Just arrived in Switzerland? Below you will find all you need to know about Switzerland in a nutshell. If there is something you want to add to the list, please contact us.

•  Switzerland’s climate is ideal, with no excessive heat, cold or humidity.

• Switzerland is also known as "Confoederatio Helvetica", which explains the abbreviation “CH”.
  

• The Swiss currency is not the euro, but the Swiss franc (Sfr)

• Switzerland has one of the lowest crime rates of all industrialised countries

• Switzerland has a population of about 7.4 million.

• Foreigners account for 20% of the population

• The number of elderly people is increasing: Switzerland has more centenarians per head of population than any other country in Europe

• Many older people live alone or in retirement homes

• Switzerland lags behind most Western European countries in many aspects of sex equality

• There are large differences between men and women in the labour market.

• Far more women than men work part time. In 2006 nearly 58% of working women were employed part time, while the figure for men was just over 11%.

• Women did not gain the vote at federal level until 1971, and they are still underrepresented in political life.

• Women put a lot of emphasis on their careers, and Swiss women are among the oldest in Europe when they have their first child

• The majority of couples have one to two children at most

• In the last years, the marriage rate has slowly increased, and so have divorce rates

• Men are generally the breadwinners while women are housewives

• Living space per person is generous: the 2000 census showed the average figure to be 44 m2 (474 sq. ft.).

• Tobacco consumption is widespread. However, it is in decline due to an awareness of health risks and rising prices

• Switzerland has amongst the highest rates of cannabis use in the world, along with the United Kingdom and the United States

• The most popular alcoholic drink in Switzerland is wine

• Switzerland has four national languages including French, German, Italian and Romansch. The latter has Latin roots

• English speaking foreigners will be pleased to know that proficiency in the national languages is decreasing in favour of English

• Membership of Christian churches has shrunk in recent years. In a wideranging poll of Swiss attitudes taken in 2000, only 16% of Swiss people said religion was "very important" to them

• Switzerland’s third biggest religious group is Islam

• Yodelling and alphorn are associated with music in Switzerland

• Switzerland was the birthplace of Le Corbusier, born Charles-Edouard Jeanneret, one of the most influentual architects of the 20th centruy

• Swiss is widely recognised as an international research centre, with the private and public sector strongly promoting science and technology

[Expatica, 2008]