Approximately 6% of Switzerland is made up of glaciers and lakes. The canton (federal state) of Zurich is the most densely populated canton in Switzerland, with 1,242,000 inhabitants in total.

Switzerland has one of the highest life expectancies in the world. Programme for International Student Assessment).

They make half of the luxury watches in the world. In 1863 the International Committee of the Red Cross was founded in Geneva, Switzerland. Located right next to the Cornavin train station, we invite you to discover what 21st century learning looks like. They are the only citizens of Switzerland allowed to serve in foreign militaries. Switzerland is a confederation of cantons with a surprising degree of administrative independence. I live in a neighbourhood in which over 100 different nationalities live together in peace and harmony…. Reportedly, 72 percent of the population visited a museum, gallery or an exhibition in 2014. As a guide, expect daytime temperatures from 18–28°C (65–85°F) during July and August, in January and February -2–7°C (28-45°F) and in spring and autumn/fall 8–15°C (46–59°F). The Swiss Confederation during the Late Middle Ages, Central Intelligence Agency - The World Factbook - Switzerland, Official Site of the Embassy of the State of Kuwait in Switzerland, Switzerland - Children's Encyclopedia (Ages 8-11), Switzerland - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up). Switzerland is bordered to the west by France, to the north by Germany, to the east by Austria and Liechtenstein, and to the south by Italy. La Gruyère district, Fribourg canton, Switzerland. The country of Switzerland is officially named the Swiss Confederation. Have a cookie This remains the ICRC's home base. In 2017, almost 18% of the Swiss population is … Facts about people and society in Switzerland.

Aspects of both have become bywords for the country, whose very name conjures images of the glacier-carved Alps beloved of writers, artists, photographers, and outdoor sports enthusiasts from around the world.

Ordinary citizens are able to participate at every level of politics and regularly exercise their will in referenda and initiatives, through which Swiss citizens directly make numerous policy decisions at the national and subnational level. In the sport of curling, a stone is propelled toward a target. A lively and informative new podcast for kids that the whole family will enjoy! French School in Geneva.

Switzerland has long been a model multiethnic, multilingual society, a place in which diverse peoples can live in social harmony and unite in common interest. Switzerland was originally called Helvetia by Julius Caesar when he conquered the Helvetii, a group of Celtic tribes, who lived in the area between the Alps and the Jura Mountains. Two effects of this popular involvement are evident: Swiss taxes are rather low by European standards, because voters are able to review and approve a broad range of expenditures, and political decision making tends to be slow, because contending individual claims and opinions must be allowed to be expressed at every step. Of all industrialized countries, Switzerland has one of the lowest crime rates, even with fairly liberal gun laws. Switzerland's monetary unit is the Swiss franc. Published February 7, 2017. View Images. Hornussen is a traditional sport in Switzerland. You may change your settings at any time.

In June 2016, one Swiss franc was worth around EUR 0.92/USD 1.02/GBP 0.76. This site uses functional cookies and external scripts to improve your experience. Most Swiss live in towns and cities, not in the idyllic rural landscapes that captivated the world through Johanna Spyri’s Heidi (1880–81), the country’s best-known literary work. Expatica helps make your expat journey the experience you've always wanted. Switzerland's highest mountain is Monte Rosa, sitting at 4,634 meters tall. Switzerland remains wealthy and orderly, but its mountain-walled valleys are far more likely to echo the music of a local rock band than a yodel or an alphorn. Prior to 1848, internal conflict was quite common, but Switzerland has enjoyed relative domestic tranquility since the mid-19th century, and its organization has remained essentially the same: it is a union of more than 3,000 communes, or municipalities, situated in 26 cantons, 6 of which are traditionally referred to as demicantons (half cantons) but function as full cantons. Switzerland’s landscape is among the world’s most unusual, and it has long had to contend with a variety of environmental problems that threaten its integrity. Did you know that Velcro and LSD originated in Switzerland or that the world’s most expensive coffee is in Switzerland?

As a consequence of its remarkably long-lived stability and carefully guarded neutrality, Switzerland—Geneva, in particular—has been selected as headquarters for a wide array of governmental and nongovernmental organizations, including many associated with the United Nations (UN)—an organization the Swiss resisted joining until the early 21st century. Switzerland has a population of 8.3 million; about 5 million of them live in the Swiss Plateau in between the Jura Mountains and the Swiss Alps. Switzerland’s administrative capital is Bern, while Lausanne serves as its judicial centre. Today, there are almost 2 million resident foreigners in Switzerland.

Which cookies and scripts are used and how they impact your visit is specified on the left. A landlocked country of towering mountains, deep Alpine lakes, grassy valleys dotted with neat farms and small villages, and thriving cities that blend the old and the new, Switzerland is the nexus of the diverse physical and cultural geography of western Europe, renowned for both its natural beauty and its way of life. Coauthor of. Fun Facts. Switzerland is widely recognised as an international research centre, with the private and public sector strongly promoting science and technology. Invisible lines separate historically Protestant from historically Roman Catholic districts, while the tall mountains of the Saint Gotthard Pass separate northern from southern Europe and their diverse sensibilities and habits. People living in close proximity may speak markedly distinct, sometimes nearly mutually unintelligible dialects of their first language, if not a different language altogether. Art museums were the most popular, attracting 3.3 million visitors. NOTE: These settings will only apply to the browser and device you are currently using.

The Swiss are an educated population; in 2015, 88 percent of adults aged 25–64 had the equivalent of a high school diploma. Geographer and scientific adviser, Bundesamt für Raumentwicklung (Swiss Federal Planning Bureau), Bern, Switzerland. Switzerland’s administrative capital is Bern, while Lausanne serves as its judicial center.

In the north, the climate is moderate, with cold winters and warm summers; temperatures drop in the mountainous east; the west has a mild climate; while in the south it’s so warm that palm trees line the shore of Lake Lugano. Economic development and high population density have caused severe environmental stress, resulting in pollution and debates over the use of natural resources. The main regulatory avenue that Switzerland’s Federal Council has used in its response to the COVID-19 pandemic has been to issue federal orders effective across the entire Swiss territory. Switzerland is also known for its beautiful lakes, including Lake Geneva. Most cantons and municipalities have core times with children usually going to school in the morning from around 8.30am until 11.30am and then from 13.30pm until 16.00pm. The Swiss government forecasts the number of people aged 25–64 with post-secondary education will rise to almost 60 percent in 2040, although foreigners are expected to contribute some 30 percent of the increase. I greatly appreciate this diversity. Basel and Lucerne are major German-speaking cities, Geneva and Lausanne the centres of the country’s French-speaking cantons, and Bellinzona and Lugano the principal cities in the Italian-speaking Ticino.

Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. Switzerland is a small mountainous country located in central Europe. Switzerland does not use the euro as its currency. Part of the Alps that run through Europe are within Switzerland's borders (known as the Swiss Alps).

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Your choices will not impact your visit. Women in Switzerland were not given the right to vote federally until 1971. Enrolment in Swiss schools Every child between 6 and 15 years old registered in Switzerland has to be enrolled in a primary or secondary school. Switzerland has three main topographical regions including the Swiss Alps, the Swiss plateau, and the Jura Mountains. Hence what follows is just a generic summary. A metropolis extending along a large lake where the mountains meet the plains, Zürich is by far the country’s largest and most cosmopolitan city, its famed Bahnhofstrasse rivaling shopping districts found in other leading cities in the world. Switzerland was the birthplace of many famous inventors and pioneers, including World Wide Web creator Tim Berners-Lee, architect Le Corbusier, Red Cross founder Jean Henri Dunant, DNA discoverer Friedrich Miescher, philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau and psychologist Carl Jung. 54. Switzerland did not join the United Nations until 2002. Schools: In Switzerland, every child must attend at least the elementary school. Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. It was briefly occupied by France between 1798 and 1803.

Alphorn a wooden horn from 3 ft to 12 ft (91 cm–3.7 m) long, sometimes curved slightly, with conical bore and a cup-shaped mouthpiece. Switzerland is regularly judged to have among the world’s highest standards of living. That high level of citizen involvement prompted the renowned 20th-century Swiss playwright and ironist Friedrich Dürrenmatt to allegorize Switzerland as a prison in which each Swiss citizen was at the same time prisoner and guard. Because the cantons are responsible for the educational system, the names, the subjects, the starting age of the students and … Switzerland’s cities have emerged as international centres of industry and commerce connected to the larger world, a very different tenor from Switzerland’s isolated, more inward-looking past. German, French, Italian, and Romansh all enjoy national status, and English is spoken widely. However, while the most popular museums receive more than 50,000 guests annually, almost 75 percent of Swiss museums attract fewer than 5,000 people, with every fourth village statistically having a museum. Switzerland is one of the only two countries to have a square flag..

Citizens of Switzerland consume more chocolate per year, per person, than citizens of any other country in the world. In 1848 the country became a federal state. The Vatican has the only other square flag in the world.



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