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KOSHER DELIGHT - YOUR JEWISH ONLINE MAGAZINE!
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SWITZERLAND
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SWITZERLAND GENERAL
BACKGROUND:
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Background:
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The Swiss
Confederation was founded in 1291 as a defensive alliance among
three cantons. In succeeding years, other localities joined the
original three. The Swiss Confederation secured its independence
from the Holy Roman Empire in 1499. Switzerland's sovereignty and
neutrality have long been honored by the major European powers,
and the country was not involved in either of the two World Wars.
The political and economic integration of Europe over the past
half century, as well as Switzerland's role in many UN and
international organizations, has strengthened Switzerland's ties
with its neighbors. However, the country did not officially become
a UN member until 2002. Switzerland remains active in many UN and
international organizations, but retains a strong commitment to
neutrality.
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Location:
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Central Europe, east
of France, north of Italy |
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Geographic coordinates:
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47 00 N, 8 00 E |
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Map references:
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Europe |
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Area:
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total: 41,290
sq km
land: 39,770 sq km
water: 1,520 sq km |
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Area - comparative:
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slightly less than
twice the size of New Jersey |
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Land boundaries:
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total: 1,852
km
border countries: Austria 164 km, France 573 km, Italy 740
km, Liechtenstein 41 km, Germany 334 km |
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Coastline:
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0 km (landlocked) |
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Maritime claims:
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none (landlocked) |
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Climate:
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temperate, but varies
with altitude; cold, cloudy, rainy/snowy winters; cool to warm,
cloudy, humid summers with occasional showers |
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Terrain:
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mostly mountains
(Alps in south, Jura in northwest) with a central plateau of
rolling hills, plains, and large lakes |
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Elevation extremes:
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lowest point:
Lake Maggiore 195 m
highest point: Dufourspitze 4,634 m |
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Natural resources:
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hydropower potential,
timber, salt |
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Land use:
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arable land:
9.91%
permanent crops: 0.58%
other: 89.51% (2005) |
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Irrigated land:
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250 sq km (1998 est.) |
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Natural hazards:
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avalanches,
landslides, flash floods |
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Environment - current issues:
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air pollution from
vehicle emissions and open-air burning; acid rain; water pollution
from increased use of agricultural fertilizers; loss of
biodiversity |
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Environment - international agreements:
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party to: Air
Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent
Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85, Air Pollution-Sulfur
94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic Treaty,
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol,
Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification,
Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone
Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical
Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
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Geography - note:
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landlocked;
crossroads of northern and southern Europe; along with
southeastern France, northern Italy, and southwestern Austria, has
the highest elevations in the Alps
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Population:
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7,523,934 (July 2006
est.) |
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Age structure:
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0-14 years:
16.3% (male 637,585/female 591,297)
15-64 years: 68.1% (male 2,585,062/female 2,539,345)
65 years and over: 15.6% (male 480,198/female 690,447)
(2006 est.) |
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Median age:
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total: 40.1
years
male: 39 years
female: 41.1 years (2006 est.) |
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Population growth rate:
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0.43% (2006 est.) |
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Birth rate:
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9.71 births/1,000
population (2006 est.) |
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Death rate:
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8.49 deaths/1,000
population (2006 est.) |
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Net migration rate:
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3.12 migrant(s)/1,000
population (2006 est.) |
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Sex ratio:
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at birth: 1.05
male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.08 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female
total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
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Infant mortality rate:
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total: 4.34
deaths/1,000 live births
male: 4.84 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 3.81 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
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Life expectancy at birth:
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total population:
80.51 years
male: 77.69 years
female: 83.48 years (2006 est.) |
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Total fertility rate:
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1.43 children
born/woman (2006 est.) |
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HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
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0.4% (2001 est.) |
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HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
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13,000 (2001 est.) |
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HIV/AIDS - deaths:
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less than 100 (2003
est.) |
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Nationality:
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noun: Swiss
(singular and plural)
adjective: Swiss |
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Ethnic groups:
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German 65%, French
18%, Italian 10%, Romansch 1%, other 6% |
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Religions:
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Roman Catholic 41.8%,
Protestant 35.3%, Orthodox 1.8%, other Christian 0.4%, Muslim
4.3%, other 1%, unspecified 4.3%, none 11.1% (2000 census) |
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Languages:
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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 0.5%, other 2.8% (2000 census)
note: German, French, Italian, and Romansch are all
national languages, but only the first three are official
languages |
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Literacy:
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definition:
age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99%
male: 99%
female: 99% (2003 est.)
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Country name:
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conventional long
form: Swiss Confederation
conventional short form: Switzerland
local long form: Schweizerische Eidgenossenschaft (German);
Confederation Suisse (French); Confederazione Svizzera (Italian)
local short form: Schweiz (German); Suisse (French);
Svizzera (Italian) |
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Government type:
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formally a
confederation, but similar in structure to a federal republic |
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Capital:
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Bern |
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Administrative divisions:
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26 cantons (cantons,
singular - canton in French; cantoni, singular - cantone in
Italian; kantone, singular - kanton in German); Aargau, Appenzell
Ausser-Rhoden, Appenzell Inner-Rhoden, Basel-Landschaft, Basel-Stadt,
Bern, Fribourg, Geneve, Glarus, Graubunden, Jura, Luzern,
Neuchatel, Nidwalden, Obwalden, Sankt Gallen, Schaffhausen, Schwyz,
Solothurn, Thurgau, Ticino, Uri, Valais, Vaud, Zug, Zurich |
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Independence:
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1 August 1291
(founding of the Swiss Confederation) |
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National holiday:
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Founding of the Swiss
Confederation, 1 August (1291) |
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Constitution:
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revision of
Constitution of 1874 approved by the Federal Parliament 18
December 1998, adopted by referendum 18 April 1999, officially
entered into force 1 January 2000 |
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Legal system:
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civil law system
influenced by customary law; judicial review of legislative acts,
except with respect to federal decrees of general obligatory
character; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations |
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Suffrage:
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18 years of age;
universal |
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Executive branch:
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chief of state:
President Moritz LEUENBERGER (since 8 January 2006); Vice
President Micheline CALMY-REY (since 8 January 2006); note - the
president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Moritz LEUENBERGER (since 8
January 2006); Vice President Micheline CALMY-REY (since 8 January
2006); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of
government
cabinet: Federal Council or Bundesrat (in German), Conseil
Federal (in French), Consiglio Federale (in Italian) elected by
the Federal Assembly usually from among its own members for a
four-year term
elections: president and vice president elected by the
Federal Assembly from among the members of the Federal Council for
one-year terms that run concurrently; election last held 7
December 2005 (next to be held December 2006)
election results: Moritz LUENBERGER elected president;
percent of Federal Assembly vote - NA; Micheline CALMY-REY elected
vice president; percent of legislative vote - NA |
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Legislative branch:
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bicameral Federal
Assembly or Bundesversammlung (in German), Assemblee Federale (in
French), Assemblea Federale (in Italian) consists of the Council
of States or Standerat (in German), Conseil des Etats (in French),
Consiglio degli Stati (in Italian) (46 seats - consists of two
representatives from each canton and one from each half canton;
members serve four-year terms) and the National Council or
Nationalrat (in German), Conseil National (in French), Consiglio
Nazionale (in Italian) (200 seats - members are elected by popular
vote on the basis of proportional representation to serve
four-year terms)
elections: Council of States - last held in most cantons 19
October 2003 (each canton determines when the next election will
be held); National Council - last held 19 October 2003 (next to be
held October 2007)
election results: Council of States - percent of vote by
party - NA%; seats by party - CVP 15, FDP 14, SVP 8, SPS 6, other
3; National Council - percent of vote by party - SVP 26.6%, SPS
23.3%, FDP 17.3%, CVP 14.4%, Greens 7.4%, other small parties all
under 5%; seats by party - SVP 55, SPS 54, FDP 36, CVP 28, Green
Party 13, other small parties 14 |
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Judicial branch:
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Federal Supreme Court
(judges elected for six-year terms by the Federal Assembly) |
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Political parties and leaders:
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Green Party (Grune
Partei der Schweiz or Grune, Parti Ecologiste Suisse or Les Verts,
Partito Ecologista Svizzero or I Verdi, Partida Ecologica Svizra
or La Verda) [Ruth GENNER]; Christian Democratic People's Party (Christichdemokratische
Volkspartei der Schweiz or CVP, Parti Democrate-Chretien Suisse or
PDC, Partito Democratico-Cristiano Popolare Svizzero or PDC,
Partida Cristiandemocratica dalla Svizra or PCD) [Doris LEUTHARD,
president]; Radical Free Democratic Party (Freisinnig-Demokratische
Partei der Schweiz or FDP, Parti Radical-Democratique Suisse or
PRD, Partitio Liberal-Radicale Svizzero or PLR) [Marianne
KLEINER-SCHLAEPFER, president]; Social Democratic Party (Sozialdemokratische
Partei der Schweiz or SPS, Parti Socialist Suisse or PSS, Partito
Socialista Svizzero or PSS, Partida Socialdemocratica de la Svizra
or PSS) [Hans-Juerg FEHR, president]; Swiss People's Party (Schweizerische
Volkspartei or SVP, Union Democratique du Centre or UDC, Unione
Democratica de Centro or UDC, Uniun Democratica dal Center or UDC)
[Ueli MAURER, president]; and other minor parties |
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