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Switzerland

In 2002 Switzerland became a full member of the United Nations, leaving the Vatican City as the last widely recognized state without full UN membership. Switzerland is a founding member of the EFTA but is not a member of the European Economic Area. An application for membership in the European Union was sent in May 1992, but not advanced since the EEA was rejected in December 1992 when Switzerland was the only country to launch a referendum on the EEA. There have since been several referendums on the EU issue; due to opposition from the citizens, the membership application has been withdrawn. Nonetheless, Swiss law is gradually being adjusted to conform with that of the EU, and the government has signed a number of bilateral agreements with the European Union. Switzerland, together with Liechtenstein, has been completely surrounded by the EU since Austria’s entry in 1995. On 5 June 2005, Swiss voters agreed by a 55% majority to join the Schengen treaty, a result that was regarded by EU commentators as a sign of support by Switzerland, a country that is traditionally perceived as independent and reluctant to enter supranational bodies. In September 2020, a referendum calling for a vote on end to the pact that allowed a free movement of people from the European Union was introduced by the Swiss People’s Party (SPP). However, the voters rejected the attempts of taking back control of immigration, defeating the motion by a roughly 63%–37% margin.

Geography:

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Physical Map of Switzerland

Switzerland contains three basic topographical areas: the Swiss Alps to the south, the Swiss Plateau or Central Plateau, and the Jura mountains on the west. The Alps are a high mountain range running across the central-south of the country, constituting about 60% of the country’s total area. The majority of the Swiss population live in the Swiss Plateau. Among the high valleys of the Swiss Alps, many glaciers are found, totaling an area of 1,063 square kilometers (410 sq mi). From these originate the headwaters of several major rivers, such as the RhineInnTicino and Rhône, which flow in the four cardinal directions into the whole of Europe. The hydrographic network includes several of the largest bodies of freshwater in Central and Western Europe, among which are included Lake Geneva (also called le Lac Léman in French), Lake Constance (known as Bodensee in German) and Lake Maggiore. Switzerland has more than 1500 lakes and contains 6% of Europe’s stock of fresh water. Lakes and glaciers cover about 6% of the national territory. The largest lake is Lake Geneva, in western Switzerland shared with France. The Rhône is both the main source and outflow of Lake Geneva. Lake Constance is the second-largest Swiss lake and, like Lake Geneva, an intermediate step by the Rhine at the border to Austria and Germany. While the Rhône flows into the Mediterranean Sea at the French Camargue region and the Rhine flows into the North Sea at Rotterdam in the Netherlands, about 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) apart, both springs are only about 22 kilometers (14 miles) apart from each other in the Swiss Alps.

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