Land use:
arable land: 10%
permanent crops: 1%
meadows and pastures: 40%
forest and woodland: 26%
other: 23%
Irrigated land: 250 sq km (1989)
Environment:
current issues: air pollution from vehicle emissions and open-air
burning; acid rain; water pollution from increased use of
agricultural fertilizers; loss of biodiversity
natural hazards: avalanches, landslides, flash floods
international agreements: party to - Air Pollution, Air
Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air
Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic Treaty,
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental
Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Marine Life
Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship
Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Wetlands, Whaling; signed, but not
ratified - Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Antarctic-Environmental
Protocol, Desertification, Law of the Sea, Tropical Timber 94
Geographic note: landlocked; crossroads of northern and southern
Europe; along with southeastern France and northern Italy, contains
the highest elevations in Europe
People ———
Population: 7,207,060 (July 1996 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 17% (male 638,728; female 610,546)
15-64 years: 68% (male 2,495,325; female 2,405,226)
65 years and over: 15% (male 424,394; female 632,841) (July 1996
est.)
Population growth rate: 0.59% (1996 est.)
Birth rate: 11.35 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Death rate: 9.64 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)