About Switzerland

Switzerland is a landlocked mountainous country in southern Western Europe. It borders Austria, France, Germany, Italy, and Liechtenstein.

With an area of 41,285 km², the country is just slightly smaller than the Netherlands or almost twice the size of the US state of New Jersey.

Switzerland has a population of 8.6 million people (in 2019), the capital (Bundesstadt) is Bern; the largest city is Zürich. Spoken languages are German, French, Italian and Rumantsch.

More about Switzerland


The landscape
The landscape of Switzerland is diverse and resulted from tectonic processes, in particular the collision of the African plate with the Eurasian plate. This process, also called alpine mountain building or alpine orogeny, formed the country's three major geographic regions, the towering Swiss Alps, the partly flat but mostly hilly Central Plateau, and the Swiss Jura, a low mountain range in the northwest.


Mountains
Switzerland is known for its picturesque landscapes. The country has about 1,500 lakes and nearly 50 mountain peaks that are 4,000 meters high or higher.

The Dufourspitze (4,634 m (15,203 ft)), a peak of the Monte Rosa massif, is the highest mountain peak of Switzerland and the Pennine Alps.

The country's highest peaks are all in the Pennine Alps, a mountain range in the canton Valais.
In addition to several peaks of Monte Rosa mountain there are the Dom (4,545 m), the Lyskamm (4,533 m), Weisshorn (4,506 m), the Matterhorn (4,478 m), and Dent Blanche (4,357 m).

The most prominent mountains in the country are the Finsteraarhorn and the Piz Bernina; both mountains rise more than 2 km above the surrounding landscape.


Rivers and Lakes
Switzerland's major rivers are the Rhine [Rhein], Aare, Inn, Rhône, Reuss and Ticino.

Major lakes are Lake Constance (Bodensee; shared with Germany and Austria), Lake Geneva (Lac Léman; shared with France), Lake Neuchâtel, Lake Maggiore (Lago Maggiore), Lake Lucerne (Vierwaldstättersee)


Climate
Switzerland is located in a temperate climate zone that changes dramatically with altitude. South of the Alps, the weather quickly becomes Mediterranean. The climate is also milder near the great lakes, Lake Geneva and Lake Constance.


Switzerland's natural resources.
Switzerland has only limited natural resources. The most important are hydropower, wood and salt, the only raw material that is mined.
Almost 40% of the country is agricultural land, used for agricultural production and as pasture. Due to geological conditions, large-scale cultivation of monocultures is difficult.

Switzerland Environmental Issues.
Switzerland's top three environmental problems are water pollution, air pollution and soil degradation. With only 40 cubic kilometers of renewable water for the entire nation, water pollution is one of the top priorities of the Swiss Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN).

Switzerland Natural Hazards.
Switzerland is frequently affected by floods, debris flows, landslides, falling processes (rockfall and rock avalanches), avalanches and storms.