Switzerland

Switzerland (German: die Schweiz) officially the Swiss Confederation is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe, where it is bordered by Germany to the north, France to the west, Italy to the south and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east.

Switzerland is a landlocked country geographically divided between the Alps, the  Central Plateau and the Jura, spanning an area of 41,285km2 (15,940 sq mi). While the Alps occupy the greater part of the territory, the Swiss population of approximately 7.8 million people concentrates mostly on the Plateau, where the largest cities are to be found. Among them are the two global cities and economic centers of Zurich and Geneva.

Switzerland is one of the richest countries in the world by per capita gross domestic product, with a nominal per capita GDP of $69,838. Zurich and Geneva have respectively been ranked as the cities with the second and third highest quality of life in the world. In 2010 the World Economic Forum ranked Switzerland as the most competitive country in the world, while ranked by the European Union as Europe’s most innovative country by far.

Switzerland comprises three main linguistic and cultural regions: German, French and Italian, to which the Romansh speaking valleys are added. The Swiss therefore do not form a nation in the sense of a common ethnic or linguistic identity. The strong sense of belonging to the country is founded to the common historical background, shared values and Alpine symbolism. Switzerland has four official languages: German (63,7% total) in the north, east and center of the country; French (20,4%) to the west; Italian (6,5%) in the south Romansh (0,5%) .

The Swiss climate is generally temperate, but can vary greatly between the localities, from glacial conditions on the mountaintops to often pleasant near Mediterranean climate at Switzerland’s southern tip. Summer tend to be warm and humid at times with periodic rainfall so they are ideal for pastures and grazing. The less humid winters in the mountains may see long intervals of stable conditions for week, while low lands tend to suffer from inversion, during this periods, thus seeing no sun for weeks.

Swiss citizens are required to buy universal health insurance from private insurance companies, which in turn are required to accept every applicant. The system permits access to a broad range of modern medical services. The healthcare system compares well with other European countries and patients are largely satisfied with it. In 2006 life expectancy at birth was 79 years for mean and 84 for women. It is among the highest in the world.