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| Capital city: |
Berne |
| Surface area: |
41,000 sq km |
| Population: |
7.3 million |
| Official language(s): |
German, French, Italian |
| Head of State & Head of Government |
HE Federal President Mr Hans-Rudolf Merz,President of the Swiss Confederation |
| Australian exports to Switzerland: |
A$455 million |
| Australian imports from Switzerland: |
A$2,264 million |
| Switzerland's principal export destinations: |
Germany, USA, Italy |
| Switzerland's principal import sources: |
Germany, Italy, France | (Source: Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade - Country economic fact sheet) |
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Switzerland is an important commercial partner within Europe – the third-largest supplier for the European Union (EU), behind the USA and Japan, and the EU’s second largest customer, after the USA.
Key economic indicators and statistics for 2008:
- GDP – US$492.6 billion
- GDP per capita – US$67,385
- Real GDP growth – 1.6 per cent
- Inflation – 2.4 per cent
(Source: Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade - Country economic fact sheet) |
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Political climate
Switzerland is a federal republic comprising of 26 cantons (administrative divisions) and is politically stable. The system of government is complex, being a direct democracy in which the citizens of Switzerland are expected to take a quite active roll, voting approximately 6-10 times per year. Citizen-initiated referendums can overturn new federal laws and international treaties.
Switzerland has four main parties:
- The Radical Democrats (FDP) who are economically liberal and socially conservative and have been represented without interruption since 1848.
- The centrist Christian Democrats (CVP).
- The leftist Social Democrats (SP).
- The conservative Swiss People's Party (SVP). The SVP, advocates a brand of isolationism that is wholeheartedly against European Union integration and immigration. It has a strong base among farmers and small businesses in German-speaking areas and now has a majority on the federal as well as the cantonal level.
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Trade relations and statistics
Switzerland guards its neutrality fiercely. It has yet to join the European Union (EU) or the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), but has agreed to join the United Nations (UN). Switzerland has nonetheless played an important role in the establishment of the League of Nations, the modern Olympic Games and the Red Cross, as well as having key international organisations (World Trade Organisation, ILO, UN) based in Geneva, Switzerland.
The government has negotiated seven ‘bilateral sectoral’ agreements with the EU member states and these will give Switzerland reciprocal EU market access. The agreements cover:
- labour mobility
- air services
- road transport
- research
- agriculture
- government procurement
- technical restraints
Major Australian exports to Switzerland (2007-08):
- Gold – A$207 million
- Meat (excluding beef) – A$35 million
- Pharmaceutical products (excluding medicaments) – A$28 million
- Precious metal ores and conc (excluding gold) – A$26 million
Major Australian imports from Switzerland (2007-08):
- Medicaments (including veterinary) – A$500 million
- Watches and clocks – A$214 million
- Aircraft, spacecraft and parts – A$183 million
- Orthopaedic appliances – A$180 million
(Source: Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade – Country economic fact sheet) |
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