Switzerland
  • Fauna of Switzerland
    • Birds of Switzerland
    • Mammals of Switzerland

Natural geographic features of Switzerland

• Islands of Switzerland
• Lakes of Switzerland
  • Mountain lakes of Switzerland
• Mountains of Switzerland
  • Highest mountains of Switzerland
  • Glaciers of Switzerland
• Rivers of Switzerland
  • Waterfalls of Switzerland
• Valleys of Switzerland
• World Heritage Sites in Switzerland

Regions of Switzerland

Regions of Switzerland

• Central Switzerland
• Eastern Switzerland
• Espace Mittelland
• Northwestern Switzerland
• Seeland

Ecoregions of Switzerland

List of ecoregions in Switzerland

• Ecoregions in Switzerland

Administrative divisions of Switzerland

Administrative divisions of Switzerland

• Subdivisions of Switzerland
• Cantons of Switzerland
  • Districts of Switzerland
    • Municipalities of Switzerland

Cantons of Switzerland

Cantons of Switzerland

Districts of Switzerland

Districts of Switzerland

Municipalities of Switzerland

Municipalities of Switzerland

• Capital of Switzerland: Berne
• Cities of Switzerland

Demography of Switzerland

Demographics of Switzerland

Government and politics of Switzerland

Politics of Switzerland

• Form of government: Federal parliamentary republic, direct democracy.
• Capital of Switzerland: Berne
• Elections in Switzerland
• Political parties in Switzerland
• Swiss neutrality
• Taxation in Switzerland
• Voting in Switzerland
  • Electronic voting in Switzerland

Branches of the government of Switzerland

Government of Switzerland

Executive branch of the government of Switzerland

• Presiding member of the Federal Council: President of the Swiss Confederation, Alain Berset, for 2023
• Cabinet of Switzerland & collective Head of state: Swiss Federal Council
  • Alain Berset (Social Democratic Party of Switzerland), Federal Department of Home Affairs, President of the Federal Council in 2023
  • Guy Parmelin (Swiss People's Party), Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research
  • Ignazio Cassis (Free Democratic Party of Switzerland), Federal Department of Foreign Affairs
  • Viola Amherd (The Centre), Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sports
  • Karin Keller-Sutter (Free Democratic Party of Switzerland), Federal Department of Finance
  • Albert Rösti (Swiss People's Party), Federal Department of Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications
  • Élisabeth Baume-Schneider (Social Democratic Party of Switzerland), Federal Department of Justice and Police.

Legislative branch of the government of Switzerland

• Parliament of Switzerland (bicameral)
  • Upper house: Swiss Council of States
  • Lower house: National Council of Switzerland

Judicial branch of the government of Switzerland

Court system of Switzerland

• Supreme Court of Switzerland

Foreign relations of Switzerland

Foreign relations of Switzerland

• Diplomatic missions in Switzerland
• Diplomatic missions of Switzerland

International organization membership

The Swiss Confederation is a member of:

African Development Bank Group (AfDB) (nonregional member) Asian Development Bank (ADB) (nonregional member) Australia Group Bank for International Settlements (BIS) Council of Europe (CE) Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council (EAPC) European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) European Free Trade Association (EFTA) European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) European Space Agency (ESA) Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Group of Ten (G10) Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) International Criminal Court (ICCt) International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) International Development Association (IDA) International Energy Agency (IEA) International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRCS) International Finance Corporation (IFC) International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) International Labour Organization (ILO) International Maritime Organization (IMO) International Mobile Satellite Organization (IMSO) International Monetary Fund (IMF) International Olympic Committee (IOC) International Organization for Migration (IOM) International Organization for Standardization (ISO) International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement (ICRM) International Telecommunication Union (ITU) International Telecommunications Satellite Organization (ITSO) International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC)

Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Latin American Integration Association (LAIA) (observer) Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) Nonaligned Movement (NAM) (guest) Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) Organisation internationale de la Francophonie (OIF) Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) Organization of American States (OAS) (observer) Paris Club Partnership for Peace (PFP) Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) United Nations (UN) United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) United Nations Observer Mission in Georgia (UNOMIG) United Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC) United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) United Nations Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO) Universal Postal Union (UPU) World Confederation of Labour (WCL) World Customs Organization (WCO) World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU) World Health Organization (WHO) World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) World Meteorological Organization (WMO) World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) World Trade Organization (WTO) Zangger Committee (ZC)

Law and order in Switzerland

Law of Switzerland

• Cannabis in Switzerland
• Capital punishment in Switzerland
• Constitution of Switzerland
• Corruption in Switzerland
• Crime in Switzerland
• Human rights in Switzerland
  • LGBT rights in Switzerland
  • Freedom of religion in Switzerland
• Internet censorship in Switzerland
• Law enforcement in Switzerland
  • Cantonal police
  • Gendarmerie
  • Municipal police
  • Swiss Border Guard

Military of Switzerland

Swiss Armed Forces

• Command
  • Commander-in-chief: André Blattmann, Chief of the Armed Forces
    • Ministry of Defence of Switzerland
• Forces
  • Swiss Land Forces
  • Navy: none, but the Land Forces operate a Lakes flotilla
  • Swiss Air Force
  • Special Forces Command
• Conscription in Switzerland
• Equipment of the Swiss Armed Forces
• Military ranks of Switzerland

Local government in Switzerland

Local government in Switzerland

History of Switzerland

History of Switzerland

• Timeline of Swiss history

History of Switzerland, by period or event

• Early history of Switzerland
  • Switzerland in the Roman era
  • Growth of the Old Swiss Confederacy
  • French invasion of Switzerland
  • Switzerland in the Napoleonic era
• Modern history of Switzerland
  • Switzerland during the World Wars
  • Bombings of Switzerland in World War II
• Historiography of Switzerland

History of Switzerland, by subject

• History of Geneva
• History of rail transport in Switzerland
• History of the Swiss Air Force
• Military history of Switzerland

Culture of Switzerland

Culture of Switzerland

• Architecture of Switzerland
  • Buildings and structures in Switzerland above 3000 m
• Cuisine of Switzerland
  • Swiss cheese
  • Swiss chocolate
  • Swiss wine
• Culinary Heritage of Switzerland
• Festivals in Switzerland
• Languages of Switzerland
• Swiss literature
• List of castles and fortresses in Switzerland
• Media in Switzerland
  • Newspapers
    • Newspapers in Switzerland
  • Radio
    • Radio stations in Switzerland
  • Television in Switzerland
    • Radiotelevisione svizzera
    • Radiotelevisiun Svizra Rumantscha
    • Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen
    • Télévision Suisse Romande
• National symbols of Switzerland
  • Coat of arms of Switzerland
  • Flag of Switzerland
  • National anthem of Switzerland
• People of Switzerland
  • Homelessness in Switzerland
  • Immigration to Switzerland
• Prostitution in Switzerland
• Public holidays in Switzerland
  • Swiss National Day
• Records of Switzerland
• Religion in Switzerland
  • Buddhism in Switzerland
  • Hinduism in Switzerland
  • Islam in Switzerland
    • Ahmadiyya in Switzerland
  • Judaism in Switzerland
  • Protestantism in Switzerland
  • Sikhism in Switzerland
• UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Switzerland

Art in Switzerland

• Art in Switzerland
• Cinema of Switzerland
• Literature of Switzerland
• Music of Switzerland
• Theatre in Switzerland

Sports in Switzerland

Sport in Switzerland

• Football in Switzerland
• Switzerland at the Olympics

Economy and infrastructure of Switzerland

Economy of Switzerland

• Economic rank, by nominal GDP (2007): 21st (twenty-first)
• Agriculture in Switzerland
• Banking in Switzerland
  • Bank secrecy
  • National Bank of Switzerland
  • Switzerland Stock Exchange
• Communications in Switzerland
  • Internet in Switzerland
• Companies of Switzerland
• Currency of Switzerland:
  • Banknotes of the Swiss franc
  • Coins of the Swiss franc
• Energy in Switzerland
  • Electricity sector in Switzerland
  • Energy policy of Switzerland
  • Oil industry in Switzerland
  • Nuclear power in Switzerland
• Mining in Switzerland
• Science and technology in Switzerland
• Telecommunications in Switzerland
  • Telephone numbers in Switzerland
• Tourism in Switzerland
• Transport in Switzerland
  • Airports in Switzerland
  • Rail transport in Switzerland
    • Railway companies in Switzerland
  • Roads in Switzerland
    • Motorways of Switzerland
• Waste management in Switzerland
• Water supply and sanitation in Switzerland

Education in Switzerland

Education in Switzerland

• List of universities in Switzerland

Health in Switzerland

Health in Switzerland

• Healthcare in Switzerland
• List of hospitals in Switzerland
• Obesity in Switzerland

See also

• Index of Switzerland-related articles
• List of Switzerland-related topics
• List of international rankings
• Member state of the United Nations
• Outline of Europe
• Outline of geography

External links

Wikimedia Atlas of Switzerland

Official

• The Federal Authorities of the Swiss Confederation
• Presence Switzerland
  • Your Gateway to Switzerland
• Swiss Statistics, official website of the Swiss Federal Statistical Office.

Reference

• CIA World Factbook - Switzerland

Geography

• Wikimedia Atlas of Switzerland
• Switzerland travel guide from Wikivoyage
• Federal Office of Topography
• searchable interactive map (search.ch)

History

• Historical Dictionary of Switzerland (in German, French, and Italian)
• history-switzerland.geschichte-schweiz.ch

Media

• (in German), a Swiss daily newspaper
• Le Temps (in French), a Swiss daily newspaper
• Corriere Del Ticino (in Italian), a Swiss daily newspaper
• swissinfo.ch, Swiss News - Worldwide

Education

• The Swiss School System
• Universities in Switzerland

Science, Research and Technology

• The Swiss Portal for Research and Innovation
• State Secretariat for Education and Research, SER
• The Swiss National Science Foundation
• CTI, Commission for Technology and Innovation