1. Economy
1. Introduction:
About two third of the area of Switzerland is covered with forests, lakes and mountains. Since
Switzerland has no mineral resources, it must import, process and resell them as products.
"Services" are the most important part of the economy. This includes banking, assurances and
tourism.
Farming is also an important part of the economy. But the production of the Swiss farmers does
not fulfill the needs of all people, so Switzerland must rely on imported goods from other
countries.
2. The three sectors:
The economy in Switzerland is divided into three sectors:
1. "Landwirtschaft" (agriculture)
2. "Industrie" (industry)
3. "Dienstleistungen" (services)
Less than 10% of the population is employed in the "Landwirtschaft" (agriculture), also
considered the primary sector. This sector is strongly supported by the government.
About 40% of the population is employed in the "Industrie, Gewerbe und
Handwerk" (industry, trade and handicraft), also considered thesecondary sector. This
sector includes the "Maschinen- und Metallindustrie" (machine and metal
industry), "Uhrenindustrie" (watch industry) and the "Textilindustrie" (textile industry). All
of them export much of their products to foreign countries and suffer a lot because of the
expensive Swiss Franc. The fact that Switzerland does not belong to the European Union
additionally slows down the Swiss exports.
More than 50% of the population is employed in the "Dienstleistungssektor" (services), also
considered the tertiary sector. This sector includes banking, assurances, tourism and so on.
Banking is one of the most important businesses in Switzerland. Many of the banks have started
to use the Internet for business purposes. For more information, see the directory of Swiss
banks.
3. Foreign trade:
Switzerland is one of the countries with the highest contribution of the foreign trade to the
gross inland product. The most important trade partners are the so called "industrialized

2. countries". In 2003, 77.2% of the exported goods were shipped to and 89.0% of the imported
goods came from those countries. In particular, 60.3% of the goods were shipped to and
81.7% of the imported goods came from countries which belong to the European Union (EU).
3.1 Most important trade partners:
The tables below show the names of the countries and the values of the imported and exported
goods in million Swiss Francs (1 million = 1'000'000) for the year 2003.
Rank Country Import Rank Country Export
1 Germany 41'200 1 Germany 27'700
2 Italy 13'800 2 USA 13'800
3 France 13'700 3 France 11'500
4 Netherlands 6'400 4 Italy 11'000
Austria 5'400 5 Great Britain 6'200
5
USA 5'400 6 Japan 5'100
6 Great Britain 4'900 Austria 4'400
7
7 Ireland 4'700 Netherlands 4'400
8 Belgium 3'600 8 Belgium 2'600
9 Japan 2'600 9 Ireland 900
3.2 Most important trade goods:
The table below shows the value of the imported and exported goods in million Swiss Francs
(1 million = 1'000'000) for the year 2002.
No Goods Import No Goods Export
1 Chemicals 27'256 1 Chemicals 44'846
2 Machines 25'925 2 Machines 31'693
Precision tools, watches,
3 Vehicles 12'843 3 22'602
jewelry
4 Agriculture and fishery 9'864 4 Agriculture and fishery 4'219
5 Metals 9'329 5 Vehicles 3'742

3. 6 Textile, clothing and shoes 8'625 6 Textile, clothing and shoes 3'726
Precision tools, watches,
7 8'167 7 Leather, rubber, plastic 3'647
jewelry
8 Energy 5'369 8 Paper 3'275
9 Paper 4'740 9 Other 1'746
10 Other 4'516 10 Metals 975
11 Leather, rubber, plastic 4'264 11 Stone, soil 780
12 Stone, soil 2'229 12 Energy 363
Information sources:
www.bfs.admin.ch
www.zahlenspiegel.ch
4. Currency:
The Swiss currency is called "Schweizerfranken" ("Swiss Francs") or short "Franken". One
hundred "Rappen" make up one Swiss Franc.CHF is the ISO representation for Swiss francs;
however, the old notation sFr. is still used quite often.
This is a 5 Franken coin, called a "Fünfliber"
The currency is available in the following coins:
1 Rappen ("Räppler", no longer in use)
2 Rappen ("Zweiräppler", no longer in use)
5 Rappen ("Fünfer")

4. 10 Rappen ("Zehner")
20 Rappen ("Zwanziger")
½ Franken ("Fünfziger")
1 Franken ("Fränkler")
2 Franken ("Zweifränkler")
5 Franken ("Fünfliber") - a long time ago, there used to be a five francs
bill (includes images of approx. 220kB)
Images of all coins.
The currency is available in the following bills:
10 Franken (images of current, previous and older bill, approx. 400 kB)
20 Franken (images of current and previous bill, approx. 450 kB)
50 Franken (images of current bill, approx. 220 kB)
100 Franken (images of current, previous and older bill, approx. 710 kB)
200 Franken (images of current bill, approx. 270 kB)
1000 Franken (images of current bill, approx. 330 kB)
To convert currency, we suggest the oanda online currency converter.
5. Cost of living:
Now and then I receive questions about the cost of living in Switzerland. Even tough it is
difficult to compare the costs of living between various countries, I try to list some indications
that may give an idea what it means to go along with your salary in Switzerland.
5.1 Exchange rates:
I remember times when I was young (some 35 years ago), when one US dollar (USD) cost
more than four Swiss Francs (CHF) and one German Mark cost more than one Swiss Franc.
Today (May 14, 2010), one US dollar costs approximately CHF 1.11 and the German Mark has
been replaced by the Euro (EUR). One Euro corresponds to about CHF 1.40. These ever
changing exchange rates are one problem in comparing costs of living.
5.2 Salaries:
Another problem in comparing the costs of living is the amount of money one has available to
spend, also known as the salary. This is particularly difficult because most people do not like to
talk about it, at least here in Switzerland. Of course, the actual salary depends on the
education, the position within the company or organization, the duration of the employment
etc. The following table is a very rough approximation of a yearly income depending on the
level of education:

5. type of education salary range
apprenticeship (typically 3 or 4 years) CHF 40'000 - 80'000
academic CHF 70'000 - 150'000
lower management CHF 120'000 - 250'000
higher management CHF 200'000 ++
5.3 Expenses:
Again as a very rough approximation, a Swiss family spends its income as follows:
25-35% for rent of a condominium or house
10-20% for assurances (health, liability, theft, car), health care and savings deposits
15-20% for food (at home and in restaurants)
20-40% for other expenses (non-food, car maintenance, phone bills, vacations,
recreational activities)
5-15% for taxes (Taxes vary across the different cantons quite a lot)
5.4 Cost of some food goods:
The following table is a list of some food goods and their approximative cost as of summer
2010 in the area of Zürich.
Approximative cost in
Goods Amount
CHF
Bread in a store 1 kg 3.00 - 4.00
Milk in a store 1 liter 2.00
1 cup (no
Coffee or tee in a restaurant 3.50
refill)
Softdrink in a restaurant 0.2 or 0.3 l 3.50 - 4.00
Hamburger in fast food restaurant 200 gr 5.00
A meal in a family restaurant without
1 person 15.00 - 30.00
beverages

6. If you are not familiar with our metric unit system, see explanations about metric versus
U.S. unit systems
5.5 Cost of some non-food goods:
The following table is a list of some non-food goods and their approximative cost as of spring
2010 in the area of Zürich.
Goods Amount Approximative cost in CHF
Diesel 1 liter 1.85 (changes daily!)
Gasoline 1 liter 1.70 (changes daily!)
Cigarettes 1 pack 5.00
Compact Disk (music) 1 CD 10.00 - 25.00
Jeans 1 100.00 - 150.00
Building land 1 m² 400.00 - 1200.00
House (without land) 4 .. 5 rooms 400'000 - 1'000'000++
If you are not familiar with our metric unit system, see explanations about metric versus
U.S. unit systems
Administration
1. Name:
Switzerland is also known as "Confoederatio Helvetica", therefore the
abbreviation "CH". "Confoederatio" stands for "confederation","Helvetica" derives from the
Latin word "Helvetier", the name of the people who lived in the area which became later
Switzerland.
2. Flag:

7. The white cross on the red back (see top left on each page) has a religious background. The
cross represents the cross, Jesus was put on, the red color represents his blood.
Each arm of the cross has to be of the same size and must be 1/6 longer than wide.
3. National motto, flower, animal
There are no such things as a national motto, a national flower or a national animal. However,
some cantons do have a motto or an animal.
The "Edelweiss" (Leontopodium alpinum) has the status of an inoffical national flower.
4. Capital:
The capital of Switzerland is Bern City, also the capital of the canton Bern.
5. Administrative divisions:
Switzerland is broken up into the following administrative divisions ("top down"):
5.1 Eidgenossenschaft:
The "Eidgenossenschaft" (confederation) consists of the following authorities:
5.1.1 "Bundesversammlung" (federal assembly), legislative authority:
The federal assembly or parliament meets in the "Bundeshaus" in Bern and
consists of two houses or "Kammern" (chambers):
1. "Ständerat": Also called the "kleine Kammer" (small chamber) with two
representatives of each canton, or one representative of each split-canton,
regardless of the size of the population of the canton.
2. "Nationalrat": Also called the "grosse Kammer" (large chamber) with
200 representatives. The number of representatives is proportional to the
population of the cantons, but there is at least one representative of a
canton.
5.1.2 "Bundesrat", executive authority:

8. The "Bundesrat" (Federal Council) consists of seven members, elected by
the "Vereinigte Bundesversammlung", a combined assembly of both chambers.
Elections take place every four years. The president of the "Bundesrat",
called "Bundespräsident" / "Bundespräsidentin", changes every year and has
only representional status but no extra power. The seven "Bundesräte" /
"Bundesrätinnen" head the following "Departemente" (departments):
1. Foreign Affairs ("Departement für auswärtige Angelegenheiten")
2. Home Affairs ("Departement des Innern")
3. Justice and Police ("Justiz- und Polizei-Departement")
4. Defence, Civil Protection and Sports ("Departement für Verteidigung,
Bevölkerungsschutz und Sport")
5. Finance ("Finanz-Departement")
6. Economic Affairs ("Volkswirtschafts-Departement")
7. Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications ("Departement für
Umwelt, Verkehr, Energie und Kommunikation")
5.1.3 "Bundesgericht" (federal court), judicial authority:
The federal court in Lausanne, VD is the highest court in the country. It protects the
constitutional rights of the Swiss citizens against arbitrariness of the authorities and
administration.
The duties of the confederation are defined in the "Bundesverfassung" (federal constitution)
and include:
Protection of the country and its citizens
Postal services, telephone and telecommunications (PTT)
Monetary system ("Nationalbank", national bank)
Transportation ("Nationalstrassen" (motor ways, railway)
Military
Customs
Diplomatic relations with other countries
People can take direct influence by two means:
1. "Initiative": 100'000 citizens can request a voting about a change or extension of
the "Bundesverfassung" (constitution) or the"Bundesgesetzt" (federal law).
2. "Referendum": If the "Bundesrat" wants to change or extend
the "Bundesverfassung" (constitution) or the "Bundesgesetz"(federal law),
50'000 citizens can request a voting about it.
5.2 Kantone:

9. Switzerland consists of 23 "Kantone" (singular "Kanton", also referred to as cantons or
states), 3 of them are divided into "Halb-Kantone"(split states) with the following authorities:
"Grosser Rat", "Kantonsrat" or "Landesrat" (the name varies between the
cantons), legislative authority
"Kantonsregierung", executive authority
"Kantonsgericht", judicial authority
The cantons Appenzell, Glarus and Unterwalden do not perform elections and voting, but a
so called "Landsgemeinde", an out door assembly of all its citizens. The attendees raise their
hands to show if they agree with or deny a particular request.
The duties of the cantons are defined in their "Kantonsverfassung" (cantonal constitution)
and include:
Education
Transportation ("Kantonsstrassen", cantonal roads)
Social institutions
This is a list of all cantons in the so called "official order":
1. Zürich
2. Bern / Berne
3. Luzern
4. Uri
5. Schwyz
6. Unterwalden (Obwalden / Nidwalden)
7. Glarus
8. Zug
9. Freiburg / Fribourg
10. Solothurn
11. Basel (Basel Stadt / Basel Land)
12. Schaffhausen
13. Appenzell (Appenzell Ausserrhoden / Appenzell Innerrhoden)
14. Sankt Gallen
15. Graubünden
16. Aargau
17. Thurgau
18. Ticino
19. Vaud
20. Valais / Valais
21. Neuchâtel
22. Genève
23. Jura

10. 5.3 Bezirke:
Each canton consists of a number of "Bezirke" (singular "Bezirk", districts) with the following
authorities:
People by voting and elections, legislative authority
"Bezirksrat", executive authority
"Bezirksgericht", judicial authority
The duties of the districts include:
Education
Judicature
5.4 Gemeinden:
Each district consists of a number of "Gemeinden" (singular "Gemeinde", municipalities).
There are a 2929 municipalities in Switzerland. A municipality with more than 10'000 citizens is
considered a "Stadt" (town), smaller municipalities are called a "Dorf" (village). However,
some smaller villages have the status of a town for historical reasons. Municipalities have the
following authorities:
"Gemeindeversammlung", an assembly of all citizens, or people by voting and
elections, legislative authority
"Gemeinderat" or "Stadtrat", executive authority
"Friedensrichter" (lay magistrate), judicial authority
The duties of the municipalities include:
Local services (electricity, water, fire brigade, police etc.)
Transportation ("Gemeindestrassen", local roads)
Schools
Taxes (they vary significantly between the municipalities !)
6. Link collection related to Swiss Administration
This is a small collection of links that might be useful for people interested in Switzerland's
Administration:
1. Swiss Administration
2. Federal Council (Bundesrat)

11. 3. Swiss Parliament
4. Swiss Federal Supreme Court (Bundesgericht)
5. List of Swiss embassies, consuls and missions
6. www.ch.ch - a partnership project of the Swiss Confederation, Cantons and
Communes ("Guichet virtuel")
Political
Switzerland's Political System
Direct Democracy
«It is astonishing how little the rest of the world knows about the way Switzerland runs its
politics. Even its next-door neighbors in Europe, though vaguely aware that it is a deeply
decentralized country, do not really understand the other, more important part of the Swiss
system -- the part that could turn out to be a model for everybody's 21st century democracy.»
Brian Beedham, United Press International, in a book review on Gregory Fossedal's The road to full
democracy.
Switzerland is a small country located in the heart of western Europe, at the intersection of
German, French and Italian language and culture. Switzerland has been multicultural in its
own way for centuries. Democracy and Direct Democracy in particular, has a long, but not
undisputed tradition in this country. Switzerland's unique political system is today world's
most stable democratic system, offering a maximum of participation to citizens.
Switzerland's Direct Democracy is not the result of pure tradition and harmonic
development, however. Much to the contrary, the very basics (decentralisation of power)
and the unique instruments of Direct Democracy (frequent referendums andpopular
initiative) have been established through hard political struggle, including a
violent Revolution in 1798, decades of rioting (1830's and 1840's: the term putsch for a
violent overthrow of government is one of the few Swiss German dialect words that have
been adopted in a large number of foreign languages ...) culminating in a short civil war in
1847.
Basic Features of Switzerland's Political System
Switzerland is a Confederation of 26 cantons. The cantons [member states of the
federation] do enjoy quite some autonomy.
Governments, parliaments and courts on 3 levels:
- federal

12. - cantonal
- communal
small villages have reunions of all citizens instead of parliaments,
local courts are common to several communities
Two features of Direct Democracy grant an unusually detailed level
of participation to ordinary citizens:
· Popular Initiative:
Ordinary citizens may propose changes to the constitution, if they can find a number of
supporters (100,000 out of about 3,500,000 voters, smaller numbers on cantonal and communal
level).
The parliament will discuss the proposals, probably set up an alternative and afterwards all
citizens may decide in a referendum whether to accept the original initiative, the alternate
parliamentary proposal or to leave the constitution unchanged.
Common Features
Shared with other Democratic Political Systems
All democratic political systems share the separation of powers (independence of
government/administration, parliament (legislation) and courts of justice). Several political
parties compete with each other to propose solutions to the country's problems.
The federal system is not mandatory for a democracy, but it can be found in many other
countries like the U.S.A., Germany, Austria etc.
In other words: most aspects of Switzerland's political system are just normal features of a
modern democracy.
Exclusive Features
of Switzerland's Political System
The two chambers of Switzerland's national parliament meet several times annually to
sessions during several weeks and between them to preparing meetings in numerous
commissions. But being member of parliament is not a full time job in Switzerland, contrary
to most other countries today. This means that members of parliament have to practise an
ordinary profession to earn their living - thereby they are closer to everyday life of their
electorate.
The really remarkable thing about Switzerland's political system is Direct Democracy: the
extraordinary amount of participation in the political process that is granted to ordinary
citizens. In other words: it is not the mere existence of direct democratic instruments
(federalism is widespread and referendums are not completely unknown to other
democratic systems) but rather the frequent use of them, not only as encouraged
by Switzerland's Constitution, but as practised with enthusiasm by the
citizens. Frequent referendums do have a stabilizing influence on parliament, government,
economy and society:
Referendums will increase the willingness to compromise (otherwise a party
defeated in parliament will call for a referendum).
This effect is not so strong, however, as we see from the fact that there are several non-
mandatory referendums in Switzerland every year (and even some successful ones leaving the

13. uncompromising majority and the goverment in the rain) despite the fact that every politician
should know and "fear" them ...
Referendums favour big coalitions:
Shared power motivates compromise, exclusion from power motivates obstructive referendums.
Referendums increase stability:
As extreme laws will mercilessly be blocked by the electorate in referendums, parties are less
inclined to radical changes in laws and voters are less inclined to call for fundamental changes in
elections. There is no need to dismiss the government after a lost referendum, because the
referendum solves the problem - preventing an extreme law - more efficiently and also more
precisely: On the very same day, three new laws may be accepted and two others rejected.