38 Facts About Switzerland

Switzerland is a mountainous country in Central Europe known for its numerous lakes, villages, and high Alps peaks.

Its cities have mediaeval quarters and landmarks such as the Zytglogge clock tower in Bern and the wooden chapel bridge in Lucerne.

Ski resorts and hiking trails are also popular in the country.

Banking and finance are important industries, and Swiss watches and chocolate are well-known worldwide.

According to a United Nations report, the average marriage age in Switzerland is 31.8 for men and 29.5 for women.

According to the Local CH, the divorce rate in Switzerland is around 40%.

According to a publication from the Central Intelligence Agency, the average age for Swiss women to have their first child is 30.4 years, making them the oldest women in Europe to do so.

CERN, the world's leading particle physics laboratory, is located within the borders of Switzerland.

Switzerland is home to over 7000 lakes. Lake Geneva is Switzerland's largest lake, covering 580.03 km2 (224 sq mi).

Switzerland has one of the highest rates of firearm ownership in the world.

Switzerland has one of the lowest crime rates among all industrialised nations.

The Global Innovation Index ranked Switzerland first for the eighth consecutive year as the most innovative country in the world in 2018.

According to a study by the Observatoire BCV de l'économie Vaudoise, Vaud's economy has grown from a farming-based economy in 1860 to a land of Start-Ups today, thanks to its "large services sector, diversified manufacturing base, and focus on niche markets."

According to the Social Progress Report, the country excels in "medical", "nutritional", and "access to basic knowledge". It has an index of 88.87 out of 100.

According to the World Health Organization, Switzerland has the lowest obesity rate in Europe, with only 17.5% of the population obese.

Swiss universities have produced a large number of Nobel Laureates, the majority of whom are scientists.

Per person, the Swiss consume 36 litres of wine, 56.5 litres of beer, and 8.4 litres of pure alcohol per year.

Every year, 1600 people are killed by alcohol in Switzerland. Some are the result of alcohol-related accidents, while others are the result of alcoholism's long-term effects, such as liver problems. According to Addiction Monitoring in Switzerland, there are approximately 250,000 alcoholics in Switzerland, accounting for 3% of the population.

The Swiss Alps are the highlight of any Switzerland tour. Despite the fact that Switzerland contains less than 15% of the Alps, it is the country that most people associate with the Alps.

According to 2017 statistics, Switzerland's unemployment rate was around 4.8%.

Switzerland has the highest average salary and job security among all OECD countries.

Switzerland has 208 mountains and some of Europe's highest peaks.

According to Swiss law, anyone of sound mind who has consistently expressed a desire to end their life over a period of time may request an assisted voluntary death, or AVD.

Swiss meat is among the priciest in the world.

Switzerland is well-known for its high-quality chocolate. Approximately 180,000 tonnes of chocolate are produced each year, with an average of 11 kilos consumed per person.

Switzerland is a global leader in recycling and waste management.

According to Wikipedia, LSD was first synthesised on November 16, 1938[84] at the Sandoz Laboratories in Basel, Switzerland by Swiss chemist Albert Hofmann as part of a large research programme looking for medically useful ergot alkaloid derivatives. The psychedelic properties of LSD were discovered 5 years later, when Hofmann accidentally ingested an unknown amount of the chemical.

Every year, 600,000 people in Switzerland consume 100 tonnes of hash and marijuana.

It is illegal in Switzerland to give a child a name that could harm the child's interests. This right was exercised when authorities prohibited Swiss musician Christine Lauterburg from calling her daughter 'Lexicon' (an 'object,' not a name); 'Djonatan' (the phonetic spelling of Jonathan) was also rejected, as was 'J' as a child's fourth name due to the possibility of it being misunderstood and incorrectly pronounced in German (as 'yot' rather than 'Jay' as intended).

The Gotthard tunnel in Switzerland is the world's longest, measuring 57 kilometres in length (it is 7km longer than the Channel Tunnel between England and France). It took 17 years to finish.

In Switzerland, Albert Einstein developed his famous formula for mass-energy equivalence E=MC2.

The highest railway station in Europe is located in Switzerland, at 3454 metres on top of the Jungfraujoch.

The World's Longest Staircase can be found here. This staircase has 11,674 steps and a height of 1,669 m (5,476 ft), making it the longest in the world.

Switzerland ranked eighth in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's (OECD) new report ranking countries' school systems based on students' math and science test scores.

In January, the Château-d'Oex in the Vaud Alps hosts a colourful nine-day hot air balloon festival.

The Grande Dixence is the world's highest gravity dam, standing 285 metres tall and weighing 15 million tonnes. It collects melting water from the surrounding glaciers and has a capacity of 400 billion litres. This dam took more than ten years to build and is heavier than Egypt's Great Pyramid.

Sundays in Switzerland are not for mowing the lawn, hanging laundry outside, hammering, or doing anything that neighbours can hear, see, or disturb the peace.

There Are Some Ground Rules to Owning a Dog. Dogs must be able to exercise, have daily contact with humans, and be microchipped by a veterinarian.