SWITZERLANDEconomic Perfomance Review

HISTORY OF

SWITZERLAND

MODERN SWITZERLANDIn the late 19TH century the swiss economy developed

rapidly. Tourism to switzerland grew. Switzerland

was also known for its chemicals industry, its

precision engineering and food like chocolate and

powdered milk

During the first world war switzerland remained

neutral although many german speaking swiss

supported germany while many french speaking swiss

supported the allies.

Then in november 1918 a general strike was held in

switzerland. The swiss army was sent to break the

strike yet the workers did eventually did win their

demands. Proportional representation and a 48 hour

working week were introduced.in 1920 switzerland

joined the league of nations and the 1920s were

years of prosperity for nation. However like the

rest of the world switzerland suffered from the

depression of the early 1930s. However in the late

1930s the swiss economy recovered as the world

rearmed.

During the second world war switzerland remained neutral

although swiss banks accepted gold looted by the nazis

and swiss industry helped to supply the german war

machine. The post war years were also prosperous for

switzerland but it was not until 1917 that women in

switzerland were allowed to vote! In 1993 ruth dreifuss

became the first woman president of switzeland

Then in 1998 switzerland was rocked by a scandal when it

became clear that during world war II swiss banks

accepted gold looted by the nazis.

In 2002 switzerland joined the UN although it still has

a policy of neutrality. Like the rest of europe

switzerland suffered a recession in 2009 but it

recovered from 2010 onward and today it is prosperous .

Today the population of switzerland is 7.6 million.

GENERAL FACTS Switzerland is a small country (41,285 km

=15,940 square miles ), but densely populated

(7 million inhabitants,170 per km=440 per

sq.mi.) situated in the heart of western

europe. It shares much of its history and of

its culture with its neighbours Germany,

Austria,Italy and France.

Some 60% of switzerland are in the alpine

region, with high mountains (12 peaks above

4,000 m = 13,000 ft above sea level and many

more between 2,000 and 4,000 m ) and narrow

valleys. 30% are hills and reletively flat

valleys carved out by glaciers called

“Mitteland – this means that the actual

destiny of population in this part of the

country is somewhere near 500 inhabitants per

km (1300 per sq. mile)

TOP 12

THINGS

SWITZERLAND

IS FAMOUS

FOR :

1.WAR HISTORY

Switzerland is famous for its no-

interference policy. They have

stood as a neutral nation for the

longest time. Interesting fact-

Switzerland has not been at war

since 1505. Even in the World

Wars, they provided a safe passage

for both the warring sides. This

neutral stand has appreciably

helped Switzerland in keeping a

stable economy in all times.

2.RED CROSS

The International Committee of

Red Cross (ICRC), for

protecting and assisting

victims of war was first

established in Geneva in 1863

by the effects of a Swiss

entrepreneur Henry Dunant’s

book A Memoire of

Solferino. Since then the Red

Cross Society has been working

for the welfare of the war

victims worldwide.

3.WATCHES

It is a well known fact that the Swiss

Watches dominate the Wachmaking

industry. These watches are an

excellent combination of both

aesthetics and technology. Anyone’s

personality shoots up to a dozen

measures by these watches. Swiss

Watches are known for their accuracy

and wide range. Most of the well known

watch brands like Tag Heuer, Rolex,

Rado, Omega, etc are all from

Switzerland.

4.SWISS CHOCOLATE

If you tell me you don’t

like Swiss chocolate, I

would seriously believe you

haven’t tasted it yet.

Switzerland is famous for

the art of chocolate making.

They have world’s best milk

chocolate made of finest

milk and cream. Once tasted,

it is hard to resist this

delicious to the core Swiss

Chocolate.

5.CHEESE

Switzerland is the place where you can

find the finest quality of cheese. It

is home to about 450 varieties of

cheese. Did you know there are even so

many varieties of cheese? In

Switzerland, you do not have to go to

a specific place to get their

specialty cheese. It is everywhere.

Also, in America, a special type of

cheese is called Swiss cheese because

it resembles Switzerland’s Emmental

cheese but Swiss people believe all

the 450 varieties of cheese made in

Switzerland are Swiss Cheese. Well,

because that is made in Switzerland,

so it is.

6.BANKS

Swiss banks are famous for their

privacy policy. They do not

disclose the account holder’s name

even to the government except at

the extreme cases like criminal or

terrorist activities. Contrary to

the popular belief, the Swiss

banks are not only for tax evasion

and money laundering by

politicians, criminals, etc but

they are also popular among the

commoners. With the best banking

strategy and most stable economy

in the past years, Switzerland has

emerged as the best option for

banking service.

7.ALPS

Swiss Alps, also known as Central

Alps, is the region of Alpine

mountain ranges that lie in

Switzerland. Around 65% of

Switzerland is covered by Alps,

one of the most beautiful mountain

ranges. No doubt, Switzerland is

the place where one can find the

highest peaks and glaciers. Skiing

and hiking are way of Swiss life.

Some of the famous Alpine

Mountains in Switzerland are the

Matterhorn, the Eiger and the

Jungfrau.

8.LAKES

Switzerland is home to a large

number of small and large

lakes. There is a scenic beauty

in Switzerland with all the

lakes, mountain ranges and

meadows. One can easily fall in

love with the beauty of Lake

Geneva, Lake Zurich and Lake

Neuchatel. These crystal clear

mountain lakes make the world’s

best Lake views.

9.MUSIC FESTIVALS

Switzerland is famous for its music

festivals ranging from Classical to rock.

There is a music fest for every season in

Switzerland.

Every August, The Rock Oz’Arènes festival

takes place in the Roman amphitheatre in

Avenches.

In addition to the Annual Classical Music

Festival, summer sees various Rock and Pop

open-air concerts that attract fans both

from home and other countries.

Even Winter has open air rock concerts:

the SnowpenAir on the Kleine Scheidegg in

the Bernese Oberland.

10.ZURICH

This most desirable city in the world is

pride of Switzerland. According to some

surveys it is the city with best quality

of life in the world and the wealthiest

city of Europe. This city is well known

for luxurious shopping, lodging and

cuisine. Founded by the Romans, Zurich

lies in north central part of the

country. Being the most popular city of

the country it attracted many notable

artists and writers in 19th and 20th

century. Also, the Dada Movement is said

to have been born in this city in 1916.

11.DADAISM

Dadaism was an art movement in Europe in

earlier 20th century. Dada was born out

of the reactions to the horrors of World

War I. This International movement was

begun by the poets and artists in

Zurich’s Cabaret Voltaire. Dada rejected

reason and logic, prizing nonsense,

irrationality and intuition. The anti-war

logic was concentrated in visual arts,

literature, poetry and other artistic

mediums through rejection of prevailing

standards in art through anti-cultural

works.

12.CERN

CERN, European Organization for

Physics Research that lies near

Geneva is World’s largest Particle

Physics Laboratory. Lying 100

meters below ground, CERN enables

scientist from all over the world

to study the structure of matter.

World’s most powerful particle

accelerator, Large Hadron Collider

(LHC) was created in 2008 to

further the understanding of Big

Bang and the beginning of

Universe.

WILLIAM TELL – Swiss

legendary hero who

symbolized the

struggle for

political and

individual freedom.

ECONOMIC STATUSThe economy of Switzerland is one of the world's most stable economies. Its policy of long-term monetary security and political stability has made Switzerland a safe haven for investors, creating an economy that is increasingly dependent on a steady tide of foreign investment. Because of the country's small size and high labor specialisation, industry and trade are the keys to Switzerland's economic livelihood. Switzerland has achieved one of the highest per capita incomes in the world with low unemployment rates and a low budget deficit. The service sector has also come to play a significant economic role.

Switzerland economy is based on a highly qualified labour force performing highly skilled work. The main areas include micro technology, hitech, biotechnology and pharmaceuticals, well as the greatest number of people.Most of the people working in switzerland are employed by small and medium sized enterprises, which play an extremely important role in the swiss economyThe swiss are concerned that economic activity should have as little impact as possible on the enviroment. Switzerland’s energy and transport policies aim to be enviromentally friendly.Thhe age of unlimited economic growth in switzerland is over. Fear of unemployment has been one of the main concerns of the swiss for several years.

Switzerland’s economic freedom score is 81.6, maki8ng its

economy the 4th freest for the first time ever in the 2014

index. Its score is 0.6 point higher than last year, with

improvements in trade freedom and the management of public

spending partially offset by declines in monetary freedom

and labor freedom. Switzerland is ranked 1st out of 43

countries in the europe region. Switzerland was first

graded in the 1996 index, and its economic freedom score

has advanced since then by 4.8 points. Improved ratings

for six of the 10 economic freedoms, led by the sound

management for public spending and notable enhancements in

the area of market openness as measured through trade

freedom And financial freedom, have enabled switzerland to

have advance to economically “free” since 2010.as

reflected in the steady rise of its economic freedom over

the 19 years it has been graded, switzerland’s strong

competitiveness is built on flexibility and openness. The

sound regulatory enviroment encourages entrepreneurial

activity and innovation and sensible. The judicial system,

independent and free of corruption, provides strong

protection of property rigths.

Switzerland is a peaceful, prosperous,

and modern market economy with low

unemployment, a highly skilled labor

force, and a per capital GDP among the

highest in the world. Switzerland’s

economy benefits from a highly developed

service sector, led by financial

services, and a manufacturing industry

that specializes in high-technology,

knowledge-based production. Its economic

and political stability, transparent

legal system, exceptional infrastructure,

efficient capital markets, and low

corporate tax rates also make switzerland

one of the world’s most competitive

economies.

PERFORMANCESwitzerland leads the world in addressing enviromental

challenges, according to the 2014 enviromental

performance index ( EPI ). Luxembourg, Australia,

Singapore, and Czech republic round out the top five

positions of the index, which ranks countries on high-

priority enviroment concerns including air quality,

water management, and climate change.

While reinforcing the challenges nations face in

promoting sustainable development, the 2014 EPI shows

that top countries have relatively strong performance

across the board and have advanced on a range of

enviromental issues over the last decade. But the

scoprecard reveals weaknesses for many countries and

areas of concern for even the best performers.

Switzerland. For example, is only Average on forest

protection, demonstrating that all countries-

regardless of rank- can improve.

PARTICIPATION OF GLOBAL ECONOMYThe world Economic forum ( WEF ) is a Swiss nonprofit

foundation based in cologny, geneva. It describes

itself as an independent international organization

committed to improving the state of the world by

engaging business, political, academic, and other

leaders of society to shape global, regional, and

industry agendas. The forum is best known for its

annual winter meeting in Davos, a mountain resort in

Graubünden, in the eastern Alps region of switzerland.

The meeting brings together some 2,500 top business

leaders, international political leaders, selected

intellectuals, and journalism to discuss the most

pressing issues facing the world, including health and

the enviroment. Often this location alone is used to

identify meetings, participation, and participants

with such phrases as, “a Davos panel “ “a Davos Man “

The organization also convenes some six to eight

regional meetings each year in location such as

Latin America and east Asia, as well as undertaking

two further annual meetings in china and the united

Arab emirates. Beside meetings, the foundation

produces a series of research reports and engages

its members in sectors specific initiatives. The

2011 annual meeting in Davos was held from 26 to 30

January. The 2012 meeting was held on 25-29 January

2012, with the theme “The Great Transformation :

Shaping new Models” the 2013 meeting was held from

23 January to 27 January, with the theme of

“Resilient Dynamism”, following founder Klaus

Schwab’s declaration that “The need for global

cooperation has never been quarter” the 2014 meeting

was held from 22 January to 25 January, with the

theme “The Reshaping of the world : Consequences for

society, politics and business

SWITZERLAND NATURAL RESOURCESWaterpower is the chief natural resources of

switzerland. The principal source of water is runoff

from the considerable annual precipitation that falls on

the alps. An important complement is melt water from the

country’s hundreds of glaciers. The Swiss have long

harnessed the energy of falling water for productive

uses. Long ago, torrents turned waterwheels that powered

preindustrial mills and machinery. Today, the flow is

captured by hundreds of hydroelectric power facilities,

which provide 59

Percent of the country’s domestic electricity,

Mineral resources are not plentiful in switzerland.

Granite, limestone, other building stones, and salt are

the only abundant mineral resources with commercial

value. Small deposits of iron and manganese ores also

Are found.

About 11 percent of

switzerland’s land is used for

agriculture. While another 30

percent is covered by forests.

Steep terrain is the principal

obstacle to agricultural

expansion. The mountainous

landscape is, however, central

to the country’s famous tourism

industry, one of switzerland’s

most important revenue sources.

GLOBAL ORGANIZATION’S OF

SWITZERLAND

• World Trade Organization

• Organization for economic Co-Operation

and development

• Council of Europe

• Organization for security and

Cooperation in Europe

• International Atomic Energy Agency

THANK YOU!