:Sweden Defense Forces
Branches:
Swedish Army, Swedish Navy, Swedish Air Force
Manpower availability:
males 15-49, 2,129,996; 1,858,944 fit for military service; 57,492 reach
military age (19) annually
Defense expenditures:
exchange rate conversion - $6.2 billion, about 4% of GDP (FY91)
:Switzerland Geography
Total area:
41,290 km2
Land area:
39,770 km2
Comparative area:
slightly more than twice the size of New Jersey
Land boundaries:
1,852 km total; Austria 164 km, France 573 km, Italy 740 km, Liechtenstein
41 km, Germany 334 km
Coastline:
none - landlocked
Maritime claims:
none - landlocked
Disputes:
none
Climate:
temperate, but varies with altitude; cold, cloudy, rainy/snowy winters; cool
to warm, cloudy, humid summers with occasional showers
Terrain:
mostly mountains (Alps in south, Jura in northwest) with a central plateau
of rolling hills, plains, and large lakes
Natural resources:
hydropower potential, timber, salt
Land use:
arable land 10%; permanent crops 1%; meadows and pastures 40%; forest and
woodland 26%; other 23%; includes irrigated 1%
Environment:
dominated by Alps
Note:
landlocked; crossroads of northern and southern Europe
:Switzerland People
Population:
6,828,023 (July 1992), growth rate 0.6% (1992)
Birth rate:
12 births/1,000 population (1992)
Death rate:
9 deaths/1,000 population (1992)
Net migration rate:
3 migrants/1,000 population (1992)
Infant mortality rate:
6 deaths/1,000 live births (1992)
Life expectancy at birth:
76 years male, 83 years female (1992)
Total fertility rate:
1.6 children born/woman (1992)
Nationality:
noun - Swiss (singular and plural); adjective - Swiss
Ethnic divisions:
total population - German 65%, French 18%, Italian 10%, Romansch 1%, other
6%; Swiss nationals - German 74%, French 20%, Italian 4%, Romansch 1%, other
1%
Religions:
Roman Catholic 47.6%, Protestant 44.3%, other 8.1% (1980)
Languages:
total population - German 65%, French 18%, Italian 12%, Romansch 1%, other
4%; Swiss nationals - German 74%, French 20%, Italian 4%, Romansch 1%, other
1%
Literacy:
99% (male NA%, female NA%) age 15 and over can read and write (1980 est.)
Labor force:
3,310,000; 904,095 foreign workers, mostly Italian; services 50%, industry
and crafts 33%, government 10%, agriculture and forestry 6%, other 1% (1989)
Organized labor:
20% of labor force
:Switzerland Government
Long-form name:
Swiss Confederation
Type:
federal republic
Capital:
Bern
Administrative divisions:
26 cantons (cantons, singular - canton in French; cantoni, singular -
cantone in Italian; kantone, singular - kanton in German); Aargau,
Ausser-Rhoden, Basel-Landschaft, Basel-Stadt, Bern, Fribourg, Geneve,
Glarus, Graubunden, Inner-Rhoden, Jura, Luzern, Neuchatel, Nidwalden,
Obwalden, Sankt Gallen, Schaffhausen, Schwyz, Solothurn, Thurgau, Ticino,
Uri, Valais, Vaud, Zug, Zurich
Independence:
1 August 1291
Constitution:
29 May 1874
Legal system:
civil law system influenced by customary law; judicial review of legislative
acts, except with respect to federal decrees of general obligatory
character; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
National holiday:
Anniversary of the Founding of the Swiss Confederation, 1 August (1291)
Executive branch:
president, vice president, Federal Council (German - Bundesrat, French -
Conseil Federal, Italian - Consiglio Federale)
Legislative branch:
bicameral Federal Assembly (German - Bundesversammlung, French - Assemblee
Federale, Italian - Assemblea Federale) consists of an upper council or
Council of States (German - Standerat, French - Conseil des Etats, Italian -
Consiglio degli Stati) and a lower council or National Council (German -
Nationalrat, French - Conseil National, Italian - Consiglio Nazionale)
Judicial branch:
Federal Supreme Court
Leaders:
Chief of State and Head of Government:
President Rene FELBER (1992 calendar year; presidency rotates annually);
Vice President Adolf OGI (term runs concurrently with that of president)
Political parties and leaders:
Free Democratic Party (FDP), Bruno HUNZIKER, president; Social Democratic
Party (SPS), Helmut HUBACHER, chairman; Christian Democratic People's Party
(CVP), Eva SEGMULLER-WEBER, chairman; Swiss People's Party (SVP), Hans
UHLMANN, president; Green Party (GPS), Peter SCHMID, president; Automobile
Party (AP), DREYER; Alliance of Independents' Party (LdU), Dr. Franz JAEGER,
president; Swiss Democratic Party (SD), NA; Evangelical People's Party
(EVP), Max DUNKI, president; Workers' Party (PdA; Communist), Jean
SPIELMANN, general secretary; Ticino League, leader NA Liberal Party (LPS),
Gilbert COUTAU, president
Suffrage:
universal at age 18
Elections:
Council of States:
last held throughout 1991 (next to be held NA 1995); results - percent of
vote by party NA; seats - (46 total) FDP 18, CVP 16, SVP 4, SPS 3, LPS 3,
LdU 1, Ticino League 1
:Switzerland Government
National Council:
last held 20 October 1991 (next to be held NA October 1995); results -
percent of vote by party NA; seats - (200 total) FDP 44, SPS 42, CVP 37, SVP
25, GPS 14, LPS 10, AP 8, LdU 6, SD 5, EVP 3, PdA 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,
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; FAX [41] (31) 437-344; 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