114 Nobel Laureates across all fields have a relationship to Switzerland...
Greetings to the Swiss People on their National Day, August 1st....
#LearningFromSwitzerland
The Swiss National Day (German: Schweizer Bundesfeiertag; French: Fête nationale suisse; Italian: Festa nazionale svizzera; Romansh: Festa naziunala svizra) is the national holiday of Switzerland, set on 1 August.
Although the founding of the Swiss Confederacy was first celebrated on this date in 1891 and annually since 1899, it has only been an official holiday since 1994.
The date is inspired by the date of the Federal Charter of 1291, Pacte du Rütli, placed in "early August", when "three Alpine cantons swore the oath of confederation" (Schwyz, Uri and Unterwalden), an action which later came to be regarded as the founding of Switzerland."
The document is one of several dozen pacts attested for the territory of Switzerland in the period of the mid-13th to mid-14th century. The foundation of the Old Swiss Confederacy had been mostly associated with the Bund of Brunnen of 1315, or with the Rütlischwur, dated to 1307 by Aegidius Tschudi.
The Federal Charter of 1291 first assumed great importance in a report by the Federal Department of Home Affairs of 21 November 1889, suggesting a celebration in Bern in 1891 that would combine the city's 700th anniversary with the Confederacy's 600th anniversary. The date of the Federal Charter came to replace the formerly more prominent, traditional date of 8 November Rütlischwur, 1307 in popular consciousness in the 20th century, specifically after the 650th anniversary celebrations of 1941.
It has been an official holiday since 1994, following the acceptance of a federal popular initiative in its favour in 1993.
1 August is celebrated each year with paper lantern parades, bonfires, hanging strings of Swiss flags, and fireworks.
Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located at the confluence of Western, Central and Southern Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east.
Switzerland is geographically divided among the Swiss Plateau, the Alps and the Jura; the Alps occupy the greater part of the territory, whereas most of the country's population of 8.7 million are concentrated on the plateau, which hosts the largest cities and economic centres, including Zürich, Geneva and Basel.
Switzerland originates from the Old Swiss Confederacy established in the Late Middle Ages, following a series of military successes against Austria and Burgundy; the Federal Charter of 1291 is considered the country's founding document. Swiss independence from the Holy Roman Empire was formally recognised in the Peace of Westphalia in 1648.
Switzerland has maintained a policy of armed neutrality since the 16th century and has not fought an international war since 1815. It joined the United Nations only in 2002, but pursues an active foreign policy that include frequent involvement in peace building processes worldwide.
Switzerland is the birthplace of the Red Cross, one of the world's oldest and well-known humanitarian organisations, and hosts the headquarters or offices of most major international institutions, including the WTO, the WHO, the ILO, FIFA, and the United Nations. It is a founding member of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), but not part of the European Union (EU), the European Economic Area, or the Eurozone; however, it participates in the European single market and the Schengen Area through bilateral treaties.
Switzerland is a federal republic composed of 26 cantons, with federal authorities based in Bern.
It has four main linguistic and cultural regions: German, French, Italian and Romansh. Although most Swiss are German-speaking, national identity is fairly cohesive, being rooted in a common historical background, shared values such as federalism and direct democracy, and Alpine symbolism.
Swiss identity transcends language, ethnicity, and religion, leading to Switzerland being described as a Willensnation ("nation of volition") rather than a nation state.
Due to its linguistic diversity, Switzerland is known by multiple native names: Schweiz (German); Suisse (French); Svizzera (Italian); and Svizra (Romansh).
On coins and stamps, the Latin name, Confoederatio Helvetica — frequently shortened to "Helvetia" — is used instead of the spoken languages.
Switzerland is one of the world's most developed countries. It has the highest nominal wealth per adult and the eighth-highest gross domestic product (GDP) per capita.
Switzerland ranks first in the Human Development Index since 2021 and performs highly also on several international metrics, including economic competitiveness and democratic governance.
Cities such as Zürich, Geneva and Basel rank among the highest in terms of quality of life, albeit with some of the highest costs of living.
Primary education
The minimum age for primary school is about six years, but most cantons provide a free "children's school" starting at age four or five.
Primary school continues until grade four, five or six, depending on the school. Traditionally, the first foreign language in school was one of the other Swiss languages, although in 2000, English was elevated in a few cantons.
At the end of primary school or at the beginning of secondary school, pupils are assigned according to their capacities into one of several sections (often three).
The fastest learners are taught advanced classes to prepare for further studies and the matura, while other students receive an education adapted to their needs.
Tertiary education
Switzerland hosts 12 universities, ten of which are maintained at cantonal level and usually offer non-technical subjects. It ranked 87th on the 2019 Academic Ranking of World Universities. The largest is the University of Zurich with nearly 25,000 students. The Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETHZ) and the University of Zurich are listed 20th and 54th respectively, on the 2015 Academic Ranking of World Universities.
The federal government sponsors two institutes: the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETHZ) in Zürich, founded in 1855 and the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Lausanne, founded in 1969, formerly associated with the University of Lausanne.
8 of the world's 10 best Hotel Schools are located in Switzerland.
In addition, various Universities of Applied Sciences are available. In business and management studies, the University of St. Gallen, (HSG) is ranked 329th in the world according to QS World University Rankings and the International Institute for Management Development (IMD), was ranked first in open programmes worldwide.
Switzerland has the second highest rate (almost 18% in 2003) of foreign students in tertiary education, after Australia (slightly over 18%).
The Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, located in Geneva, is continental Europe's oldest graduate school of international and development studies. It is widely held to be one of its most prestigious.
Science
Switzerland has birthed many Nobel Prize laureates. They include Albert Einstein, who developed his special relativity in Bern. Later, Vladimir Prelog, Heinrich Rohrer, Richard Ernst, Edmond Fischer, Rolf Zinkernagel, Kurt Wüthrich and Jacques Dubochet received Nobel science prizes.
In total, 114 laureates across all fields have a relationship to Switzerland.
The Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded nine times to organisations headquartered in Switzerland.
Geneva and the nearby French department of Ain co-host the world's largest laboratory, CERN, dedicated to particle physics research. Another important research centre is the Paul Scherrer Institute.
Notable inventions include lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), diazepam (Valium), the scanning tunnelling microscope (Nobel prize) and Velcro.
Some technologies enabled the exploration of new worlds such as the pressurised balloon of Auguste Piccard and the Bathyscaphe which permitted Jacques Piccard to reach the deepest point of the world's oceans.
The Swiss Space Office has been involved in various space technologies and programmes. It was one of the 10 founders of the European Space Agency in 1975 and is the seventh largest contributor to the ESA budget. In the private sector, several companies participate in the space industry, such as Oerlikon Space or Maxon Motors.
Economy
Switzerland has a stable, prosperous and high-tech economy. It is the world's wealthiest country per capita in multiple rankings.
The country ranks as one of the least corrupt countries in the world, while its banking sector is rated as "one of the most corrupt in the world".
It has the world's twentieth largest economy by nominal GDP and the thirty-eighth largest by purchasing power parity. As of 2021, it is the thirteenth largest exporter, and the fifth largest per capita. Zürich and Geneva are regarded as global cities, ranked as Alpha and Beta respectively.
Basel is the capital of Switzerland's pharmaceutical industry, hosting Novartis, Roche, and many other players. It is one of the world's most important centres for the life sciences industry.
Switzerland had the second-highest global rating in the Index of Economic Freedom 2023, while also providing significant public services.
On a per capita basis, nominal GDP is higher than those of the larger Western and Central European economies and Japan, while adjusted for purchasing power, Switzerland ranked 11th in 2017, fifth in 2018 and ninth in 2020.
The 2016 World Economic Forum's Global Competitiveness Report ranked Switzerland's economy as the world's most competitive; as of 2019, it ranks fifth globally.
The European Union labeled it Europe's most innovative country and the most innovative country in the Global Innovation Index in 2022, as it had done in 2021, 2020 and 2019.
It ranked 20th of 189 countries in the Ease of Doing Business Index. Switzerland's slow growth in the 1990s and the early 2000s increased support for economic reforms and harmonisation with the European Union.
In 2020, IMD placed Switzerland first in attracting skilled workers.
For much of the 20th century, Switzerland was the wealthiest country in Europe by a considerable margin (per capita GDP).
Switzerland has one of the world's largest account balances as a percentage of GDP.In 2018, the canton of Basel-City had the highest GDP per capita, ahead of Zug and Geneva.
According to Credit Suisse, only about 37% of residents own their own homes, one of the lowest rates of home ownership in Europe. Housing and food price levels were 171% and 145% of the EU-25 index in 2007, compared to 113% and 104% in Germany.
Switzerland is home to several large multinational corporations. The largest by revenue are Glencore, Gunvor, Nestlé, Mediterranean Shipping Company, Novartis, Hoffmann-La Roche, ABB, Mercuria Energy Group and Adecco.
Also, notable are UBS AG, Zurich Financial Services, Richemont, Credit Suisse, Barry Callebaut, Swiss Re, Rolex, Tetra Pak, The Swatch Group and Swiss International Air Lines.
Switzerland's most important economic sector is manufacturing.
Manufactured products include specialty chemicals, health and pharmaceutical goods, scientific and precision measuring instruments and musical instruments.
The largest exported goods are chemicals (34% of exported goods), machines/electronics (20.9%), and precision instruments/watches (16.9%).
The service sector – especially banking and insurance, commodities trading, tourism, and international organisations – is another important industry for Switzerland.
Exported services amount to a third of exports.
Agricultural protectionism—a rare exception to Switzerland's free trade policies—contributes to high food prices. Product market liberalisation is lagging behind many EU countries according to the OECD.
Apart from agriculture, economic and trade barriers between the European Union and Switzerland are minimal, and Switzerland has free trade agreements with many countries. Switzerland is a member of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA).
Switzerland is considered as the "land of Cooperatives" with the ten largest cooperative companies accounting for more than 11% of GDP in 2018. They include Migros and Coop the two largest retail companies in Switzerland.