Federal President (rotating): Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf (until 1 Jan 2013)
Interim president: Manuel Serifo Nhamadjo
Population
7,925,517
1,628,603
Life Expectancy
81.170 years
49.110 years
Capital City
Bern
Largest city
Zurich (population: 341,730)
Bissau (population: 388,028)
Human Development Index
0.955
0.383
GDP per capita
$43,900 US
Literacy Rate
99%
42.4%
Corruption Perception Index
9
1.9
Percentage of Women in Parliament
27.2%
14%
Wealthiest Citizens
Ernesto Bertarelli ($8.2bn US)
NA
Unemployment Rate
3.100%
Death Penalty
Abolished
Abolished
Political System
formally a confederation but similar in structure to a federal republic
republic
Independence date
1 August 1291 (founding of the Swiss Confederation)
Religions
Roman Catholic 41.8%, Protestant 35.3%, Muslim 4.3%, Orthodox 1.8%, other Christian 0.4%, other 1%, unspecified 4.3%, none 11.1% (2000 census)
Muslim 50%, indigenous beliefs 40%, Christian 10%
Languages
German (official) 63.7%, French (official) 20.4%, Italian (official) 6.5%, Serbo-Croatian 1.5%, Albanian 1.3%, Portuguese 1.2%, Spanish 1.1%, English 1%, Romansch (official) 0.5%, other 2.8% (2000 census) note: German, French, Italian, and Romansch are all national and official languages
Swiss francs (CHF) per US dollar - 1.0774 (2008 est.), 1.1973 (2007), 1.2539 (2006), 1.2452 (2005), 1.2435 (2004)
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
1.000%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
6
0
Location
Central Europe, east of France, north of Italy
Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea and Senegal
Area
41,277 km sq
36,125 km sq
Coastline
0 km
350 km
Climate
temperate, but varies with altitude; cold, cloudy, rainy/snowy winters; cool to warm, cloudy, humid summers with occasional showers
tropical; generally hot and humid; monsoonal-type rainy season (June to November) with southwesterly winds; dry season (December to May) with northeasterly harmattan winds
