| The Swiss Confederation
or Switzerland (Latin: Confoederatio
Helvetica) is a landlocked federal republic in Europe,
bordering Germany, France,
Italy, Austria
and Liechtenstein. The country has a strong tradition
of political and military neutrality, but also of international
co-operation, and is home to many international organizations.
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Living in Switzerland
With an area of 41,000 km², Switzerland is a small
country. The population is around 7.4 million, resulting
in a population density of 184 people per km².
Switzerland comprises three basic topographical areas:
the Swiss Alps, the Swiss plateau, and the Jura mountains.The
Alps are a high mountain range running across the central-south
of the country. Among the high peaks of the Swiss Alps,
the highest of which is the Dufour Peak at 4,634 m,
are found countless valleys, some with glaciers. From
these the headwaters of several major European rivers
such as the Rhine, the Rhône, the Inn, the Aare
or the Ticino, flow down into lakes such as Lake Geneva,
Lake Zürich, Lake Neuchâtel, and Lake Constance.
Switzerland is a prosperous and stable modern market
economy, with a per capita GDP that is higher than those
of the big western European economies. For much of the
20th century Switzerland was the wealthiest country
in Europe by a considerable margin. However since the
early 1990s it has suffered from slow growth, and as
of 2005 it had fallen to fourth among European states
with populations above one million in terms of Gross
Domestic Product per capita at purchasing power parity,
behind Ireland, Denmark and Norway (see list). Switzerland
is a member of the European Free Trade Association.
Switzerland sits at the crossroads of several major
European cultures that have heavily influenced the country's
languages and culture. Switzerland has three nationwide
official languages (German (64%) in the north and centre,
French (19%) to the west, and Italian (8%) in the south),
plus a fourth national language that is considered official
locally (Romansh, a Romance language spoken by a small
minority (< 1%) in the southeastern canton of Graubünden
and in parts of Ticino). The federal government is obliged
to communicate in the three official languages. In the
federal parliament, German, French and Italian are the
official languages and simultaneous translation is provided.
The German spoken in Switzerland is predominantly a
group of dialects that are almost unintelligible to
Germans and are collectively known as Swiss German,
but written communcation and broadcasts typically use
High German (standard German). Swiss French and Swiss
Italian differ far less from their counterparts in France
and Italy, respectively. Learning one of the other national
languages at school is obligatory for all Swiss, so
most Swiss are at least bilingual. English is considered
by some as a Swiss lingua franca, and most Swiss people
have some command of English; many Swiss documents and
websites are available in English. Resident foreigners
and temporary foreign workers make up about 20% of the
population.
The most popular religion in Switzerland is Roman Catholicism
(43% of the population). There are various Protestant
denominations (35%), while immigration has brought Islam
(4%) and Eastern Orthodoxy (2%) as sizeable minority
religions. The stability and prosperity of Switzerland,
combined with a linguistically diverse population, has
led some to describe the country as a consensus, or
consociational state.
The Swiss Confederation consists of 26 cantons:
Aargau (Argovia)
Appenzell Innerrhoden (Inner Rhodes)
Appenzell Ausserrhoden (Outer Rhodes)
Basel-Stadt (Basle-City)
Basel-Landschaft (Basle-Country)
Bern (Berne)
Fribourg (Freiburg)
Genève (Geneva)
Glarus
Graubünden (Grisons/Grischun/Grigioni)
Jura
Lucerne (Luzern)
Neuchâtel
Nidwalden
Obwalden
Schaffhausen
Schwyz
Solothurn (Soleure)
St. Gallen (St. Gall)
Thurgau (Thurgovia)
Ticino (Tessin)
Uri
Valais (Wallis)
Vaud
Zug
Zürich (Zurich)
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