Switzerland

Switzerland (/ˈswɪtsərlənd/), officially the Swiss Confederation (Latin: Confoederatio Helvetica, hence its abbreviation CH), is a country in Europe. While still named the "Swiss Confederation" for historical reasons, modern Switzerland is a federal directorial republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities, called Bundesstadt ("federal city"). The country is situated in Western and Central Europe, and is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland is a landlocked country geographically divided between the Alps, the Swiss Plateau and the Jura, spanning an area of 41,285 km² (15,940 sq mi). While the Alps occupy the greater part of the territory, the Swiss population of approximately 8 million people is concentrated mostly on the Plateau, where the largest cities are to be found: among them are the two global and economic centres, Zürich and Geneva.

The establishment of the Swiss Confederation is traditionally dated to 1 August 1291, which is celebrated annually as the Swiss National Day. The country has a long history of armed neutrality—it has not been in a state of war internationally since 1815—and did not join the United Nations until 2002. Nevertheless, it pursues an active foreign policy and is frequently involved in peace-building processes around the world. In addition to being the birthplace of the Red Cross, Switzerland is home to numerous international organizations, including the second largest UN office. On the European level, it is a founding member of the European Free Trade Association, but notably it is not part of the European Union, nor the European Economic Area. However the country does participate in the Schengen Area and the EU's single market through a number of bilateral treaties.

Straddling the intersection of Germanic and Romance Europe, Switzerland comprises four main linguistic and cultural regions: German, French, Italian and Romansh. Therefore, the Swiss, although predominantly German-speaking, do not form a nation in the sense of a common ethnicity or language; rather, Switzerland's strong sense of identity and community is founded on a common historical background, shared values such as federalism and direct democracy, and Alpine symbolism. Due to its linguistic diversity, Switzerland is known by a variety of native names: Schweiz [ˈʃvaɪts] (German); Suisse [sɥis(ə)] (French); Svizzera [ˈzvittsera] (Italian); and Svizra [ˈʒviːtsrɐ] or [ˈʒviːtsʁːɐ] (Romansh).

Switzerland ranks high in several metrics of national performance, including government transparency, civil liberties, quality of life, economic competitiveness, and human development. It has the highest nominal wealth (financial and non-financial assets) per adult in the world according to Credit Suisse and the eighth-highest per capita gross domestic product on the IMF list. Zürich and Geneva have each been ranked among the top cities with the highest quality of life in the world (the former coming second globally according to Mercer).

1. ^ ^{a b} Holenstein, André (2012). "Die Hauptstadt existiert nicht" (PDF) (scientific article). UniPress - Forschung und Wissenschaft an der Universität Bern (in German) (152: Sonderfall Hauptstatdtregion). Berne: Department Communication, University of Berne: 16–19. doi:10.7892/boris.41280. Retrieved 2015-12-20. Als 1848 ein politisch-administratives Zentrum für den neuen Bundesstaat zu bestimmen war, verzichteten die Verfassungsväter darauf, eine Hauptstadt der Schweiz zu bezeichnen und formulierten stattdessen in Artikel 108: «Alles, was sich auf den Sitz der Bundesbehörden bezieht, ist Gegenstand der Bundesgesetzgebung.» Die Bundesstadt ist also nicht mehr und nicht weniger als der Sitz der Bundesbehörden. 
2. ^ A solemn declaration of the Tagsatzung declared the Federal Constitution adopted on 12 September 1848. A resolution of the Tagsatzung of 14 September 1848 specified that the powers of the institutions provided for by the 1815 Federal Treaty would expire at the time of the constitution of the Federal Council, which took place on 16 November 1848.
3. ^ "Recent monthly and quarterly figures: provisional data". Population and Households Statistics (STATPOP) (official website). Neuchâtel, Switzerland: Swiss Federal Statistical Office, Swiss Confederation. Retrieved 24 March 2015. 
4. ^ "Population – Key figures: Main indicators" (official website). Neuchâtel, Switzerland: Swiss Federal Statistical Office, Swiss Confederation. Retrieved 24 March 2015. 
5. ^ ^{a b c d} "Switzerland". International Monetary Fund. Retrieved 2 November 2014. 
6. ^ "Gini coefficient of equivalised disposable income (source: SILC)". Eurostat Data Explorer. Retrieved 4 December 2015. 
7. ^ "Global Launch of 2015 Human Development Report". United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). 14 December 2015. Retrieved 2015-12-20. 
8. ^ Thomas Fleiner, Alexander Misic, Nicole Töpperwien (5 August 2005). Swiss Constitutional Law. Kluwer Law International. p. 28. ISBN 978-9041124043. 
9. ^ Prof. Dr. Adrian Vatter (2014). Das politische System der Schweiz [The Political System of Switzerland]. Studienkurs Politikwissenschaft (in German). Baden-Baden: UTB Verlag. ISBN 978-3-8252-4011-0. 
10. ^ Zimmer, Oliver (12 January 2004) [originally published: October 1998]. "In Search of Natural Identity: Alpine Landscape and the Reconstruction of the Swiss Nation". Comparative Studies in Society and History (London: Society for Comparative Study of Society and History) 40 (4): 637–665. doi:10.1017/S0010417598001686 – via Cambridge Journals. 
11. ^ Josef Lang (14 December 2015). "Die Alpen als Ideologie". Tages-Anzeiger (in German) (Zurich, Switzerland). Retrieved 2015-12-14. 
12. ^ Subir Ghosh (9 October 2010). "US is still by far the richest country, China fastest growing". Digital Journal. Canada. Retrieved 2015-12-14. 
13. ^ Simon Bowers (19 October 2011). "Franc's rise puts Swiss top of rich list". The Guardian (London, UK). Retrieved 2015-12-14. 
14. ^ "Swiss and German cities dominate ranking of best cities in the world". City Mayors. London, UK: Mercer Consulting. 28 April 2009. Retrieved 29 April 2010. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Switzerland