The following is a list of Wikipedia articles about Switzerland

Switzerland

Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

, provided as an overview of and topical guide:

General reference

• Pronunciation:
  • German: ˈʃvaɪts
  • French: sɥis
  • Italian: ˈzvittsera
  • Romansch: ˈsvizra
• Common English country name: Switzerland
  Switzerland
  Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
  
  
• Official English country name: The Swiss Confederation
• Common endonym(s):
• Official endonym(s):
• Adjectival: Swiss
• Demonym: Swiss
• Etymology
  Etymology
  Etymology is the study of the history of words, their origins, and how their form and meaning have changed over time.For languages with a long written history, etymologists make use of texts in these languages and texts about the languages to gather knowledge about how words were used during...
  
  : Name of Switzerland
• International rankings of Switzerland
  International rankings of Switzerland
  -Economy:*International Monetary Fund: Income per capita in purchasing power parity ranked 7 out of 181 *United Nations Development Programme: Human Development Index ranked 13 out of 182 * ranked 8 out of 155...
  
  
• ISO country codes: CH, CHE, 756
• ISO region codes: See ISO 3166-2:CH
  ISO 3166-2:CH
  ISO 3166-2:CH is the entry for Switzerland in ISO 3166-2, part of the ISO 3166 standard published by the International Organization for Standardization , which defines codes for the names of the principal subdivisions of all countries coded in ISO 3166-1.Currently for Switzerland, ISO 3166-2 codes...
  
  
• Internet
  Internet
  The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
  
   country code top-level domain
  Country code top-level domain
  A country code top-level domain is an Internet top-level domain generally used or reserved for a country, a sovereign state, or a dependent territory....
  
  : .ch
  .ch
  .ch is the Internet country code top-level domain for Switzerland. It is administered by SWITCH Information Technology Services.The ".ch" domain does not come from the name for Switzerland in any of its national languages; "die Schweiz", "Suisse", "Svizzera" or "Svizra"...
  
  

Geography of Switzerland

• Switzerland is: a landlocked country
• Location:
  • Northern Hemisphere
    Northern Hemisphere
    The Northern Hemisphere is the half of a planet that is north of its equator—the word hemisphere literally means “half sphere”. It is also that half of the celestial sphere north of the celestial equator...
    
     and Eastern Hemisphere
    Eastern Hemisphere
    The Eastern Hemisphere, also Eastern hemisphere or eastern hemisphere, is a geographical term for the half of the Earth that is east of the Prime Meridian and west of 180° longitude. It is also used to refer to Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australasia, vis-à-vis the Western Hemisphere, which includes...
    
    
  • Eurasia
    Eurasia
    Eurasia is a continent or supercontinent comprising the traditional continents of Europe and Asia ; covering about 52,990,000 km2 or about 10.6% of the Earth's surface located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres...
    
    
    • Europe
      Europe
      Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
      
      
      • Central Europe
        Central Europe
        Central Europe or alternatively Middle Europe is a region of the European continent lying between the variously defined areas of Eastern and Western Europe...
        
        
      • Western Europe
        Western Europe
        Western Europe is a loose term for the collection of countries in the western most region of the European continents, though this definition is context-dependent and carries cultural and political connotations. One definition describes Western Europe as a geographic entity—the region lying in the...
        
        
  • Time zone
    Time zone
    A time zone is a region on Earth that has a uniform standard time for legal, commercial, and social purposes. In order for the same clock time to always correspond to the same portion of the day as the Earth rotates , different places on the Earth need to have different clock times...
    
    : Central European Time
    Central European Time
    Central European Time , used in most parts of the European Union, is a standard time that is 1 hour ahead of Coordinated Universal Time . The time offset from UTC can be written as +01:00...
    
     (UTC+01), Central European Summer Time
    Central European Summer Time
    Central European Summer Time is one of the names of the Daylight saving time offset using the UTC offset of UTC+02:00, 2 hours ahead of Coordinated Universal Time. It is used as a summer daylight saving time in most European countries. During the winter, Central European Time is used...
    
     (UTC+02)
  • Extreme points of Switzerland
    Extreme points of Switzerland
    -Elevation:See also:*List of highest points of the cantons of Switzerland*List of tallest structures in Switzerland-Latitude and longitude:See also: Geographical centre of Switzerland-See also:*Extreme points of Earth*Geography of Switzerland...
    
    
    • High: Monte Rosa
      Monte Rosa
      The Monte Rosa Massif is a mountain massif located in the eastern part of the Pennine Alps. It is located between Switzerland and Italy...
      
       4634 m (15,203 ft)
    • Low: Lake Maggiore
      Lake Maggiore
      Lake Maggiore is a large lake located on the south side of the Alps. It is the second largest of Italy and largest of southern Switzerland. Lake Maggiore is the most westerly of the three great prealpine lakes of Italy, it extends for about 70 km between Locarno and Arona.The climate is mild...
      
       195 m (640 ft)
  • Land boundaries: 1,852 km

 Italy 740 km

 Early Modern 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

• Climate of Switzerland
• Environmental issues in Switzerland
• Ecoregions in 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
  • Flora 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

Ecoregions of Switzerland

Administrative divisions of Switzerland

• Provinces of Switzerland
  • Districts of Switzerland
    Districts of Switzerland
    In contrast to centrally organised states, in the federally constituted Switzerland each canton iscompletely free to decide its own internal organisation. Therefore there exists a variety of structures and terminology for the subnational entities between canton and municipality, loosely termed...
    
    
    • Municipalities of Switzerland
      Municipalities of Switzerland
      Communes , also known as municipalities, are the smallest government division in Switzerland, numbering 2,596 . While many have a population of a few hundred citizens, the largest cities such as Zürich or Geneva also have the legal status of municipalities...
      
      

Municipalities of Switzerland

• Capital of Switzerland: Berne
• Cities of Switzerland

Government and politics of Switzerland

Main article: Government of Switzerland and Politics of Switzerland

Politics of Switzerland

The politics of Switzerland take place in the framework of a multi-party federal parliamentary democratic republic, whereby the Federal Council of Switzerland is the head of government. Executive power is exercised by the government and the federal administration and is not concentrated in any one...

• Form of government
  Form of government
  A form of government, or form of state governance, refers to the set of political institutions by which a government of a state is organized. Synonyms include "regime type" and "system of government".-Empirical and conceptual problems:...
  
  : Federal
  Federation
  A federation , also known as a federal state, is a type of sovereign state characterized by a union of partially self-governing states or regions united by a central government...
  
   parliamentary republic
  Parliamentary republic
  A parliamentary republic or parliamentary constitutional republic is a type of republic which operates under a parliamentary system of government - meaning a system with no clear-cut separation of powers between the executive and legislative branches. There are a number of variations of...
  
  , direct democracy
  Direct democracy
  Direct democracy is a form of government in which people vote on policy initiatives directly, as opposed to a representative democracy in which people vote for representatives who then vote on policy initiatives. Direct democracy is classically termed "pure democracy"...
  
  .
• Capital of Switzerland: Berne

• Elections in Switzerland
  Elections in Switzerland
  Elections in Switzerland gives information on election and election results in Switzerland.Switzerland elects on national level a head of state - the Federal Council - and a legislature. The Federal Assembly has two chambers...
  
  
  • (specific elections)
• Political parties in Switzerland
• Political scandals of Switzerland
• Taxation in Switzerland
  Taxation in Switzerland
  Taxes in Switzerland are levied by the Swiss Confederation, the cantons and the municipalities. Switzerland is sometimes considered a tax haven due to its general low rate of taxation, its political stability as well as the various tax exemptions or reductions available to Swiss companies doing...
  
  

Executive branch of the government of Switzerland

• Head of state
  Head of State
  A head of state is the individual that serves as the chief public representative of a monarchy, republic, federation, commonwealth or other kind of state. His or her role generally includes legitimizing the state and exercising the political powers, functions, and duties granted to the head of...
  
  : President of Switzerland, Hans-Rudolf Merz
  Hans-Rudolf Merz
  Hans-Rudolf Merz is a Swiss politician of FDP.The Liberals and member of the Swiss Federal Council . He is the head of the Federal Department of Finance and President of the Swiss Confederation for 2009...
  
  , for 2009
• Cabinet of Switzerland: Swiss Federal Council
  Swiss Federal Council
  The Federal Council is the seven-member executive council which constitutes the federal government of Switzerland and serves as the Swiss collective head of state....
  
  
  • Moritz Leuenberger
    Moritz Leuenberger
    Moritz Leuenberger is a Swiss politician, lawyer, was a member of the Swiss Federal Council from 1995 to 2010 and President of the Confederation in 2001 and in 2006....
    
     (SP
    Social Democratic Party of Switzerland
    The Social Democratic Party of Switzerland is the largest centre-left political party in Switzerland....
    
    ), Federal Department of Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications
  • Didier Burkhalter
    Didier Burkhalter
    Didier Burkhalter is a Swiss politician of FDP.The Liberals. He is a member of the Swiss Federal Council who was elected on 16 September 2009, and succeeded Pascal Couchepin on 1 November 2009 when he became head of the Federal Department of Home Affairs .A native of the Canton of Neuchâtel, he...
    
     (FDP
    Free Democratic Party of Switzerland
    The Free Democratic Party was a classical liberal political party in Switzerland. It was one of the major parties in Switzerland until its merger with the smaller classical liberal Liberal Party, to form FDP.The Liberals on 1 January 2009....
    
    ), Federal Department of Home Affairs
    Federal Department of Home Affairs (Switzerland)
    The Federal Department of Home Affairs is a department of the federal administration of Switzerland and serves as the Swiss ministry of the interior...
    
    
  • Micheline Calmy-Rey
    Micheline Calmy-Rey
    Micheline Anne-Marie Calmy-Rey is the President of the Confederation in Switzerland, head of government. She is also Switzerland's foreign minister as head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs. She has been a member of the Swiss Federal Council since 2003, and was President of the...
    
     (SP
    Social Democratic Party of Switzerland
    The Social Democratic Party of Switzerland is the largest centre-left political party in Switzerland....
    
    ), Federal Department of Foreign Affairs
    Federal Department of Foreign Affairs
    The Federal Department of Foreign Affairs is a department of the federal administration of Switzerland. It is charged with maintaining the foreign relations of Switzerland and serves as Switzerland's ministry of foreign affairs...
    
    
  • Hans-Rudolf Merz
    Hans-Rudolf Merz
    Hans-Rudolf Merz is a Swiss politician of FDP.The Liberals and member of the Swiss Federal Council . He is the head of the Federal Department of Finance and President of the Swiss Confederation for 2009...
    
     (FDP
    Free Democratic Party of Switzerland
    The Free Democratic Party was a classical liberal political party in Switzerland. It was one of the major parties in Switzerland until its merger with the smaller classical liberal Liberal Party, to form FDP.The Liberals on 1 January 2009....
    
    ), Federal Department of Finance
    Federal Department of Finance
    The Federal Department of Finance ; ; ) is one of the seven departments of the Swiss federal government. The department is headquartered in Bern and is headed by a member of the Swiss Federal Council, Switzerland's finance minister...
    
    , President of the Swiss Confederation for 2009
  • Doris Leuthard
    Doris Leuthard
    Doris Leuthard is a Swiss politician and lawyer. Since 1 August 2006, she has been a member of the Swiss Federal Council. From 1 August 2006 till 31 October 2010 she was head of the Federal Department of Economic Affairs...
    
     (CVP
    Christian Democratic People's Party of Switzerland
    The Christian Democratic People's Party of Switzerland is a Christian democratic political party in Switzerland. It is the fourth-largest party in the National Council, with 31 seats, and the largest in the Council of States, with 15 seats. It has one seat, that of Doris Leuthard, on the Swiss...
    
    ), Federal Department of Economic Affairs
    Federal Department of Economic Affairs
    The Federal Department of Economic Affairs is one of the seven departments of the federal government of Switzerland, headed by a member of the Swiss Federal Council.-Organisation:The Department is composed of the following offices:...
    
    , Vice-President of the Federal Council in 2009
  • Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf
    Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf
    Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf is a Swiss lawyer, politician, and member of the Swiss Federal Council since 2008. She is currently the head of the Federal Department of Finance ....
    
     (BDP), Federal Department of Justice and Police.
  • Ueli Maurer
    Ueli Maurer
    Ueli Maurer is a member of the Swiss Federal Council and head of the Swiss Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sports...
    
     (SVP
    Swiss People's Party
    The Swiss People's Party , also known as the Democratic Union of the Centre , is a conservative political party in Switzerland. Chaired by Toni Brunner, but spearheaded by Christoph Blocher, the party is the largest party in the Federal Assembly, with 58 members of the National Council and 6 of...
    
    ), Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sports
    Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sports
    The Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sport is one of the seven departments of the Swiss federal government, headed by a member of the Swiss Federal Council.-Organisation:...
    
    

Legislative branch of the government of Switzerland

• Parliament of Switzerland (bicameral)
  • Upper house
    Upper house
    An upper house, often called a senate, is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house; a legislature composed of only one house is described as unicameral.- Possible specific characteristics :...
    
    : Swiss Council of States
    Swiss Council of States
    The Council of States of Switzerland is the smaller chamber of the Federal Assembly of Switzerland, and is considered the Assembly's upper house. There are 46 Councillors....
    
    
  • Lower house
    Lower house
    A lower house is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the upper house.Despite its official position "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide the lower house has come to wield more power...
    
    : National Council of Switzerland
    National Council of Switzerland
    The National Council of Switzerland is the lower house of the Federal Assembly of Switzerland. With 200 seats, it is the larger of the two houses....
    
    

Judicial branch of the government of Switzerland

• Supreme Court of Switzerland

Foreign relations of Switzerland

• Diplomatic missions in Switzerland
• Diplomatic missions of Switzerland
  Diplomatic missions of Switzerland
  This is a list of diplomatic missions of Switzerland, excluding honorary consulates. Switzerland is well known as a protecting power, having used its embassies abroad to represent the interests of states hostile to each other since the Franco-Prussian War...
  
  

International organization membership

The Swiss Confederation is a member of:

• African Development Bank Group (AfDB) (nonregional member)
• Asian Development Bank
  Asian Development Bank
  The Asian Development Bank is a regional development bank established on 22 August 1966 to facilitate economic development of countries in Asia...
  
   (ADB) (nonregional member)
• Australia Group
  Australia Group
  The Australia Group is an informal group of countries established in 1985 to help member countries to identify those of their exports which need to be controlled so as not to contribute to the spread of chemical and biological weapons .The group, initially consisting of 15 members, held its first...
  
  
• Bank for International Settlements
  Bank for International Settlements
  The Bank for International Settlements is an intergovernmental organization of central banks which "fosters international monetary and financial cooperation and serves as a bank for central banks." It is not accountable to any national government...
  
   (BIS)
• Council of Europe
  Council of Europe
  The Council of Europe is an international organisation promoting co-operation between all countries of Europe in the areas of legal standards, human rights, democratic development, the rule of law and cultural co-operation...
  
   (CE)
• Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council
  Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council
  The Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council , a NATO institution, is a multilateral forum created to improve relations between NATO and non-NATO countries in Europe and those parts of Asia on the European periphery. The member states meet to cooperate and consult on a range of political and security issues...
  
   (EAPC)
• European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
  European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
  Founded in 1991, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development uses the tools of investment to help build market economies and democracies in 30 countries from central Europe to central Asia. Its mission was to support the formerly communist countries in the process of establishing their...
  
   (EBRD)
• European Free Trade Association
  European Free Trade Association
  The European Free Trade Association or EFTA is a free trade organisation between four European countries that operates parallel to, and is linked to, the European Union . EFTA was established on 3 May 1960 as a trade bloc-alternative for European states who were either unable to, or chose not to,...
  
   (EFTA)
• European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN)
• European Space Agency
  European Space Agency
  The European Space Agency , established in 1975, is an intergovernmental organisation dedicated to the exploration of space, currently with 18 member states...
  
   (ESA)
• Food and Agriculture Organization
  Food and Agriculture Organization
  The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations is a specialised agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger. Serving both developed and developing countries, FAO acts as a neutral forum where all nations meet as equals to negotiate agreements and...
  
   (FAO)
• Group of Ten
  Group of Ten (economic)
  The Group of Ten or G-10 refers to the group of countries that have agreed to participate in the General Arrangements to Borrow...
  
   (G10)
• Inter-American Development Bank
  Inter-American Development Bank
  The Inter-American Development Bank is the largest source of development financing for Latin America and the Caribbean...
  
   (IADB)
• International Atomic Energy Agency
  International Atomic Energy Agency
  The International Atomic Energy Agency is an international organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy, and to inhibit its use for any military purpose, including nuclear weapons. The IAEA was established as an autonomous organization on 29 July 1957...
  
   (IAEA)
• International Bank for Reconstruction and Development
  International Bank for Reconstruction and Development
  The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development is one of five institutions that compose the World Bank Group. The IBRD is an international organization whose original mission was to finance the reconstruction of nations devastated by World War II. Now, its mission has expanded to fight...
  
   (IBRD)
• International Chamber of Commerce
  International Chamber of Commerce
  The International Chamber of Commerce is the largest, most representative business organization in the world. Its hundreds of thousands of member companies in over 130 countries have interests spanning every sector of private enterprise....
  
   (ICC)
• International Civil Aviation Organization
  International Civil Aviation Organization
  The International Civil Aviation Organization , pronounced , , is a specialized agency of the United Nations. It codifies the principles and techniques of international air navigation and fosters the planning and development of international air transport to ensure safe and orderly growth...
  
   (ICAO)
• International Criminal Court
  International Criminal Court
  The International Criminal Court is a permanent tribunal to prosecute individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the crime of aggression .It came into being on 1 July 2002—the date its founding treaty, the Rome Statute of the...
  
   (ICCt)
• International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol)
• International Development Association
  International Development Association
  The International Development Association , is the part of the World Bank that helps the world’s poorest countries. It complements the World Bank's other lending arm — the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development — which serves middle-income countries with capital investment and...
  
   (IDA)
• International Energy Agency
  International Energy Agency
  The International Energy Agency is a Paris-based autonomous intergovernmental organization established in the framework of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development in 1974 in the wake of the 1973 oil crisis...
  
   (IEA)
• International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
  International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
  The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies is a humanitarian institution that is part of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement along with the ICRC and 186 distinct National Societies...
  
   (IFRCS)
• International Finance Corporation
  International Finance Corporation
  The International Finance Corporation promotes sustainable private sector investment in developing countries.IFC is a member of the World Bank Group and is headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States....
  
   (IFC)
• International Fund for Agricultural Development
  International Fund for Agricultural Development
  The International Fund for Agricultural Development , a specialized agency of the United Nations, was established as an international financial institution in 1977 as one of the major outcomes of the 1974 World Food Conference. IFAD is dedicated to eradicating rural poverty in developing countries...
  
   (IFAD)
• International Labour Organization
  International Labour Organization
  The International Labour Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations that deals with labour issues pertaining to international labour standards. Its headquarters are in Geneva, Switzerland. Its secretariat — the people who are employed by it throughout the world — is known as the...
  
   (ILO)
• International Maritime Organization
  International Maritime Organization
  The International Maritime Organization , formerly known as the Inter-Governmental Maritime Consultative Organization , was established in Geneva in 1948, and came into force ten years later, meeting for the first time in 1959...
  
   (IMO)
• International Mobile Satellite Organization
  International Mobile Satellite Organization
  The International Mobile Satellite Organization is the intergovernmental organization that oversees certain public satellite safety and security communication services provided via the Inmarsat satellites...
  
   (IMSO)
• International Monetary Fund
  International Monetary Fund
  The International Monetary Fund is an organization of 187 countries, working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world...
  
   (IMF)
• International Olympic Committee
  International Olympic Committee
  The International Olympic Committee is an international corporation based in Lausanne, Switzerland, created by Pierre de Coubertin on 23 June 1894 with Demetrios Vikelas as its first president...
  
   (IOC)
• International Organization for Migration
  International Organization for Migration
  The International Organization for Migration is an intergovernmental organization. It was initially established in 1951 as the Intergovernmental Committee for European Migration to help resettle people displaced by World War II....
  
   (IOM)
• International Organization for Standardization
  International Organization for Standardization
  The International Organization for Standardization , widely known as ISO, is an international standard-setting body composed of representatives from various national standards organizations. Founded on February 23, 1947, the organization promulgates worldwide proprietary, industrial and commercial...
  
   (ISO)
• International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement
  International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement
  The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is an international humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million volunteers, members and staff worldwide which was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure respect for all human beings, and to prevent and alleviate human...
  
   (ICRM)
• International Telecommunication Union
  International Telecommunication Union
  The International Telecommunication Union is the specialized agency of the United Nations which is responsible for information and communication technologies...
  
   (ITU)
• International Telecommunications Satellite Organization
  International Telecommunications Satellite Organization
  The International Telecommunications Satellite Organization is an intergovernmental organisation charged with overseeing the public service obligations of Intelsat.-External links:*...
  
   (ITSO)
• International Trade Union Confederation
  International Trade Union Confederation
  The International Trade Union Confederation is the world's largest trade union federation. It was formed on November 1, 2006 out of the merger of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions and the World Confederation of Labour...
  
   (ITUC)

• Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU)
• Latin American Integration Association
  Latin American Integration Association
  The Asociación Latinoamericana de Integración is a Latin American trade integration association, based in Montevideo. Its main objective is the establishment of a common market, in pursuit of the economic and social development of the region...
  
   (LAIA) (observer)
• Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency
  Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency
  The Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency is a member organization of the World Bank Group that offers political risk insurance. It was established to promote foreign direct investment into developing countries. MIGA was founded in 1988 with a capital base of $1 billion and is headquartered in...
  
   (MIGA)
• Nonaligned Movement (NAM) (guest)
• Nuclear Energy Agency
  Nuclear Energy Agency
  The Nuclear Energy Agency is an intergovernmental multinational agency that is organized under the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development...
  
   (NEA)
• Nuclear Suppliers Group
  Nuclear Suppliers Group
  Nuclear Suppliers Group is a multinational body concerned with reducing nuclear proliferation by controlling the export and re-transfer of materials that may be applicable to nuclear weapon development and by improving safeguards and protection on existing materials.- History :It was founded in...
  
   (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
  Organization of American States
  The Organization of American States is a regional international organization, headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States...
  
   (OAS) (observer)
• Paris Club
  Paris Club
  The Paris Club is an informal group of financial officials from 19 of some of the world's biggest economies, which provides financial services such as war funding, debt restructuring, debt relief, and debt cancellation to indebted countries and their creditors...
  
  
• Partnership for Peace
  Partnership for Peace
  Partnership for Peace is a North Atlantic Treaty Organisation program aimed at creating trust between NATO and other states in Europe and the former Soviet Union; 22 States are members...
  
   (PFP)
• Permanent Court of Arbitration
  Permanent Court of Arbitration
  The Permanent Court of Arbitration , is an international organization based in The Hague in the Netherlands.-History:The court was established in 1899 as one of the acts of the first Hague Peace Conference, which makes it the oldest institution for international dispute resolution.The creation of...
  
   (PCA)
• United Nations
  United Nations
  The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
  
   (UN)
• United Nations Conference on Trade and Development
  United Nations Conference on Trade and Development
  The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development was established in 1964 as a permanent intergovernmental body. It is the principal organ of the United Nations General Assembly dealing with trade, investment, and development issues....
  
   (UNCTAD)
• United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
• United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
  United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
  The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees , also known as The UN Refugee Agency is a United Nations agency mandated to protect and support refugees at the request of a government or the UN itself and assists in their voluntary repatriation, local integration or resettlement to...
  
   (UNHCR)
• United Nations Industrial Development Organization
  United Nations Industrial Development Organization
  The United Nations Industrial Development Organization , French/Spanish acronym ONUDI, is a specialized agency in the United Nations system, headquartered in Vienna, Austria...
  
   (UNIDO)
• United Nations Institute for Training and Research
  United Nations Institute for Training and Research
  The United Nations Institute for Training and Research was established in 1965 following a "for the training of personnel, particularly from developing Member States, for administrative and operational assignments with the United Nations and the specialized agencies, both at Headquarters and in...
  
   (UNITAR)
• United Nations Observer Mission in Georgia
  United Nations Observer Mission in Georgia
  The United Nations Observer Mission in Georgia was established by United Nations Security Council Resolution 858 in August 1993 to verify compliance with a 27 July 1993 ceasefire agreement between the Republic of Georgia and forces in Abkhazia with special attention given to the situation in the...
  
   (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
  United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East
  United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East is a relief and human development agency, providing education, health care, social services and emergency aid to 5 million Palestine refugees living in Jordan, Lebanon and Syria, as well as in the West Bank and the Gaza...
  
   (UNRWA)
• United Nations Truce Supervision Organization
  United Nations Truce Supervision Organization
  The United Nations Truce Supervision Organization is an organization founded on 29 May 1948 for peacekeeping in the Middle East. Its primary task was providing the military command structure to the peace keeping forces in the Middle East to enable the peace keepers to observe and maintain the...
  
   (UNTSO)
• Universal Postal Union
  Universal Postal Union
  The Universal Postal Union is an international organization that coordinates postal policies among member nations, in addition to the worldwide postal system. The UPU contains four bodies consisting of the Congress, the Council of Administration , the Postal Operations Council and the...
  
   (UPU)
• World Confederation of Labour
  World Confederation of Labour
  The World Confederation of Labour was an international labour organization founded in 1920 and based in Europe. Totalitarian governments of the 1930s repressed the federation and imprisoned many of its leaders, limiting operations until the end of World War II...
  
   (WCL)
• World Customs Organization
  World Customs Organization
  The World Customs Organization is an intergovernmental organization headquartered in Brussels, Belgium. With its worldwide membership, the WCO is recognized as the voice of the global customs community...
  
   (WCO)
• World Federation of Trade Unions
  World Federation of Trade Unions
  The World Federation of Trade Unions was established in 1945 to replace the International Federation of Trade Unions. Its mission was to bring together trade unions across the world in a single international organization, much like the United Nations...
  
   (WFTU)
• World Health Organization
  World Health Organization
  The World Health Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations that acts as a coordinating authority on international public health. Established on 7 April 1948, with headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, the agency inherited the mandate and resources of its predecessor, the Health...
  
   (WHO)
• World Intellectual Property Organization
  World Intellectual Property Organization
  The World Intellectual Property Organization is one of the 17 specialized agencies of the United Nations. WIPO was created in 1967 "to encourage creative activity, to promote the protection of intellectual property throughout the world"....
  
   (WIPO)
• World Meteorological Organization
  World Meteorological Organization
  The World Meteorological Organization is an intergovernmental organization with a membership of 189 Member States and Territories. It originated from the International Meteorological Organization , which was founded in 1873...
  
   (WMO)
• World Tourism Organization
  World Tourism Organization
  The World Tourism Organization , based in Madrid, Spain, is a United Nations agency dealing with questions relating to tourism. It compiles the World Tourism rankings. The World Tourism Organization is a significant global body, concerned with the collection and collation of statistical information...
  
   (UNWTO)
• World Trade Organization
  World Trade Organization
  The World Trade Organization is an organization that intends to supervise and liberalize international trade. The organization officially commenced on January 1, 1995 under the Marrakech Agreement, replacing the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade , which commenced in 1948...
  
   (WTO)
• Zangger Committee
  Zangger Committee
  The Zangger Committee, also known as the Nuclear Exporters Committee, sprang from Article III.2 of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons which entered into force on March 5, 1970...
  
   (ZC)

Law and order in Switzerland

• Capital punishment in Switzerland
  Capital punishment in Switzerland
  Capital punishment is forbidden in Switzerland by article 10, paragraph 1 of the Swiss Federal Constitution. It was abolished from federal criminal law in 1942, but remained available in military criminal law until 1992.-Use until 1937:...
  
  
• Constitution of Switzerland
• Crime in Switzerland
  Crime in Switzerland
  In Switzerland, the police registered a total of 553,421 criminal offenses in 2009, including 51 killings and 185 attempted murders. There were 666 cases of rape. In the same year, 94,574 adults were convicted under Swiss criminal law...
  
  
• Human rights in Switzerland
  Human rights in Switzerland
  Human rights are comprehensively guaranteed in Switzerland, one of Europe's oldest democracies. Together with other European states, Switzerland is often at or near the head in international civil liberties and political rights rankings....
  
  
  • LGBT rights in Switzerland
  • Freedom of religion in Switzerland
• Law enforcement in Switzerland
  Law enforcement in Switzerland
  Law enforcement in Switzerland is mainly a responsibility of the 26 cantons of Switzerland, who each operate cantonal police agencies. Some cities also operate municipal police agencies as provided for by cantonal law. The federal government provides specialised services and is responsible for the...
  
  

Military of Switzerland

• Command
  • Commander-in-chief
    Commander-in-Chief
    A commander-in-chief is the commander of a nation's military forces or significant element of those forces. In the latter case, the force element may be defined as those forces within a particular region or those forces which are associated by function. As a practical term it refers to the military...
    
    : André Blattmann, Chief of the Army
    • Ministry of Defence of Switzerland
      Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sports
      The Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sport is one of the seven departments of the Swiss federal government, headed by a member of the Swiss Federal Council.-Organisation:...
      
      
• Forces
  • Army of Switzerland
  • Navy
    Navy
    A navy is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake- or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions...
    
     of Switzerland: None
  • Air Force of Switzerland
  • Special forces of Switzerland
• Military history of Switzerland
  Military history of Switzerland
  The military history of Switzerland comprises centuries of armed actions, and the role of the Swiss military in conflicts and peacekeeping worldwide...
  
  
• Military ranks of Switzerland
  Military ranks of the Swiss Armed Forces
  The military ranks of the Swiss Army have changed little over the centuries, except for the introduction, in 2001, of a new set of warrant officers. The rank insignia for all personnel are worn on shoulder boards with the appropriate background colour . Recruits of all services do not wear any rank...
  
  

History of Switzerland

Main article: History of Switzerland

History of Switzerland

Since 1848, the Swiss Confederation has been a federal state of relatively autonomous cantons, some of which have a history of confederacy that goes back more than 700 years, arguably putting them among the world's oldest surviving republics. For the time before 1291, this article summarizes...

, Timeline of the history of Switzerland, and Current events of Switzerland

• Economic history of Switzerland
• Military history of Switzerland
  Military history of Switzerland
  The military history of Switzerland comprises centuries of armed actions, and the role of the Swiss military in conflicts and peacekeeping worldwide...
  
  

Culture of Switzerland

• Architecture of Switzerland
• Cuisine of Switzerland
• Ethnic minorities in Switzerland
• Festivals in Switzerland
• Humor in Switzerland
• Languages of Switzerland
• List of castles and fortresses in Switzerland
• Media in Switzerland
• National symbols of Switzerland
  • Coat of arms of Switzerland
    Coat of arms of Switzerland
    The coat of arms of Switzerland shows the same white Greek cross as the flag of Switzerland, but on a red shield. The appearance of the coat of arms or shield varies greatly, but the federal resolution of 12 December 1889 on the coat of arms decrees that the four arms have equal lengths, in a ratio...
    
    
  • Flag of Switzerland
    Flag of Switzerland
    The flag of Switzerland consists of a red flag with a white cross in the centre. It is one of only two square sovereign-state flags, the other being the flag of the Vatican City...
    
    
  • National anthem of Switzerland
• People of Switzerland
• Prostitution in Switzerland
• Public holidays in Switzerland
  Public holidays in Switzerland
  The 26 cantons that make Switzerland set their public holidays independently — with the exception of August 1, that is the only federal holiday.-Public Holidays:-External links:*...
  
  
• Records of Switzerland
• Religion in Switzerland
  Religion in Switzerland
  Switzerland has no country-wide state religion, though most of the cantons recognize official churches , in all cases including the Catholic Church and the Swiss Reformed Church...
  
  
  • Buddhism in Switzerland
    Buddhism in Switzerland
    According to the 2000 census of Switzerland, 21,305 Swiss residents self-identified as Buddhists. About a third of them were born in Thailand.-History:...
    
    
  • Christianity in Switzerland
  • Hinduism in Switzerland
    Hinduism in Switzerland
    The 2000 census reported 27,839 residents of Switzerland self-identifying as Hindus . Most of them are Sri Lankan Tamils . Approximately 90% of Hindu adherents are foreign-born, and about a third of them have the status of refugee or asylum seeker...
    
    
  • Islam in Switzerland
    Islam in Switzerland
    According to the Confederate census of 2001, a total number of 310,807 Muslims were living in Switzerland which made up 4.26% of the total population. In 2009 there were an estimated 400,000 Muslims in Switzerland, accounting to around 5% of the total population....
    
    
  • Judaism in Switzerland
  • Sikhism in Switzerland
    Sikhism in Switzerland
    Swiss Sikhs are a small religious minority in Switzerland, numbering no more than 500, with seven gurdwaras. The number of Sikhs had been higher in the mid-1980s, caused by the presence of some 3,000 Sikh asylum seekers.-Gurdwaras:...
    
    
• UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Switzerland

Art in Switzerland

• Art in Switzerland
• Cinema of Switzerland
  Cinema of Switzerland
  -Directors:*Jean-Paul Cardinaux*Richard Dembo*Charles-Georges Duvanel*Kurt Früh*Jean-Luc Godard*Claude Goretta*Elena Hazanov*Thomas Koerfer*Xavier Koller*Markus Imhoof*Leopold Lindtberg*Franz Schnyder*Casimir Sivan*Alain Tanner-Actors:*Ursula Andress...
  
  
• Literature of Switzerland
• Music of Switzerland
  Music of Switzerland
  Switzerland has long had a distinct cultural identity, despite its diversity of German, French, Italian, Romansh and other ethnicities. Religious and folk music dominated the country until the 17th century, with growth in production of other kinds of music occurring slowly.-Classical music:One of...
  
  
• Television in Switzerland
  Television in Switzerland
  Television in Switzerland was introduced in 1950. People who live in Switzerland and receive television services are required by law to pay a television licence fee, which is used to finance the public radio and television service SRG SSR idée suisse...
  
  
• Theatre in Switzerland

Sports in Switzerland

• Football in Switzerland
  Football in Switzerland
  Football is one of the most popular sports in Switzerland. The Swiss Football Association was formed in 1895 and was a founder member of the sport's international governing body FIFA in 1904. The Swiss cities of Zurich and Nyon are home to FIFA and the European governing body UEFA respectively...
  
  
• Switzerland at the Olympics

Economy and infrastructure of Switzerland

• Economic rank, by nominal GDP (2007): 21st (twenty-first)

• Agriculture in Switzerland
• Banking in Switzerland
  Banking in Switzerland
  All banks in Switzerland are regulated by Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority , which derives its authority from a series of federal statutes...
  
  
  • National Bank of Switzerland
• Communications in Switzerland
  Communications in Switzerland
  -Telephones:In 2007 there were 5 million fixed telephone lines in use and 8,096,000 mobile phones, more than one per capita.The telephone system is described as providing "excellent domestic and international services" and having an "extensive cable and microwave radio relay networks" in the CIA...
  
  
  • Internet in Switzerland
    Internet in Switzerland
    In Switzerland, approximately two thirds of home broadband subscriptions are via DSL, specifically ADSL and VDSL, with the remaining third using cable...
    
    
• Companies of Switzerland
• Currency
  Currency
  In economics, currency refers to a generally accepted medium of exchange. These are usually the coins and banknotes of a particular government, which comprise the physical aspects of a nation's money supply...
  
   of Switzerland:
• Economic history of Switzerland
• Energy in Switzerland
  Energy in Switzerland
  The energy economy in Switzerland developed as the rest of Europe, but with some delay until 1850. There are three different periods. The agrarian society until the mid-nineteenth century, a small scale energy economy based on wood and biomass , which was in general renewable energy...
  
  
  • Energy policy of Switzerland
  • Oil industry in Switzerland
• Mining in Switzerland
• Tourism in Switzerland
  Tourism in Switzerland
  Tourists are drawn to Switzerland's Alpine climate and landscapes, in particular for skiing and mountaineering.As of 2006, tourism accounted for an estimated 3.6% of Switzerland's gross domestic product.- History :...
  
  
• Transport in Switzerland
  Transport in Switzerland
  Being in the centre of Europe, Switzerland has a dense network of roads and railways. The crossing of the Alps is an important route for European transportation, as the Alps separate Switzerland from some of its neighbours. Alpine railway routes began in 1882 with the Gotthard Rail Tunnel, followed...
  
  

• Switzerland Stock Exchange

Infrastructure of Switzerland

• Health care in Switzerland
• Transportation in Switzerland
  • Airports in Switzerland
  • Rail transport in Switzerland
    Rail transport in Switzerland
    The railways of Switzerland include and narrow gauge .*Network size: 5,063 km*standard gauge: , of which is electrified.*narrow gauge: , of which is electrified...
    
    
  • Roads in Switzerland
• Water supply and sanitation 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
  Outline of geography
  The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to geography:Geography – science that studies the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth.- Geography is :...
  
  

External links

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

• Federal Office of Topography
• searchable interactive map (search.ch)

History

• Historical Dictionary of Switzerland
• history-switzerland.geschichte-schweiz.ch

Media

• Neue Zürcher Zeitung , a Swiss daily newspaper
• Le Temps , a Swiss daily newspaper
• Corriere Del Ticino , 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