Here, let us take a look at the Geography of Switzerland. Landlocked; crossroads of northern and southern Europe; along with southeastern France, northern Italy, and southwestern Austria, has the highest elevations in the Alps. Mother's mean age at first birth is 31.1 years (2020 est.) (), whereas, the Maternal mortality ratio is 7 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)
Location | Central Europe, east of France, north of Italy |
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Geographic coordinates | 47 00 N, 8 00 E |
Map references | Europe |
Tarrain | 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 |
Natural Hazards | avalanches, landslides; flash floods |
Irrigated Land | 327 sq km (2016) |
Major rivers (by length in km) | Rhein (Rhine) river source (shared with Germany, France, and Netherlands [m]) - 1,233 km note – [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth |
Major aquifers | |
Land Boundaries | 1,770 km |
Border Countries | Austria 158 km; France 525 km; Italy 698 km; Liechtenstein 41 km; Germany 348 km |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) |
Climate | temperate, but varies with altitude; cold, cloudy, rainy/snowy winters; cool to warm, cloudy, humid summers with occasional showers |
Area | |
Total Area | |
Land Area | 39,997 sq km |
Water Area | 1,280 sq km |
comparative Area | slightly less than twice the size of New Jersey |
Maritime Claims | |
Elevations | |
Highest point | Dufourspitze 4,634 m |
Lowest point | Lake Maggiore 195 m |
Mean elevation | 1,350 m |
Land Use | |
Agricultural land | 38.7% (2018 est.) |
Agricultural land: arable land | arable land: 10.2% (2018 est.) |
Agricultural land: permanent crops | permanent crops: 0.6% (2018 est.) |
Agricultural land: permanent pasture | permanent pasture: 27.9% (2018 est.) |
Forest | 31.5% (2018 est.) |
Other | 29.8% (2018 est.) |
Population distribution corresponds to elevation with the northern and western areas far more heavily populated; the higher Alps of the south limit settlement
In Switzerland, the different Ethnic groups are such that we have: Swiss 69.2%, German 4.2%, Italian 3.2%, Portuguese 2.5%, French 2.1%, Kosovan 1.1%, Turkish 1%, other 16.7% (2020 est.)
Population | |
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Pop growth rate | 0.75% (2024 est.) |
Birth rate | 10.1 births/1,000 population (2024 est.) |
Death rate | 8.5 deaths/1,000 population (2024 est.) |
Health expenditure | 11.8% of GDP (2020) |
Physicians Density | |
Hospital bed Density | 4.6 beds/1,000 population (2018) |
Total fertility rate | 1.59 children born/woman (2024 est.) |
Gross reproduction rate | 0.77 (2024 est.) |
Contraceptive prevalence rate | 71.6% (2017) |
Est married women (ages 15-49) | 57.5% (2023 est.) |
Literacy | |
Education expenditures | 5.2% of GDP (2020 est.) |
Net Migration rate | 5.9 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2024 est.) |
Nationality | Swiss | Swiss (singular and plural) |
Languages | |
Religions | Roman Catholic 34.4%, Protestant 22.5%, other Christian 5.7%, Muslim 5.4%, other 1.5%, none 29.4%, unspecified 1.1% (2020 est.) |
Age Structure | |
0-14 years | 15.1% (male 685,221/female 650,802) |
15-64 years | 64.6% (male 2,887,767/female 2,834,842) |
65 years and over | 20.3% (2024 est.) (male 830,117/female 971,825) |
Dependency Ratios | |
Total dependency ratio | 51.6 |
Youth dependency ratio | 22.8 |
Elderly dependency ratio | 28.7 |
Potential support ratio | 3.5 (2021 est.) |
Median Age | |
Total | 44.2 years (2024 est.) |
Male | 43.5 years |
Female | 44.9 years |
Urbanization | |
Urban population | 74.2% of total population (2023) |
Rate of urbanization | 0.79% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.) |
Major urban areas (Pop) | 1.432 million Zurich, 441,000 BERN (capital) (2023). |
Sex Ratio | |
At birth | 1.05 male(s)/female |
0-14 years | 1.05 male(s)/female |
15-64 years | 1.02 male(s)/female |
65 years and over | 0.85 male(s)/female |
Total population | 0.99 male(s)/female (2024 est.) |
Infant Motality | |
Total | 3 deaths/1,000 live births (2024 est.) |
Male | 3.4 deaths/1,000 live births |
Female | 2.5 deaths/1,000 live births |
Life Expectancy at birth | |
Total population | 83.9 years (2024 est.) |
Male | 82 years |
Female | 85.8 years |
Drinking Water Sources | |
Improved: urban | urban: 100% of population |
Improved: rural | rural: 100% of population |
Improved: total | total: 100% of population |
Unimproved: urban | urban: 0% of population |
Unimproved: rural | rural: 0% of population |
Unimproved: total | total: 0% of population (2020 est.) |
Sanitation facility acess | |
Improved: urban | urban: 100% of population |
Improved: rural | rural: 100% of population |
Improved: total | total: 100% of population |
Unimproved: urban | urban: 0% of population |
Unimproved: rural | rural: 0% of population |
Unimproved: total | total: 0% of population (2020 est.) |
Alcohol consumption per capita | |
Total | 9.41 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.) |
Beer | 3.17 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.) |
Wine | 4.35 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.) |
Spirits | 1.76 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.) |
Other alcohols | 0.12 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.) |
Tobacco use | |
Total | 25.5% (2020 est.) |
Male | 28.1% (2020 est.) |
Female | 22.9% (2020 est.) |
Want to know more about Switzerland? Check all different factbooks for Switzerland below.