Outline of Switzerland

The Flag of Switzerland

The Coat of arms of Switzerland

See also: Index of Switzerland-related articles

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. 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

Main article: Geography 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

Main article: Environment 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

Main article: Regions of Switzerland

Ecoregions of Switzerland

Main articles: List of ecoregions in Switzerland and Ecoregions in Switzerland

Administrative divisions of Switzerland

Main article: Administrative divisions of Switzerland

• Provinces of Switzerland
  • Districts of Switzerland
    • Municipalities of Switzerland

Provinces of Switzerland

Main article: Provinces of Switzerland

Districts of Switzerland

Main article: Districts of Switzerland

Municipalities of Switzerland

Main article: Municipalities of Switzerland

• Capital of Switzerland: Berne
• Cities of Switzerland

Demography of Switzerland

Main article: Demographics of Switzerland

Government and politics of Switzerland

Main article: Government of Switzerland and 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

Main article: 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

Main article: Court system of Switzerland

• Supreme Court of Switzerland

Foreign relations of Switzerland

Main article: Foreign relations of Switzerland

• Diplomatic missions in Switzerland
• Diplomatic missions of Switzerland

International organization membership

The Swiss Confederation is a member of:

• 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

Main article: Law of Switzerland

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

Military of Switzerland

Main article: Military of Switzerland

• Command
  • Commander-in-chief: André Blattmann, Chief of the Army
    • Ministry of Defence of Switzerland
• Forces
  • Army of Switzerland
  • Navy of Switzerland: None
  • Air Force of Switzerland
  • Special forces of Switzerland
• Military history of Switzerland
• Military ranks of Switzerland

Local government in Switzerland

Main article: Local government in 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

Main article: 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
  • 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

Main article: Sports in Switzerland

• Football in Switzerland
• Switzerland at the Olympics

Economy and infrastructure of Switzerland

Main article: Economy 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

Main article: Education in Switzerland

See also

Main article: Switzerland

• 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

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