Climate: continental; cold, cloudy winters with frequent snow or rain; cool to moderately warm, cloudy, humid summers

Terrain: mostly mountainous (Alps) with Rhine Valley in western third

Natural resources: hydroelectric potential

Land use: 25% arable land; 0% permanent crops; 38% meadows and pastures; 19% forest and woodland; 18% other

Environment: variety of microclimatic variations based on elevation

Note: landlocked

- People
Population: 28,292 (July 1990), growth rate 0.7% (1990)

Birth rate: 13 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 7 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: 1 migrant/1,000 population (1990)