Switzerland is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Neighboring countries include Austria, France, Italy, Liechtenstein, and Germany. The geography of Switzerland is mostly mountains (Alps in south, Jura in northwest) with a central plateau of rolling hills, plains, and large lakes. The government system is formally a confederation but similar in structure to a federal republic; the chief of state and head of government is the president. Switzerland has a modern market economy in which the prices of goods and services are determined in a free price system. Switzerland is a member of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA)

Switzerland’s capital is Berne and is 1 hour ahead of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT + 1), which is 4.5 hours behind Indian Standard Time. Its currency is Swiss Franc (CHF). Calling code for Switzerland is 41 and it follows 230 Volts Electrical system.

Languages

German (or Swiss German) (official) 62.1%, French (official) 22.8%, Italian (official) 8%, English 5.7%, Portuguese 3.5%, Albanian 3.3%, Serbo-Croatian 2.3%, Spanish 2.3%, Romansh (official) 0.5%, other 7.9%; note - German, French, Italian, and Romansh are all national and official languages; shares sum to more than 100% because respondents could indicate more than one main language (2019 est.)

Ethnic Groups

Swiss 69.3%, German 4.2%, Italian 3.2%, Portuguese 2.5%, French 2.1%, Kosovo 1.1%, Turkish 1%, other 16.6% (2019 est.)

Religions

Roman Catholic 34.4%, Protestant 22.5%, other Christian 5.7%, Muslim 5.5%, other 1.6%, none 29.5%, unspecified 0.8% (2019 est.)