Discover Switzerland

The famous cheese-with-the-holes

Most Swiss cheese doesn’t have holes. What abroad is commonly called “Swiss cheese” is in fact Emmental.
Vocational education and training

Two thirds of young people in Switzerland opt for job-oriented training, or an apprenticeship, after finishing their compulsory education.
Facts and figures of the month: the economy

Key facts and figures about the Swiss economy: GDP, sectoral breakdown, trading partners and products.

Swiss Specials

Topics

Society

The main driver of demographic growth in Switzerland over the last few decades has been migration.

The lying stone lion of the Lion Monument in Lucerne

History

Switzerland evolved over many centuries from a loose alliance of small self-governing towns and states to a fully-fledged federal state of 26 cantons.

Federal Square with the fountain in front of Federal Palace in Bern

Politics

Federalism and direct democracy reflect the great importance that the Swiss political system places on the freedom of choice and self-determination.

Discussion in a break room at the World Economic Forum

Economy

Switzerland has one of the most competitive economies in the world thanks above all to its highly developed service sector.

Rolex Learning Center of the EPF Lausanne

Science

Switzerland is not only one of the world’s most innovative research nations, but also one of the most competitive.

Students in the library of the University of Bern. — Scene from a library at the University of Bern. In Switzerland, students usually attend university between the ages of 19 and 24. © FDFA

Education

In Switzerland the 26 cantons are responsible for compulsory education.

The River Hinterrhein near Rothenbrunnen

Environment

Switzerland has three main geographic regions: the Alps covering around 60% of the country's total surface area, the Swiss Plateau (30%) and the Jura (10%).