International Market Development

International market development | Comprehensive analysis of Swiss economy and market conditions

Author : Bozhou Marine

Update time : 2020-12-26 12:17:14

In this article, we mainly introduce the basic situation of the Swiss market. Including: geographic location, major cities, population status, ethnicity, major festivals, natural resources, major industries, GDP, foreign exchange reserves, employment status, prices, corporate income tax, personal tax rates, etc.

  Introduction

The Swiss Confederation, referred to as "Switzerland", is one of the Central European countries, divided into 26 cantons. Switzerland is bordered by Germany to the north, France to the west, Italy to the south, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. The whole territory is dominated by plateaus and mountains, known as the "Roof of Europe".

Switzerland is a highly developed capitalist country. It is also one of the world's richest, socially stable, economically developed and has the highest standard of living in the world. It ranks first in the Global Innovation Index. It has rich tourism resources and is known as a world park; its per capita GDP has always been among the top in the world, second only to Luxembourg in Europe. Switzerland is also one of the most stable economies in the world. The long-term nature of its policies, safe financial system and bank secrecy system make Switzerland a safe haven for tax avoidance investors. Due to the developed financial industry, the service industry also plays an increasingly important role in the Swiss economy.

  Capital

Bern is the seat of the federal government of Switzerland. It is located in the Bernese Oberland, Switzerland. It is the fourth largest city after Zurich, Geneva and Basel. It is also the capital of the Canton of Bern.

Bern has a mild and humid climate, warm in winter and cool in summer. It is the political and cultural center of Switzerland. It has an area of 51.6 square kilometers and a population of 135,000 (2017).

  Main City

Bern

The capital and administrative center of Switzerland is also a cultural and tourist city. The city has a population of 137,800. The Swiss Federal Government, Parliament, Swiss National Bank, embassies of various countries and some international institutions are all gathered here. The city of Bern has the largest shopping area with medieval characteristics in Europe. As one of the best-preserved medieval cities in Europe, the Old City is the first batch of World Cultural Heritage recognized by UNESCO.City of Zurich (Zürich)

Switzerland's largest city, Switzerland's economic capital, industrial and commercial, scientific and cultural center, and an important financial center in Western Europe. Trading volume on the Zurich Stock Exchange is second to none in the Western European Exchange. Zurich is also one of the world's largest gold trading markets.

Bern - Photo | Google

Geneva

Switzerland's second largest city is also the headquarters of many international organizations and institutions such as the United Nations. Geneva is the world's watch capital and an important world commodity trading center.

Geneva - Photo | Google

Basel

The center of the Swiss chemical and pharmaceutical industry. The headquarters of the Bank for International Settlements and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development are located in Basel. The famous World Watch and Jewelry Fair and International Medical Fair are held in Basel every year.

Lausanne

The fifth largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Vaud. Western Switzerland is the economic and political center second only to Geneva and the cultural center of the French-speaking part of Switzerland. Lausanne is known as the "Olympic Capital" because it is the headquarters of the International Olympic Committee and the Olympic Museum. The Swiss Federal Court of Justice, Lausanne International Management School (IMD), University of Lausanne, Federal Institute of Technology, World Hotel Training Center and other arts and sciences Colleges, organizations, and art schools are all located here.

Luzern

One of Switzerland's largest summer resorts is the economic and cultural center of central Switzerland. The most important economic foundation of the city of Lucerne is tourism and various service industries, such as transportation, medical care and business consulting. Lucerne is also a museum city.

Luzern - Photo | Google

  Jet Lag

Switzerland is 7 hours behind China, and there is a 6-hour difference in daylight saving time.

  Population and Ethnicity

8.606 million people (2019), of which about 25% are foreigners.

  Language

The four languages of German, French, Italian and Latin Romance are all official languages. Among the residents, about 62.8% speak German, French 22.9%, Italian 8.2%, Latin Romance 0.5%, and other languages 5.6%.

  Main Holiday

New Year's Day: January 1st each year;
Good friday
Easter (Monday);
Labor Day: May 1st each year;
Whitsundays (Monday);
Jesus death day
National Day: August 1st every year after 1291;
Christmas: December 25th every year;
Boxing Day: December 26th every year.

Swiss Culture - Photo | Google

  Natural Resources

Water Resources

Switzerland's rivers and lakes cover an area of 1,726 square kilometers, accounting for 4.2% of the total area of Switzerland. Abundant water resources, with a utilization rate of 95%. Switzerland's freshwater resources account for 6% of Europe's total. The three main rivers in Europe: the Rhine, the Rhone (the main river in France) and the Inn (a tributary of the Danube) all originate in Switzerland.

Plant Resources

Switzerland has a total forest area of 1.271 million hectares, with a forest coverage rate of 30.8% (2017).

Mineral Resources

Switzerland's mineral resources are scarce, with only a small amount of salt, coal, iron and manganese ore. The energy and industrial raw materials needed for production and life mainly rely on imports.

  Main Industry

Industry

Machinery manufacturing, chemicals, medicine, high-end watches, food processing, and textiles are the main pillar industries in Switzerland. With advanced industrial technology and excellent product quality, it has strong competitiveness in the international market. Except for famous large companies such as ABB, Nestlé, Novartis and Sulzer, most of them are small and medium-sized enterprises. In the second quarter of 2020, there will be 1 million industrial employees, accounting for 25.1% of the total employed population.

Agriculture

The main crops are wheat, oats, potatoes and sugar beets. Meat is basically self-sufficient, but dairy products are more than self-sufficient. In 2019, about 150,000 people were employed in agriculture, accounting for 3.7% of the total employed population.

Tourism

Tourism is very developed, and it is the third largest foreign exchange earning industry after machinery manufacturing and chemical medicine. In 2019, Switzerland had 4,234 hotels with approximately 250,000 beds and received 39.6 million overnight visitors, a year-on-year increase of 1.9%. The main tourist locations are Zurich, Geneva, Lucerne and Lausanne.

Swizerland Sight Seeing - Photo | Google

Long-term low economic growth

According to the average exchange rate between the Swiss franc and the U.S. dollar in 2019, it was 703.15 billion U.S. dollars, and the per capita GDP was about 82,000 U.S. dollars-Macau, China, and Norway ranked fourth in the world over the same period.

Switzerland's GDP growth rate trend chart over the years | TRADING ECONOMICS

The Swiss government expects GDP to fall by 3.8% in 2020, compared with a 6.2% decline previously expected.

Weak growth in foreign exchange reserves this year

Switzerland's foreign exchange reserves trends over the years | TRADING ECONOMICS

Switzerland's foreign exchange reserves in May 2020 (100 million Swiss francs): 7998.60.

Unemployment rate hits three-year high due to epidemic

Switzerland's employment trends over the years | TRADING ECONOMICS

Switzerland's unemployment rate trend chart over the years | TRADING ECONOMICS

The Swiss Federal Secretariat for Economic Affairs stated that the new crown epidemic will continue to affect the economy. It is expected that the unemployment rate in Switzerland may rise to 4% to 5% by the end of this year, and the number of unemployed may exceed 200,000. The economic loss caused by unemployment in 2020 may be as high as 20 billion Swiss francs (about 20.5 billion US dollars).

Prices and inflation rate fluctuate greatly

Swiss consumer price index CPI trends over the years | TRADING ECONOMICS

From 2011 to 2020, the Swiss consumer price index CPI fluctuated greatly, and prices continued to rise after 2016.

Switzerland's inflation rate trend chart over the years | TRADING ECONOMICS

From 2011 to 2020, Switzerland's inflation rate fluctuated significantly, and in 2020 it plummeted, indicating a significant decline in economic growth.

Corporate income tax rate 18%

Swiss corporate income tax trends over the years | TRADING ECONOMICS

In 2020, the Swiss corporate income tax rate is 18%.

Personal income tax rate 40%

Swiss personal income tax trends over the years | TRADING ECONOMICS

In 2020, the Swiss personal income tax rate is 40%.

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