Switzerland 2

Switzerland

Forty-eight of Switzerland’s mountains are 4,000 metres (13,000 ft) above sea in altitude or higher. At 4,634 m (15,203 ft), Monte Rosa is the highest, although the Matterhorn (4,478 m or 14,692 ft) is often regarded as the most famous. Both are located within the Pennine Alps in the canton of Valais, on the border with Italy. The section of the Bernese Alps above the deep glacial Lauterbrunnen valley, containing 72 waterfalls, is well known for the Jungfrau (4,158 m or 13,642 ft) Eiger and Mönch, and the many picturesque valleys in the region. In the southeast the long Engadin Valley, encompassing the St. Moritz area in canton of Graubünden, is also well known; the highest peak in the neighboring Bernina Alps is Piz Bernina (4,049 m or 13,284 ft). The more populous northern part of the country, constituting about 30% of the country’s total area, is called the Swiss Plateau. It has greater open and hilly landscapes, partly forested, partly open pastures, usually with grazing herds, or vegetables and fruit fields, but it is still hilly. There are large lakes found here and the biggest Swiss cities are in this area of the country.

Switzerland 3
Matterhorn

Within Switzerland there are two small enclavesBüsingen belongs to Germany, Campione d’Italia belongs to Italy. Switzerland has no exclaves in other countries.

Economy:

Switzerland has a stable, prosperous and high-tech economy and enjoys great wealth, being ranked as the wealthiest country in the world per capita in multiple rankings. The country has been ranked as one of the least corrupt countries in the world, while its banking sector has been rated as “one of the most corrupt in the world”. It has the world’s twentieth largest economy by nominal GDP and the thirty-eighth largest by purchasing power parity. It is the seventeenth largest exporter. Zürich and Geneva are regarded as global cities, ranked as Alpha and Beta respectively. Basel is the capital of the pharmaceutical industry in Switzerland. With its world-class companies, Novartis and Roche, and many other players, it is also one of the world’s most important centers for the life sciences industry.

Switzerland is home to several large multinational corporations. The largest Swiss companies by revenue are GlencoreGunvorNestléMediterranean Shipping CompanyNovartisHoffmann-La RocheABBMercuria Energy Group and Adecco. Also, notable are UBS AGZurich Financial ServicesRichemontCredit SuisseBarry CallebautSwiss ReRolexTetra PakThe Swatch Group and Swiss International Air Lines. Switzerland is ranked as having one of the most powerful economies in the world.

Switzerland 4
Switzerland Exports 2017

Switzerland’s most important economic sector is manufacturing. Manufacturing consists largely of the production of specialist chemicalshealth and pharmaceutical goods, scientific and precision measuring instruments and musical instruments. The largest exported goods are chemicals (34% of exported goods), machines/electronics (20.9%), and precision instruments/watches (16.9%). Exported services amount to a third of exports. The service sector – especially banking and insurancetourism, and international organizations – is another important industry for Switzerland.

Transportation:

The most dense rail network in Europe of 5,250 kilometres (3,260 mi) carries over 596 million passengers annually (as of 2015). In 2015, each Swiss resident travelled on average 2,550 kilometers (1,580 mi) by rail, which makes them the keenest rail users. Virtually 100% of the network is electrified. The vast majority (60%) of the network is operated by the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB CFF FFS). Besides the second largest standard gauge railway company BLS AG two railways companies operating on narrow gauge networks are the Rhaetian Railway (RhB) in the southeastern canton of Graubünden, which includes some World Heritage lines, and the Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn (MGB), which co-operates together with RhB the Glacier Express between Zermatt and St. Moritz/Davos. On 31 May 2016 the world’s longest and deepest railway tunnel and the first flat, low-level route through the Alps, the 57.1-kilometre long (35.5 mi) Gotthard Base Tunnel, opened as the largest part of the New Railway Link through the Alps (NRLA) project after 17 years of realization. It started its daily business for passenger transport on 11 December 2016 replacing the old, mountainous, scenic route over and through the St Gotthard Massif.

Scroll to Top