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.^[1] Swiss icons include Switzerland's quality of life, its neutrality, the Swiss Alps, watches, yodeling, and chocolate.

General reference

• Pronunciation:
  • German: [ˈʃvaɪts]
  • French: [sɥis]
  • Italian: [ˈzvittsera]
  • Romansch: [ˈsvizra]
• 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

• 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)
  • 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: 7,647,600 (June 30, 2008) - 94th most populous country
• Area of Switzerland: 41,284 km²
• Atlas of Switzerland

Environment of Switzerland

An enlargeable satellite image of Switzerland

• Climate of Switzerland
• Renewable energy in Switzerland
• Geology of Switzerland
• Protected areas of Switzerland
  • Biosphere reserves in Switzerland
  • National parks of Switzerland
  • List of reserves for waterbirds and migratory birds in Switzerland
• Wildlife of Switzerland
  • Fauna of Switzerland
    • Birds of Switzerland
    • Mammals of Switzerland

Natural geographic features of Switzerland

• Islands of Switzerland
• Lakes of Switzerland
• Mountains of Switzerland
  • Glaciers of Switzerland
• Rivers of Switzerland
  • Waterfalls of Switzerland
• Valleys of Switzerland
• World Heritage Sites in Switzerland

Regions of Switzerland

Administrative divisions of Switzerland

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

Cantons of Switzerland

Districts of Switzerland

Municipalities of Switzerland

• Capital of Switzerland: Berne
• Cities of Switzerland

Demography 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
• Taxation in Switzerland

Branches of the government of Switzerland

Executive branch of the government of Switzerland

• Head of state: President of Switzerland, Hans-Rudolf Merz, for 2009
• Cabinet of Switzerland: Swiss Federal Council
  • Moritz Leuenberger (SP), Federal Department of Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications
  • Didier Burkhalter (FDP), Federal Department of Home Affairs
  • Micheline Calmy-Rey (SP), Federal Department of Foreign Affairs
  • Hans-Rudolf Merz (FDP), Federal Department of Finance, President of the Swiss Confederation for 2009
  • Doris Leuthard (CVP), Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Vice-President of the Federal Council in 2009
  • Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf (BDP), Federal Department of Justice and Police.
  • Ueli Maurer (SVP), Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sports

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

• Supreme Court of Switzerland

Foreign relations of Switzerland

• Diplomatic missions in Switzerland
• Diplomatic missions of Switzerland

International organization membership

The Swiss Confederation is a member of:^[2]

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) Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Organization 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

• Cannabis in Switzerland
• Capital punishment in Switzerland
• Constitution of Switzerland
• Crime in Switzerland
• Human rights in Switzerland
  • LGBT rights in Switzerland
  • Freedom of religion in Switzerland
• Law enforcement in Switzerland

Military of Switzerland

• 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
• Military history of Switzerland
• Military ranks of Switzerland

History of Switzerland

Main article: History of Switzerland, Timeline of the history of Switzerland, and Current events of Switzerland

• Military history of Switzerland

Culture of Switzerland

• Architecture of Switzerland
• Cuisine of Switzerland
• Festivals in Switzerland
• Languages of Switzerland
• List of castles and fortresses in Switzerland
• Media in Switzerland
• National symbols of Switzerland
  • Coat of arms of Switzerland
  • Flag of Switzerland
  • National anthem of Switzerland
• People of Switzerland
• Prostitution in Switzerland
• Public holidays in Switzerland
• Records of Switzerland
• Religion in Switzerland
  • Buddhism in Switzerland
  • Christianity in Switzerland
  • Hinduism in Switzerland
  • Islam in Switzerland
    • Ahmadiyya in Switzerland
  • Judaism 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
• Television in Switzerland
• Theatre in Switzerland

Sports in Switzerland

• Football in Switzerland
• Switzerland at the Olympics

Economy and infrastructure of Switzerland

• Economic rank, by nominal GDP (2007): 21st (twenty-first)
• Agriculture in Switzerland
• Banking in Switzerland
  • National Bank of Switzerland
• Communications in Switzerland
  • Internet in Switzerland
• Companies of Switzerland
• Currency of Switzerland:
• Energy in Switzerland
  • Energy policy of Switzerland
  • Oil industry in Switzerland
• Health care in Switzerland
• Mining in Switzerland
• Switzerland Stock Exchange
• Tourism in Switzerland
• Transport in Switzerland
  • Airports in Switzerland
  • Rail transport in Switzerland
  • Roads in Switzerland
• Water supply and sanitation in Switzerland

Education in Switzerland

See also

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

References

1. http://europa.eu/about-eu/countries/index_en.htm
2. "Switzerland". The World Factbook. United States Central Intelligence Agency. July 2, 2009. Retrieved July 23, 2009.

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
• Outline of Switzerland at DMOZ
• Federal Office of Topography
• searchable interactive map (search.ch)

History

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

Media

• Neue Zürcher Zeitung (German), a Swiss daily newspaper
• Le Temps (French), a Swiss daily newspaper
• Corriere Del Ticino (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