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40 Cool Facts About Switzerland

When one thinks of Switzerland, the first thing that comes to mind is picturesque landscapes and pristine snow-capped mountains. The lovely country is surrounded by the Jura Mountains, the Swiss plateau, and the Alps. Its natural beauty, with sparkling blue lakes, emerald valleys, and glaciers, draws thousands of tourists every year. The country’s location distinguishes the diversity of Swiss culture at the crossroads of several outstanding European cultures. Switzerland is also a multilingual country, with German, French, Italian, and Romansh as national languages. Furthermore, there are numerous dialects spoken in each region.

  1. The country is landlocked and shares borders with five countries. France to the west, Austria and Liechtenstein to the east, Germany to the north, and Italy to the south.
  2. The Official long-form name of Switzerland in Italian its Confederazione Svizzera; in French, it is ConfĂ©dĂ©ration Suisse; in German, it’s Schweizerische Eidgenossenschaft; in Romansh, it is pronounced as Confederaziun Svizra.
  3. Switzerland is the most mountainous country in entire European continent.
  4. Aletsch Glacier of Switzerland is the longest glacier on the European continent, stretching over 23 kilometers and measuring 1.5 kilometers wide on average and is 900 meters in breadth at its thickest point.
  5. The highest mountain in the country is Monte Rosa that has an elevation of 4,634 meters (15203.4 ft).
  6. The country is one of the best countries to live in as it ranks on the 7th rank in the quality of life ranking.
  7. According to the rules in Switzerland, people are fined for over speeding according to their income.
  8. The country currently holds the world record for the biggest fine for speeding. The penalty was imposed on a Swedish motorist in 2010 who was caught driving at the speed of 290km/h. He was fined 3,600 Swiss francs per day for 300 days which is around 1,080,000 Swiss francs ($1,091,340) in total.
  9. It is illegal to keep just one guinea pig as these are social animals and needs a companion of their own species. So it is counted as animal abuse and must not be kept single.
  10. Switzerland has the 7th highest gold reserve on the planet with about 1040 tonnes of gold.
  11. In Switzerland, if a person fails the practical driving test three times, he/she have to visit an official psychologist to assess the reasons for the failure before allowing to retake the driving test.
  12. Switzerland is the third biggest producer of chocolate on the globe, just after the United States and Germany. Every year the swiss produces about 180,000 tons of chocolate, out of which 39% is sold in the country itself, and the rest is being sold abroad.
  13. The largest consumer of chocolate on the planet are the swiss, with averaging consumption of 10.5 kilos of chocolate per capita per year.
  14. The Swiss people are the best at recycling on the entire planet, with a whopping percentage of 52 percent, which is double that of the united states. The second country on the list is Austria, with 49.7 percent of the recycling rate.
  15. There are only two countries in the world that have a square flag one is the Vatican city, and the second is Switzerland.
  16. There are about 7000 lakes in the country, although many out of this number are small water bodies, and only 103 lakes are stretched over 30 hectares of land.
  17. The biggest lake in the country is lake geneva which is covered in an area of 580 Km2.
  18. Some significant inventions took place in swiss land, some of which are the smallest toolbox( swiss knife), the first wristwatch, LCD screen, electric guitar, the famous equation E=MC2 of Albert einstein, the world wide web, direct democracy, the Cellophane sheet, red cross, and the aluminum foil.
  19. Some big watch brands are swiss; some of them are Rolex, Tissot, Rado, swatch, tag huer, and omega.
  20. Some other big brands which originated on the Swiss soil are Nescafe, Nestle, UBS, Zurich, Schindler, Breitling, Longines, and Logitech.
  21. The life expectancy of Swiss men is the highest on the globe, with 81.3 years. While the Swiss women come 6th in the world with a projected life expectancy of 85.3 years.
  22. The country achieves the no one spot in terms of the lowest crime rate, making it one of the safest nations on the globe to live in.
  23. Switzerland has built enough bunkers to fit their entire population in those if a nuclear war starts.
  24. The Swiss passport is one of the strongest passports in the world, with access to over 185 countries as visas on arrival.
  25. If you want to have Switzerland citizenship, then you must have to live there for at least 12 years.
  26. The country is the 2nd most complex economy on the planet according to Economic Complexity Index (ECI).
  27. The top 5 exports of Switzerland in the year 2018 was Gold ($63.8 Billion), Packaged Medicaments ($44.1 Billion), Blood, antisera, vaccines, toxins, and cultures ($28 Billion), Base Metal Watches ($13.7 Billion), and Jewelry ($11.1 Billion).
  28. While the top 5 imports of the nation were Gold ($64.9 Billion), Packaged Medicaments ($19 Billion), Jewelry ($15.9 Billion), Cars ($10.3 Billion), and Blood, antisera, vaccines, toxins, and cultures ($9.9 Billion).
  29. If you want to own a dog in Switzerland, you must register it with the local commune and pay an annual ownership tax. However, most tax is reduced or waived off.
  30. There are now more than 2.1 million foreigners living in the country, comprising 24.9% of the total population of Switzerland.
  31. The nation is the least obese country in Europe, with obesity rates of 19.5%.
  32. Switzerland is the most expensive country on the planet. Whereas Zurich, the capital city and also known as global financial and banking hub, is the most expensive city on planet earth.
  33. It is the 10th most richest country in the world and has one of the lowest rates of unemployment and poverty.
  34. There are naming laws in the country, which means you have to approve your child’s name from the local authorities.
  35. Jungfraujoch is the highest railway station in Europe, with an elevation of 3,463 (11361 ft).
  36. The steps that run alongside the Niesen mountain railway in Switzerland are officially the longest stairway on the planet. The stairway consists of 11,674 steps, and it is possible to hike only one day a year during the Niesen Run.
  37. The high Grande Dixence Dam is the world’s tallest gravity dam and was completed the construction work in the year 1965. It is 200 meters thick at the base, 695 meters long, and 285 meters high. Over Six million cubic meters of concrete was used for the construction of the dam.
  38. Switzerland comes on the 7th spot in terms of Nobel laureates by country. The country has won 28 Nobel prizes.
  39. The country is the 9th most well-paid country with a GDP per capita of 72,390 PPP dollars.
  40. Lauterbrunnen is a village in the country with an elevation of 802 meters. It has over 72 beautiful waterfalls because of which its been nicknamed as the Land of 72 Waterfalls.

  • CAPITAL CITY: Bern
  • POPULATION: 85.7 lakhs
  • POPULATION RANK: 132nd
  • LARGEST CITY: Zurich
  • OFFICIAL LANGUAGES: German, French, Romansh and Italian
  • GDP NOMINAL: $704 billion
  • GDP RANK: 20th
  • CURRENCY: Swiss franc
  • FOUNDED: 12 September 1848
  • TOTAL AREA: 41,285 km2
  • AREA RANK: 132nd worldwide
  • CONTINENT: Europe
  • AVERAGE LIFE EXPECTANCY: 83.60 years
  • ARMY STRENGTH: 140,304
  • ARMY RANK: 30th
  • LITERACY RATE: 99 %
  • PER CAPITA INCOME: 72,390 PPP dollars (2019)

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