Located literally in the heart of Europe, Switzerland is indeed very unique. It is not anymore just the country where people eat cheese and chocolate all day, the cowbells ring and the farmers jodel.
Geography
The geography of Switzerland is notable for its great diversity. Switzerland’s three main geographical regions are the Jura, Plateau and the Alps.
The geographical location of Switzerland means that the climate varies greatly from one region to another. Depending on the area and the time of year, Switzerland experiences conditions reminiscent both of Siberia and of the Mediterranean.
The country is ethnically divided in 3 major parts:
- The “Deutschschweiz” (the Swiss-German part)
- “La Romandie” (the French speaking part)
- and “il Ticino” (the south-, Italian speaking part)
Languages
These three main regions also contribute the 3 major national languages – Swiss German, French and Italian. Many people think that the majorly spoken Language in Switzerland is German. This is wrong. Swiss German ( Schwyzerdütsch, Schwiizertüütsch, Schwizertitsch) is any of the Alemannic dialects spoken in Switzerland and in some Alpine communities in Northern Italy. The result of this great variety of dialects is that a native of lets say Zurich has major problems of understanding a person from “Wallis”, a region in the south-west of Switzerland.
There is also a fourth national Language in Switzerland - Romansh (Rumantsch or Raetoromanisch).
This interesting Language descended from the Latin variety spoken by the Roman era occupiers of the region and survived, because of their seclusion, mainly in the alpine valleys in central Switzerland.
The Swiss People
The Swiss people today preserve that element of the paradoxical which in the Middle Ages produced an Arnold Winkelried, a Swiss war hero who courageously gathered the spears of his foes into his chest for the sake of his country, and thousands of other heroes willing to give almost as great service to any cause for the sake of steady pay
The “Schwiizer” of the twenty-first century is intensely patriotic, and to keep his country secure makes cheerful joys of the tasks of universal training for military service. He cherishes a deep national pride and is markedly hospitable and charitable. He is eager for liberty, but surrounds his life with a host of regulations, being more under the shadow of the official “verboten” than even the German.
A fact we can’t forget is that the Swiss society is changing under the influence of the foreigners that constitute 22% of the whole Swiss population (just over 7 Million inhabitants). Objectively this is a good trend even though most of the traditionally very patriotic Swiss wouldn’t agree.
The Swiss Economy
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 any of the big Western European economies. Although they didn’t join the European Union and are largely opposed to the idea, 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 safe haven for investors, because it has maintained a degree of bank secrecy and has kept up the franc's long-term external value.
They relatively low taxes in Switzerland benefit many multinational giants: Nestle, ABB, Holcim, Glencore and Novartis just to name a few.
Did you for example know that if you go to a fancy restaurant and order a Perrier, your favorite French mineral water, you actually pay money to Nestle as they bought this company many years ago?
The Swiss average salary is very high compared to other countries. If you pay for your groceries with 1000 Swiss-Franc bill (US$ 1100!) the check-out clerk will give you change without blinking. And if you, after saving for years, finally can afford the holiday of a lifetime, don’t be surprised to see the same check-out clerk on a lounger next to you on the beach.
This concludes Part 1 of the country briefing of Switzerland.
In Part 2 you can read about Swiss Business Etiquette and how to mingle with the Swiss.
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