» Geography – The Country
It is often said that Switzerland lies at the heart of Europe; geographically speaking, that's not quite true, however, the main route linking northern and southern Europe does run through the Alps; Switzerland borders Germany in the north, Austria and the Principality of Liechtenstein in the east, Italy in the south and France in the west
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» History
Switzerland's history cannot be understood without considering its geography, which has had a considerable impact on determining the development of its way of life; the country that we know today took its final shape only in 1848, before that time, we cannot really speak of "Swiss history," but rather the history of its various parts, which only gradually came together
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» People and Culture
Switzerland is in the highly unusual situation of being the home of three of Europe's major languages, but apart from Rumanstch - spoken by only 0,5% of the population - it has no language of its own, whichever language group they belong to, the different Swiss communities have linguistic and cultural ties with one of their larger neighbours
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» Constitution and Government
Switzerland is a nation shaped by the resolve of its citizens: it is not an ethnic, linguistic or religious entity; since 1848, it has been a federal state - one of 23 in the world and the second oldest after the United States of America; the Federal Constitution is the legal foundation of the Confederation
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» Economy
Most businesses are small or medium-sized; in 1998, 99,7% of enterprises had fewer than 250 full-time workers, employing nearly 70% of the total work force, the largest company is Nestlé, the biggest food company in the world; at the end of 2002 it had 254,200 employees, more than 97% of them outside Switzerland
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» Taxation
The Swiss tax system is strongly influenced by the federal structure of the country, emphasis is on direct taxes bu by European standards, the tax burden in Switzerland is moderate, both for companies and individuals, the Value Added Tax (VAT) and custom duties are also moderate
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» Investment Incentives
Switzerland continues to be one of the most attractive locations for foreign direct investment; independent studies, including those by the Economist Intelligence Unit, Ernst & Young’s Investment Monitor, and IMD’s World Competitiveness Yearbook, give the country consistently high marks on the criteria most important to decision-makers when selecting a business site
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» Trading & Investment Opportunities
Switzerland has virtually no mineral resources and a restricted surface area, it depends for its wealth on foreign trade and the relatively small size of its domestic market - a total population of just over 7,000,000 - is another factor which has encouraged Swiss manufacturers to look abroad: they need foreign markets in order to make investment in research and development worthwhile
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» Swiss Banking
Apart from numerous other qualities, the Swiss banking system is noted for its variety and the Swiss banking system is based on the concept of universal banking, whereby all banks can offer all banking services, nevertheless, it has seen the development of different bank groups that have come to specialize in certain areas
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» Swiss Watches
Watches, clocks and alarm clocks manufactured in Switzerland bear the designation "Swiss made" (or its abbreviation "Swiss") as well as the logo of the producer or distributor; this label ("place of origin" in legal terms) enjoys a solid reputation throughout the world
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