Plan your trip to Switzerland with our Switzerland travel guide information
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Switzerland - Travel guideSwitzerland - OverviewThe Swiss Confederation was founded in 1291 as a defensive alliance among three cantons. In succeeding years, other localities joined the original three. The Swiss Confederation secured its independence from the Holy Roman Empire in 1499. Switzerland's sovereignty and neutrality have long been honored by the major European powers, and the country was not involved in either of the two World Wars. The political and economic integration of Europe over the past half century, as well as Switzerland's role in many UN and international organizations, has strengthened Switzerland's ties with its neighbors. However, the country did not officially become a UN member until 2002. Switzerland remains active in many UN and international organizations, but retains a strong commitment to neutrality. |
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Switzerland General Information |
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| Country full name : | conventional long form: Swiss Confederation conventional short form: Switzerland local long form: Schweizerische Eidgenossenschaft (German); Confederation Suisse (French); Confederazione Svizzera (Italian) local short form: Schweiz (German); Suisse (French); Svizzera (Italian) |
| Capital : | Bern |
| Religions : | Roman Catholic 41.8%, Protestant 35.3%, Orthodox 1.8%, other Christian 0.4%, Muslim 4.3%, other 1%, unspecified 4.3%, none 11.1% (2000 census) |
| Languages : | German, French, Italian (official) |
| Location : | Central Europe, east of France, north of Italy |
| Geographic coordinates : | 47 00 N, 8 00 E |
| Area : | total: 41,290 sq km land: 39,770 sq km water: 1,520 sq km |
| Climate : | temperate, but varies with altitude; cold, cloudy, rainy/snowy winters; cool to warm, cloudy, humid summers with occasional showers |
| Population : | 7,523,934 (July 2006 est.) |
| Nationality : | noun: Swiss adjective: Swiss |
| Ethnic groups : | German 65%, French 18%, Italian 10%, Romansch 1%, other 6% |
| Government type : | formally a confederation, but similar in structure to a federal republic |
| Administrative divisions: | 26 cantons (cantons, singular - canton in French; cantoni, singular - cantone in Italian; kantone, singular - kanton in German); Aargau, Appenzell Ausser-Rhoden, Appenzell Inner-Rhoden, Basel-Landschaft, Basel-Stadt, Bern, Fribourg, Geneve, Glarus, Graubunden, Jura, Luzern, Neuchatel, Nidwalden, Obwalden, Sankt Gallen, Schaffhausen, Schwyz, Solothurn, Thurgau, Ticino, Uri, Valais, Vaud, Zug, Zurich |
| 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 |
| Internet code : | .ch |
| Calling code : | +41 |
| Time zone : | GMT/UTC +1 |
| Electricity : | 230V 50Hz |
| National holiday : | Founding of the Swiss Confederation, 1 August (1291) |
| Interesting link : | Switzerland travel guide - Lonely Planet Switzerland travel guide - Wikitravel Tourism Office of Switzerland |
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Switzerland Travel Guide Information