| Basic data | |
| Capital | Bern |
| Population | 8.74 million |
| Language | German, French, Italian, Romansh |
| Religion | mainly Christianity |
| State system | confederation |
| Head of State | Ignazio Cassis |
| Head of government | Switzerland does not know the prime minister, the government decides as a collective body |
| Currency name | Swiss Franc (CHF) |
| Travel | |
| Time shift | 0 hours |
| Economy | 2021 |
| Nominal GDP (billion USD) | 669 |
| Economic growth (%) | 3.6 |
| Inflation (%) | 0.6 |
| Unemployment (%) | 3 |
According to a2zdirectory, the Swiss Confederation, or Switzerland, gradually evolved from the original loose confederation of cantons into a federal state with parliamentary democracy, elements of direct democracy and some confederal features with developed municipal self-government. The principle of subsidiarity is widely applied in state and public administration.
The country consists of 26 self-governing cantons, which officially use 4 official languages (German, French, Italian and Romansh). The federal government and parliament are located in the capital, Bern. Executive power is in the hands of the seven-member federal government.
Switzerland ranks among the countries with the highest level of well-being in the world, as measured by both quality of life and GDP per capita (in 2021, it ranked 2nd globally). The country owes this mainly to a high-quality education system, flexible and well-regulated production and labor markets, a high level of investment in both human capital and science and research, an extensive financial sector and a high-performance and innovative export sector. Long-term stability, a high political culture and a sense of responsibility of citizens towards the whole also contribute to the successful development of the country.
Switzerland has also long been one of the countries with a low unemployment rate. In 2021, it was 3%, while it is starting to gradually decrease to the level before the coronavirus pandemic.
While in 2020 the coronavirus pandemic caused a drop in GDP by 2.5%, in 2021 its growth was a very solid 3.6%. In total, GDP growth is expected for 2022 by 3.0%, for 2023 by 1.9%. Inflation should fall to 0.6% on an annual average in 2023 (the same as in 2021 – unchanged forecast).
In the last hundred years, Switzerland has transformed from a predominantly agricultural country to a country with developed industry. Its most important economic sector is now services, especially in the business and financial sectors, as well as the production of fine mechanics and tourism, which, however, suffered significant losses during the pandemic. The industrial sector is dominated by chemical and pharmaceutical as well as engineering and metalworking industries.
According to the Global Innovation Index 2021, which compares 132 world economies, Switzerland has been one of the most innovative countries in the world for 11 years, investing over 3% of GDP in research and development every year. Even in comparison with EU countries, it has an above-average lead in all evaluated areas. In 2021, Switzerland also became the most competitive country in the world (for the first time since 1989).
The most significant sectoral opportunities for Czech exporters in Switzerland are offered by the following sectors: ICT, engineering industry, chemical industry, medical and pharmaceutical industry, agricultural and food industry.
The characteristic features of the Swiss partner’s actions are matter-of-factness, directness, even moderation, and reliability. The ability to communicate in one of the Swiss official languages is always an advantage, as it increases credibility in longer cooperation.
The official currency of Switzerland is the Swiss Franc (CHF). 1 CHF = 0.97 EUR, or USD 1.05 (Swiss National Bank exchange rate as of 4/22/2022)
Practical telephone numbers (emergency services, police, firemen, information lines, etc.)
112 – International emergency number
· 117 – Police
· 118 – Firefighters
· 140 – Car emergency service
· 143 – Crisis line
· 144 – Ambulance, ambulance
· 145 – First aid in case of poisoning, counseling
· 147 – Children’s helpline
· 163 – Road condition
· 187 – Avalanche bulletin
· 1414 – Air rescue service – REGA helicopter
· 1415 – Air rescue service – Air-Glacier special mountain plane
· 044 261 88 66 – Parents’ emergency line
· 044 211 22 22 – Rescue service for animals
. Legal help
Important web links and contacts
Embassy of the Swiss Confederation in the Czech Republic
Schweizerische Botschaft in der Tschechischen Republik
Pevnostní 7
CZ-162 01 Prague 6
Czech Republic
The entrance to the embassy is from Dělostřelecká street.
Phone: +420 220 400 611
E-mail: [email protected]
Website
Delegation of the EU in Switzerland and Liechtenstein
Delegation der EU für die Schweiz und das Fürstentum Liechtenstein
Christoffelgasse 6
CH-3011 Bern
Switzerland
Ambassador and Head of Delegation: Petros Mavromichalis
Telephone: +41 31 310 15 30
Email: [email protected]
Website
Basic information website of the Swiss administration (through this page you can access the pages of all ministries, their individual departments, directorates and related agencies and institutions)
Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Federal Ministry of the Interior (mainly deals with the health agenda)
Federal Ministry of Justice and Police
Federal Ministry of Defense, population protection and sport
Federal Ministry of Finance
Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs, Education and Research
Federal Ministry for the Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications
Federal Tax Office
Cantonal composition of Switzerland
Federal Customs Office
State Secretariat for Migration Issues (Deals, among other things, with the conditions for issuing work permits and sending foreign workers)
State Secretariat for the Economy
Chamber of Commerce Switzerland – Czech Republic
Swissfairs Messekalender Schweiz (Information on trade fairs)
Swissmem, the union of employers in the engineering, electrical and metalworking industries, where 325 thousand employees are employed.
economiesuisse (Central Confederation of Swiss Enterprises)
KMU Portal für kleine und mittlere Unternehmen (Portal of small and medium-sized enterprises). It contains, among other things, information on the conditions for establishing companies in Switzerland by foreign nationals.
Switzerland Global Enterprise(Swiss export promotion headquarters)
Bank UBS (Union Bank of Switzerland (The largest Swiss bank. UBS publishes a number of publications that are the result of the work of the bank’s analytical departments)
Schweizerische Nationalbank (Swiss National Bank. As an independent central bank, it manages the country’s monetary policy)
Agency Switzerland Tourism (Website with practical tourist information)
Touring Club Schweiz (Website of the TCS Swiss Motor Club, where specific information for drivers and not only drivers can be found)
Vereinigung der Strassenverkehrsämter Schweiz (Association of Traffic Inspectorates of Switzerland. Addresses of Traffic Inspectorates of Switzerland)
Map.search.ch(Portal for searching any place – city, district, street – on the map of Switzerland)
Tel.search.ch (Portal for searching phone numbers in Switzerland)
Neue Zürcher Zeitung (Electronic version of the newspaper Neue Zürcher Zeitung. News, reports and comments from the political and of the economic life of Switzerland – paid website)
Der Bund (Electronic version of the newspaper Der Bund – paid website)
Handelszeitung (Overview of specialist Swiss economic publications)
Schweizerische Bundesbahnen SBB (Information about federal railways including timetables)
BERNMOBIL (Information about public transport in Bern and surroundings + timetable)
Bundesamt für Meteorologie und Klimatologie Meteo Schweiz (Federal Office for Meteorology and Climatology. Information on the current weather throughout Switzerland)
