Switzerland

federal republic (formally a confederation)

name: Bern geographic coordinates: 46 55 N, 7 28 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October etymology: the origin of the name is uncertain; it is sometimes associated with the German word Baer (bear), but a more likely origin is an Indo-European root word ber , meaning "marshy place"

chief of state: President of the Swiss Confederation Guy PARMELIN (since 1 January 2026) head of government: President of the Swiss Confederation Guy PARMELIN (since 1 January 2026) cabinet: Federal Council or Bundesrat (in German), Conseil Federal (in French), Consiglio Federale (in Italian) indirectly elected by the Federal Assembly for a 4-year term election/appointment process: president and vice president elected by the Federal Assembly from among members of the Federal Council for a 1-year, non-consecutive term most recent election date: 11 December 2024 election results: 2024: Karin KELLER-SUTTER elected president for 2025; Federal Assembly vote - Karin KELLER-SUTTER (FDP.The Liberals) 168 of 203; Guy PARLEMIN (SVP) elected vice president for 2025; Federal Assembly vote - 196 of 219 2023: Viola AMHERD elected president for 2024; Federal Assembly vote - Viola AMHERD (The Center) 158 of 204; Karin KELLER-SUTTER (FDP.The Liberals) elected vice president for 2024; Federal Assembly vote - 138 of 196 2022: Alain BERSET elected president for 2023; Federal Assembly vote - Alain BERSET (SP) 140 OF 181; Viola AMHERD elected vice president; Federal assembly vote - 207 of 223 expected date of next election: December 2025 note: the Federal Council, composed of 7 federal councilors, constitutes the federal government of Switzerland; council members rotate the 1-year term of federal president

legislature name: Federal Assembly (Bundesversammlung - Assemblée fédérale - Assemblea federale) legislative structure: bicameral

highest court(s): Federal Supreme Court (consists of 38 justices and 19 deputy justices organized into 7 divisions) judge selection and term of office: judges elected by the Federal Assembly for 6-year terms; judges are affiliated with political parties and are elected according to linguistic and regional criteria in approximate proportion to party representation in the Federal Assembly subordinate courts: Federal Criminal Court (established in 2004); Federal Administrative Court (established in 2007) note: each of Switzerland's 26 cantons has its own courts

history: previous 1848, 1874; latest adopted by referendum 18 April 1999, effective 1 January 2000 amendment process: proposed by the two houses of the Federal Assembly or by petition of at least one hundred thousand voters (called the "federal popular initiative"); passage of proposals requires majority vote in a referendum; following drafting of an amendment by the Assembly, its passage requires approval by majority vote in a referendum and approval by the majority of cantons

ADB (nonregional member), AfDB (nonregional member), Australia Group, BIS, CD, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EFTA, EITI (implementing country), ESA, FAO, FATF, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD (partners), ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), LAIA (observer), MIGA, MONUSCO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OIF, OPCW, OSCE, Pacific Alliance (observer), Paris Club, PCA, PFP, Schengen Convention, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNMISS, UNMOGIP, UNOOSA, UNRWA, UNTSO, UNWTO, UPU, Wassenaar Arrangement, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC

0.7% of GDP (2024 est.) 0.7% of GDP (2023 est.) 0.7% of GDP (2022 est.) 0.7% of GDP (2021 est.) 0.7% of GDP (2020 est.)

Swiss Armed Forces (aka Swiss Army or Schweizer Armee); Army (aka Land Forces), Swiss Air Force (2025) note: the federal police maintain internal security and report to the Federal Department of Justice and Police

every Swiss man 18-30 is obligated to serve in the military or the alternative civilian service; women can serve on a voluntary basis; required military service is 245 days, including 18-21 weeks of basic training generally between the ages of 19-25, followed by six three-week recalls for refresher training over the following nine years; the system offers opportunities for conscripts to train as non-commissioned and commissioned officers in the militia with longer service commitments (2026) note: alternative civilian service is up to 370 days or 1.5x as many days as military service

the Swiss military is responsible for territorial defense, limited support to international disaster response and peacekeeping, and providing support to civil authorities when their resources are not sufficient to ward off threats to internal security or provide sufficient relief during disasters; Switzerland has long maintained a policy of military neutrality but does periodically participate in EU, NATO, Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), and UN military and peacekeeping operations; however, Swiss units will only participate in operations under the mandate of the UN or OSCE; Switzerland joined NATO s Partnership for Peace program in 1996; it has contributed to the NATO-led force in Kosovo (KFOR) since 1999 (2025)

200 Kosovo (NATO/KFOR) (2025)

$741.035 billion (2024 est.) $731.508 billion (2023 est.) $726.544 billion (2022 est.) note: data in 2021 dollars

$82,000 (2024 est.) $82,300 (2023 est.) $82,800 (2022 est.) note: data in 2021 dollars

1.3% (2024 est.) 0.7% (2023 est.) 3% (2022 est.) note: annual GDP % growth based on constant local currency

1.1% (2024 est.) 2.1% (2023 est.) 2.8% (2022 est.) note: annual % change based on consumer prices

19.9% of GDP (2023 est.) note: central government debt as a % of GDP

$675.059 billion (2024 est.) $654.175 billion (2023 est.) $628.737 billion (2022 est.) note: balance of payments - exports of goods and services in current dollars

$582.554 billion (2024 est.) $556.351 billion (2023 est.) $518.002 billion (2022 est.) note: balance of payments - imports of goods and services in current dollars

4.2% (2024 est.) 4.1% (2023 est.) 4.2% (2022 est.) note: % of labor force seeking employment

revenues: $153.795 billion (2023 est.) expenditures: $152.488 billion (2023 est.) note: central government revenues (excluding grants) and expenditures converted to US dollars at average official exchange rate for year indicated

machinery, chemicals, watches, textiles, precision instruments, tourism, banking, insurance, pharmaceuticals

milk, sugar beets, wheat, potatoes, pork, apples, barley, beef, maize, grapes (2023) note: top ten agricultural products based on tonnage

total: 8,925,741 (2025 est.) male: 4,436,858 female: 4,488,883

0.72% (2025 est.)

0-14 years: 15.1% (male 685,221/female 650,802) 15-64 years: 64.6% (male 2,887,767/female 2,834,842) 65 years and over: 20.3% (2024 est.) (male 830,117/female 971,825)

10.01 births/1,000 population (2025 est.)

8.61 deaths/1,000 population (2025 est.)

5.79 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2025 est.)

total population: 83.9 years (2024 est.) male: 82 years female: 85.8 years

urban population: 74.2% of total population (2023) rate of urbanization: 0.79% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Swiss 69.2%, German 4.2%, Italian 3.2%, Portuguese 2.5%, French 2.1%, Kosovan 1.1%, Turkish 1%, other 16.7% (2020 est.) note: data represent permanent and non-permanent resident population by country of birth

German (or Swiss German) (official) 62.1%, French (official) 22.8%, Italian (official) 8%, English 5.7%, Portuguese 3.5%, Albanian 3.3%, Serbo-Croatian 2.3%, Spanish 2.3%, Romansh (official) 0.5%, other 7.9% (2019 est.) major-language sample(s): Das World Factbook, die unverzichtbare Quelle f r grundlegende Informationen. (German) The World Factbook, une source indispensable d'informations de base. (French) L'Almanacco dei fatti del mondo, l'indispensabile fonte per le informazioni di base. (Italian) The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information. note : shares sum to more than 100% because respondents could indicate more than one main language

Roman Catholic 34.4%, Protestant 22.5%, other Christian 5.7%, Muslim 5.4%, other 1.5%, none 29.4%, unspecified 1.1% (2020 est.)

hydropower potential, timber, salt

Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham (ISIS) note: details about the history, aims, leadership, organization, areas of operation, tactics, targets, weapons, size, and sources of support of the group(s) appear(s) in the Terrorism reference guide

refugees: 213,177 (2024 est.) IDPs: 97 (2024 est.) stateless persons: 1,267 (2024 est.)

66 (2025)

total: 5,296 km (2020) 5,296 km electrified; Switzerland remains the only country with a fully electrified network

total: 17 (2023) by type: bulk carrier 14, general cargo 1, other 2 (includes Liechtenstein)

total subscriptions: 11.6 million (2024 est.) subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 129 (2024 est.)

percent of population: 97% (2023 est.)