SWITZERLAND

Switzerland officially the Swiss Confederation (Latin: Confoederatio Helvetica, hence its abbreviation CH), is a federal parliamentary republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities, the so-called Bundesstadt ("federal city"). The country is situated in Western and Central Europe, where it is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland is a landlocked country geographically divided between the Alps, the Swiss Plateau and the Jura, spanning an area of 41,285 km2 (15,940 sq mi). While the Alps occupy the greater part of the territory, the Swiss population of approximately 8 million people is concentrated mostly on the Plateau, where the largest cities are to be found; among them are the two global and economic centers of Zürich and Geneva.

Switzerland ranks high  in several  metrics  involving  national performance,  like  government transparency, civil liberties, economic competitiveness, AND  human development.  It\'s   the  highest nominal wealth per adult (financial  ALONG WITH  non-financial assets)  for the  world  In accordance with  Credit Suisse and  ones  eighth-highest per capita gross domestic  goods   towards the  IMF list. Swiss  inhabitants  have  the  second-highest life expectancy  with the  world.

 Zürich  AND  Geneva each  has been  ranked among  ones  top cities  by the  highest quality  regarding  life  on the  world (the former coming second  world-wide   According to  Mercer). 

The establishment of the Swiss Confederation is traditionally dated to 1 August 1291, which is celebrated annually as Swiss National Day. The country has a long history of armed neutrality—it has not been in a state of war internationally since 1815—and did not join the United Nations until 2002. Nevertheless it pursues an active foreign policy and is frequently involved in peace-building processes around the world. In addition to being the birthplace of the Red Cross, Switzerland is home to numerous international organizations, including the second largest UN office. On the European level, it is a founding member of the European Free Trade Association and is part of the Scavenge Area – although it is notably not a member of the European Union,nor the European Economic Area (and thus does not use the Euro currency).

Straddling the intersection of Germanic and Romance Europe, Switzerland comprises four main linguistic and cultural regions: German, French, Italian and Romansh. Therefore the Swiss, although predominantly German-speaking, do not form a nation in the sense of a common ethnicity or language; rather, Switzerland's strong sense of identity and community is founded on a common historical background, shared values such as federalism and direct democracy, and Alpine symbolism.

More about Switzerland ..........................................

Largest city :        Zürich

Official languages : German; French; Italian; Romansh

Demonym :       Swiss

Government :     Federal multi-party directorial republic with elements of direct democracy

 -   Federal Council

    Doris Leuthard

    Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf

    Ueli Maurer

    Didier Burkhalter

    Simonetta Sommaruga (President)

    Johann Schneider-Ammann (Vice President)

    Alain Berset

    Federal Chancellor Corina Casanova

Legislature :   Federal Assembly

 -   Upper house Council of States

 -   Lower house National Council

Coat Of Arm

Formation :

 -   Foundation date c. 1300 

 -   de facto 22 September 1499 

 -   de jure 24 October 1648 

 -   Restored 7 August 1815 

 -   Federal state 12 September 1848

Area :

 -   Total 41,285 km2 (135th) ; 15,940 sq mi

 -   Water (%) 4.2

Population :

 -   June 2014 estimate 8,183,800 (96th)

 -   2011 census 7,954,700

 -   Density 198/km2 (65th); 477.4/sq mi ; GDP (PPP) 2014 estimate

 -   Total $444.702 billion[6] (40th)

 -   Per capita $55,237[6] (8th) ; GDP (nominal) 2014 estimate

 -   Total $679.028 billion[6] (20th)

 -   Per capita $84,344[6] (4th)

Currency : Swiss franc (CHF)

Time zone: CET (UTC+1)

 -   Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)

Drives on the right

Calling code +41

Patron saint St Nicholas of Flüe

ISO 3166 code CH

Internet TLD .ch