Switzerland (/swtsrlnd/; German: Schweiz [vats];[note 3] French: Suisse [sis()]; It

Svizzera [zvittsera]; Romansh: Svizra [vitsr] or [vits]),[note 4] officially the S

ederation (Latin: Confoederatio Helvetica, hence its abbreviation CH), is a fede
ral parliamentary republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of th
e federal authorities, the so-called Bundesstadt ("federal city").[1] The countr
y is situated in Western and Central Europe,[note 5] where it is bordered by Ita
ly to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liech
tenstein to the east. Switzerland is a landlocked country geographically divided
between the Alps, the Swiss Plateau and the Jura, spanning an area of 41,285 km
2 (15,940 sq mi). While the Alps occupy the greater part of the territory, the S
wiss population of approximately 8 million people is concentrated mostly on the
Plateau, where the largest cities are to be found; among them are the two global
and economic centres of Zrich and Geneva.
The establishment of the Swiss Confederation is traditionally dated to 1 August
1291, which is celebrated annually as Swiss National Day. The country has a long
history of armed neutralityit has not been in a state of war internationally sin
ce 1815and did not join the United Nations until 2002. Nevertheless it pursues an
active foreign policy and is frequently involved in peace-building processes ar
ound the world.[9] In addition to being the birthplace of the Red Cross, Switzer
land is home to numerous international organizations, including the second large
st UN office. On the European level, it is a founding member of the European Fre
e Trade Association and is part of the Schengen Area although it is notably not
a member of the European Union, nor the European Economic Area (and thus does no
t use the Euro currency).
Straddling the intersection of Germanic and Romance Europe, Switzerland comprise
s four main linguistic and cultural regions: German, French, Italian and Romansh
. Therefore the Swiss, although predominantly German-speaking, do not form a nat
ion in the sense of a common ethnicity or language; rather, Switzerland's strong
sense of identity and community is founded on a common historical background, s
hared values such as federalism and direct democracy,[10] and Alpine symbolism.[
11]
Switzerland ranks high in several metrics of national performance, including gov
ernment transparency, civil liberties, economic competitiveness, and human devel
opment. It has the highest nominal wealth per adult (financial and non-financial
assets) in the world according to Credit Suisse and the eighth-highest per capi
ta gross domestic product on the IMF list.[12][13] Swiss citizens have the secon
d-highest life expectancy in the world. Zrich and Geneva each have been ranked am
ong the top cities with the highest quality of life in the world (the former com
ing second globally according to Mercer).[14]