Communists: 4,500 members (est.)
Member of: ADB, CCC, Council of Europe, DAC, EFTA, ESA, FAO, GATT, IAEA,
ICAC, ICAO, ICO, IDB—Inter-American Development Bank, IEA, IFAD, ILO, IMO,
INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IPU, ITU, IWC—International Wheat Council, OECD, UNESCO,
UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WSG, WTO; permanent observer status at
the UN
Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Edouard BRUNNER; Chancery at 2900 Cathedral Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202) 745-7900; there are Swiss Consulates General in Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco; US—Ambassador Joseph B. GUILDENHORN; Embassy at Jubilaeumstrasse 93, 3005 Bern; telephone [41] (31) 437011; there is a Branch Office of the Embassy in Geneva and a Consulate General in Zurich
Flag: red square with a bold, equilateral white cross in the center that does not extend to the edges of the flag
- Economy Overview: Switzerland's economic success is matched in few, if any, other nations. Per capita output, general living standards, education and science, health care, and diet are unsurpassed in Europe. Inflation remains low because of sound government policy and harmonious labor-management relations. Unemployment is negligible, a marked contrast to the larger economies of Western Europe. This economic stability helps promote the important banking and tourist sectors. Since World War II, Switzerland's economy has adjusted smoothly to the great changes in output and trade patterns in Europe and presumably can adjust to the challenges of the 1990s, in particular, the further economic integration of Western Europe and the amazingly rapid changes in East European political/economic prospects.
GDP: $119.5 billion, per capita $17,800; real growth rate 3.0% (1989 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2.8% (1989 est.)
Unemployment rate: 0.5% (1989 est.)
Budget: revenues $17.0 billion; expenditures $16.8 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1988)
Exports: $51.2 billion (f.o.b., 1988); commodities—machinery and equipment, precision instruments, metal products, foodstuffs, textiles and clothing; partners—Europe 64% (EC 56%, other 8%), US 9%, Japan 4%