Here some interesting data about Switzerland, this is an cool page for those "number fetish people"
| Population | 7,262,372 (July 2000 est.) |
| Location | Central Europe, east of France, north of Italy |
| Area | total:41,290 sq km land:39,770 sq km water:1,520 sq km |
| Land boundaries | total:1,852 km border countries:Austria 164 km, France 573 km, Italy 740 km, Liechtenstein 41 km, Germany 334 km |
| Climate | temperate, but varies with altitude; cold, cloudy, rainy/snowy winters; cool to warm, cloudy, humid summers with occasional showers. |
| Terrain | mostly mountains (Alps in south, Jura in northwest) with a central plateau of rolling hills, plains, and large lakes |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point:Lake Maggiore 195 m highest point:Dufourspitze 4,634 m |
| Natural resources | hydropower potential, timber, salt |
| Land use | arable land:10% permanent crops:2% permanent pastures:28% forests and woodland:32% other:28% (1993 est.) |
| Geography - note | landlocked; crossroads of northern and southern Europe; along with southeastern France and northern Italy, contains the highest elevations in Europe |
| Birth rate | 10.4 births/1,000 population (2000 est.) |
| Death rate | 8.75 deaths/1,000 population (2000 est.) |
| Sex ratio | at birth:1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years:1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years:1.03 male(s)/female 65 years and over:0.68 male(s)/female total population:0.97 male(s)/female (2000 est.) |
| Infant mortality rate | 4.53 deaths/1,000 live births (2000 est.) |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population:79.6 years male:76.73 years female:82.63 years (2000 est.) |
| Ethnic groups | German 65%, French 18%, Italian 10%, Romansch 1%, other 6% |
| Languages | German (official) 63.7%, French (official) 19.2%, Italian (official) 7.6%, Romansch 0.6%, other 8.9% |
| Government type | federal republic |
| Capital | Bern |
| Independence | 1 August 1291 Constitution 29 May 1874 |
| Constitution | 29 May 1874 |
| Legal system | 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 Suffrage 18 years of age; universal. |
| Economy - overview | Switzerland, a prosperous and stable modern market economy with a per capita GDP 20% above that of the big western European economies, experienced slower growth in 1999, because of weak foreign and domestic demand. Growth, however, is expected to rebound to over 2% in 2000. The Swiss in recent years have brought their economic practices largely into conformity with the EU's to enhance their international competitiveness. Although the Swiss are not pursuing EU membership in the near term, in 1999 Bern and Brussels signed agreements to further liberalize trade ties. These agreements still have to pass a Swiss referendum in spring 2000, however. Switzerland is still considered 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. |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:2.9% highest 10%:28.6% (1982) |
| Budget | revenues:$32.66 billion expenditures:$34.89 billion, including capital expenditures of $2.3 billion (1998 est.) |
| Industries | machinery, chemicals, watches, textiles, precision instruments |
| Exports | $98.5 billion (f.o.b., 1999) |
| Exports - commodities machinery | chemicals, metals, watches, agricultural products |
| Exports - partners | EU 62% (Germany 24%, France 10%, Italy 8%, UK 6%, Austria 3%), US 10%, Japan 4% (1998) |
| imports | $99 billion (f.o.b., 1999) Imports - partners EU 80% (Germany 33%, France 12%, Italy 10%, Netherlands 5%, UK 5%), US 6%, Japan 3% (1998) |
| Currency | 1 Swiss franc, franken, or franco (SFR) = 100 centimes, rappen, or centesimi |