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Switzerland
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Switzerland, one of Europe's smallest countries, with the Alps at its core, has an area of 41293 square kilometres. Its 1850 kilometres of borders link it to France in the west, Germany in the north, Liechtenstein and Austria in the east, and Italy in the south.
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Surrounded by the great continental cultures, its central position and control of the alpine passes have made Switzerland a classic transit region, across which goods were, and still are, moved from east to west, from north to south, and vice versa. Switzerland is a European watershed whose rivers flow in all directions, and is the source of Rhine, Rhone, and of major tributaries to Danube and Po. 140 glaciers and some 1500 lakes make Switzerland Europe's moated castle. The other major mountain range is the Jura, which extends from the Basel region along Switzerland's western border to Geneva. The Swiss midlands lie between the Jura and the Alps, and south of the Alps lie the Ticino and a few valleys that belong to the canton of Grisons. The country's highest point, 4634m above sea level, is the Dufourspitze in the Monte Rosa massif; its lowest, at 193m, is Lago Maggiore.
Seven million inhabitants
Like its topography, Switzerlands climate also varies very widely. In the west, the Atlantic is the dominant influence; in the east, continental air currents dominate; in the north, the Arctic makes its influence felt; and the south is often subjected to hot and humid Mediterranean air. The Föhn, a warm, dry southerly wind, blows mainly down the Alpine valleys and can cause severe storms; it is also often blamed for moodiness. Because the Alpine region is rather inhospitable, most of Switzerland's population is concentrated in the country's midlands, which are also used for intensive agriculture, and in its cities; the biggest of these are Zurich, Geneva, Basel, Berne, and Lausanne. Foreign nationals account for about one-fifth of Switzerland's population of some seven million, but the ratio in some cantons, such as Basel-Stadt, may be as high as thirty percent.
Four official languages
Switzerland has four official languages. The majority speaks German; next comes French, followed by Italian and Romantsch, an ancient form of Latin struggling for survival in the Alps. Protestants and Roman Catholics are the main denominations, the latter with a slightly higher share of the total population.
23 cantons
Switzerland is divided into 23 cantons, three of which are split into two half-cantons: Unterwalden (Obwalden and Nidwalden [those above and below the woods]); Appenzell (Innerrhoden and Ausserrhoden [those on the near and far banks of the Rhodan river]); and Basel (Stadt and Landschaft). Though Berne is the country's capital, Zurich is the country's biggest city.
Two peculiarities distinguish the canton of Basel-Stadt from the other 25 cantons and half-cantons: like all half-cantons, it has only one representative in the Upper Chamber of the federal parliament, the Ständerat (Council of State); and because the territory of its biggest municipality is almost identical with that of the canton, it is practically a city-state.
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