Switzerland at a Glance

• Population: approx. 7.5 million


• Capital city: Bern, approx. 127,188 inhabitants


• Language: German 63,7%, French 20,4%, Italian 6,4%, Rhaeto-Romanic 0,5%


• Religions: Roman Catholics 41,8%, Protestants 35,3%, Muslims 4.3%, Orthodox Christians, 1,8% Other Christians 0,4%, Hindus 0,4%, Buddhists 0,3%, Jews 0,2 %, Undenominational 11,1%


• Form of government: Democratic and Republican Federal State

Economy

Economic relations between Switzerland and Germany are close. Germany is Switzerland's most important trading partner by far: in 2005, 33% of all Swiss imports came from Germany and 21% of Switzerland’s total exports went to Germany. The two countries are each other’s most important investment partners. German investment in Switzerland totals EUR 17 billion. There are nearly 1,800 German companies operating in Switzerland. Conversely, Switzerland is the sixth-largest foreign investor in Germany, with some 1,800 companies, 240,000 workers and a total investment portfolio of EUR 21 billion.

Culture and Science

Cultural ties are intensive and diverse because the German language and culture pervades large parts of Switzerland. Every year Germans take part in a host of events in all areas of literature, art and music. Some well-known museums and theatres in Switzerland have German directors. About a third of professors at Swiss universities are foreigners. By far the largest share of this group (about two-thirds) are German professors working in the German-speaking parts of Switzerland. All in all, there are 500 German professors at Swiss universities and a further 650 assistant professors. In the academic year 2003/2004 a total of 5,329 students from Germany studied at Swiss universities.The media landscape in Switzerland is very varied, considering the population and the size of the country. The German media have a large audience in Switzerland, particularly the public and private television stations, which attain fairly high viewing figures. German publications are available throughout the country. There is steady and detailed coverage of German developments in politics, society and culture in the Swiss media.

Links

www.botschaft-schweiz.de (Official representation of Switzerland in Germany)
www.bern.diplo.de (German Embasyy in Switzerland)
www.handelskammer-d-ch.ch (German-Swiss Chamber of Commerce)
www.vsud.ch (Vereinigung Schweizerischer Unternehmen in Deutschland)