| Economy - overview | Switzerland is a peaceful, prosperous, and stable modern market economy with low unemployment, a highly skilled labor force, and a per capita GDP larger than that of the big Western European economies. The Swiss in recent years have brought their economic practices largely into conformity with the EU's to enhance their international competitiveness. Switzerland remains a safehaven for investors, because it has maintained a degree of bank secrecy and has kept up the franc's long-term external value. Reflecting the anemic economic conditions of Europe, GDP growth stagnated during the 2001-03 period, improved during 2004-05 to 1.8% annually and to 2.9% in 2006. Even so, unemployment has remained at less than half the EU average. |
|
| GDP | 1% (2005 est.) |
|
| GDP - real growth rate | 2.7% (2006 est.) |
|
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 1.5%
industry: 34%
services: 64.5% (2003 est.) |
|
| Population below poverty line | NA% |
|
Household income or consumption
by percentage share | lowest 10%: 2.6%
highest 10%: 25.2% (1992) |
|
Distribution of family income
- Gini index | 33.1 (1992) |
|
| Labor force | 3.81 million (2006 est.) |
|
| Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 4.6%
industry: 26.3%
services: 69.1% (1998) |
|
| Unemployment rate | 3.3% (2006 est.) |
|
| Budget | revenues: $141 billion
expenditures: $139.1 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2006 est.) |
|
| Industries | machinery, chemicals, watches, textiles, precision instruments, tourism, banking, and insurance |
|
| Industrial production growth rate | 6.5% (2006 est.) |
|
Electricity -
production | 61.97 billion kWh (2004) |
|
Electricity -
production by source | fossil fuel: 1.3%
hydro: 59.5%
nuclear: 37.1%
other: 2% (2001) |
|
Electricity -
consumption | 56.93 billion kWh (2004) |
|
Electricity -
exports | 27.8 billion kWh (2004) |
|
Electricity -
imports | 27.1 billion kWh (2004) |
|
| Oil - production | 2,241 bbl/day (2004 est.) |
|
| Oil - consumption | 268,100 bbl/day (2004 est.) |
|
| Oil - exports | 10,420 bbl/day (2001) |
|
| Oil - imports | 289,500 bbl/day (2001) |
|
| Agriculture - products | grains, fruits, vegetables; meat, eggs |
|
| Exports | $166.3 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.) |
|
| Exports - commodities | machinery, chemicals, metals, watches, agricultural products |
|
| Exports - partners | Germany 19.4%, US 10.9%, Italy 9.1%, France 8.7%, UK 5.4%, Spain 4.1% (2005) |
|
| Imports | $162.3 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.) |
|
| Imports - commodities | machinery, chemicals, vehicles, metals; agricultural products, textiles |
|
| Imports - partners | Germany 31.6%, Italy 10.5%, France 10%, US 5.6%, Netherlands 4.8%, Austria 4.6%, UK 4.4% (2005) |
|
| Debt - external | $1.077 trillion (30 June 2006) |
|
| Currency code | CHF |
|
| Exchange rates | Swiss francs per US dollar - 1.2539 (2006), 1.2452 (2005), 1.2435 (2004), 1.3467 (2003), 1.5586 (2002) |
|
| Fiscal year | calendar year |
|
