In kindergarten or pre-school, there were 152,919 students (48.6% female). Though 61% of the population made less than the average income, income inequality is relatively low with a Gini coefficient of 29.7, placing Switzerland among the top 20 countries for income equality. Swiss wine is produced mainly in Valais, Vaud (Lavaux), Geneva and Ticino, with a small majority of white wines. Switzerland Space Agency, the Swiss Space Office, has been involved in various space technologies and programmes. [118], Switzerland is home to several large multinational corporations. Bern is a placid city whose name derives from the bear pits the canton’s medieval rulers established there as a heraldic symbol; the bear pits are now part of the city’s popular zoo. Switzerland's ecosystems can be particularly fragile, because the many delicate valleys separated by high mountains often form unique ecologies. [33], During the 2008/09 school year there were 1,502,257 students in the entire Swiss educational system. This constitution provided for a central authority while leaving the cantons the right to self-government on local issues. 90 years. [28] From the same 2016 survey, of 15 to 24 year olds 65.4% were Christian (36.3% Roman Catholic, 22.6% Reformed, 6.6% other), 23.0% unaffiliated, 0.3% Jewish, 8.3% Muslim, 1.7% other religions. [33][34], During the Early Modern period of Swiss history, the growing authoritarianism of the patriciate families combined with a financial crisis in the wake of the Thirty Years' War led to the Swiss peasant war of 1653. There are three main governing bodies on the federal level:[69] the bicameral parliament (legislative), the Federal Council (executive) and the Federal Court (judicial). While the cost of the system is among the highest, it compares well with other European countries in terms of health outcomes; patients have been reported as being, in general, highly satisfied with it. Both are located within the Pennine Alps in the canton of Valais, on the border with Italy. La Gruyère district, Fribourg canton, Switzerland. Chart and table of Switzerland population from 1950 to 2020. [41] This centralised the government of the country, effectively abolishing the cantons: moreover, Mülhausen joined France and the Valtellina valley became part of the Cisalpine Republic, separating from Switzerland. Central Switzerland, the Valais, the Ticino, Appenzell Innerrhodes, the Jura, and Fribourg are traditionally Catholic. The largest Swiss companies by revenue are Glencore, Gunvor, Nestlé, Novartis, Hoffmann-La Roche, ABB, Mercuria Energy Group and Adecco. They were taught by 37,546 teachers (32.8% female) in 367 schools. [200][201][202] In 2012, life expectancy at birth was 80.4 years for men and 84.7 years for women[203] — the highest in the world. [159], On 9 February 2014, Swiss voters narrowly approved by 50.3% a ballot initiative launched by the national conservative Swiss People's Party (SVP/UDC) to restrict immigration, and thus reintroducing a quota system on the influx of foreigners. The Federal Charter of 1291 agreed between the rural communes of Uri, Schwyz, and Unterwalden is considered the confederacy's founding document, even though similar alliances are likely to have existed decades earlier.[40][41]. In contrast, in 2016, they used 4.6 global hectares of biocapacity - their ecological footprint of consumption. Members of both houses serve for 4 years and only serve as members of parliament part-time (so-called Milizsystem or citizen legislature). It is the seventeenth largest exporter.

", "Switzerland and Gold Transactions in the Second World War", Tragende und unterstützende Organisationen, "Zwei Drittel der Rekruten diensttauglich (Schweiz, NZZ Online)", "Edwin Reischauer, Diplomat and Scholar, Dies at 79,", "Switzerland will Not Sign Treaty Banning Nuclear Bombs (for Now)", Volksinitiative 'für eine glaubwürdige Sicherheitspolitik und eine Schweiz ohne Armee (in German), "SR 514.101 Verordnung des VBS über die persönliche Ausrüstung der Armeeangehörigen (VPAA-VBS) vom 9. The name Switzer is from the Alemannic Schwiizer, in origin an inhabitant of Schwyz and its associated territory, one of the Waldstätte cantons which formed the nucleus of the Old Swiss Confederacy. [92][93] A similar referendum, called for before, but held shortly after the 11 September attacks in the US, was defeated by over 78% of voters. In 2007 the population grew at a much higher 1.1% rate, again mostly due to immigration. Thus as of today, no city in Switzerland has the official status either of capital or of Federal City, nevertheless Berne is commonly referred to as "Federal City" (German: Bundesstadt, French: ville fédérale, Italian: città federale).