_#_Elections:
Council of States—last held throughout 1991 (next to be held 1995; results—percent of vote by party NA; seats—(46 total) FDP 15, CVP 14, SVP 4, LPS 3, LDU 1; note—9 seats require run-off elections, to be held in November1991
National Council—last held 20 October 1991 (next to be held October 1995); results—FDP %, SPS %, CVP %, SVP %, GPS %, LPS %, AP %, LDU %,SD %, EVP %, Workers Party %, Ticino League 23%, other %; seats—(200 total) FDP 44, SPS 42, CVP 37, SVP 25, GPS 14, LPS 10, AP 8, LDU 6, SD 5, EVP 3, Workers Party 2, Ticino League 2, other 2
_#_Communists: 4,500 members (est.)
_#_Member of: AfDB, AG (observer), AsDB, BIS, CCC, CE, CERN, CSCE,
EBRD, ECE, EFTA, ESA, FAO, G-8, G-10, GATT, IADB, IAEA, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU,
IEA, IFAD, ILO, IMF (observer), IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC,
IOM, ISO, ITU, LORCS, NAM (guest), NEA, OAS (observer), OECD, PCA,
UN (observer), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO,
WMO, WTO
_#_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. GILDENHORN; Embassy at
Jubilaeumstrasse 93, 3005 Bern; telephone [41] (31) 437-011;
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: $126 billion, per capita $18,700; real growth rate 2.6% (1990)