conventional long form: Swiss Confederation
conventional short form: Switzerland
local long form: Schweizerische Eidgenossenschaft (German); Confederation Suisse (French); Confederazione Svizzera (Italian)
local short form: Schweiz (German); Suisse (French); Svizzera (Italian)
41,290 km²
Bern
Swiss franc (CHF)
41
.ch
German, French, Italian, Serbo-Croatian, Albanian, Portuguese, Spanish, English, Romansch, French, Italian, Romansch are all national languages, but only the first three are official languages
Roman Catholic, Protestant, Muslim, Orthodox, other Christian
7,554,661
formally a confederation but similar in structure to a federal republic
red square with a bold, equilateral white cross in the center that does not extend to the edges of the flag
The Swiss Confederation was founded in 1291 as a defensive alliance among three cantons. In succeeding years, other localities joined the original three. The Swiss Confederation secured its independence from the Holy Roman Empire in 1499. Switzerland's sovereignty and neutrality have long been honored by the major European powers, and the country was not involved in either of the two World Wars. The political and economic integration of Europe over the past half century, as well as Switzerland's role in many UN and international organizations, has strengthened Switzerland's ties with its neighbors. However, the country did not officially become a UN member until 2002. Switzerland remains active in many UN and international organizations but retains a strong commitment to neutrality.
temperate, but varies with altitude; cold, cloudy, rainy/snowy winters; cool to warm, cloudy, humid summers with occasional showers
