ice the size of New Jersey

Land boundaries:

total: 1,852 km
border countries: Austria 164 km, France 573 km, Italy 740 km,
Liechtenstein 41 km, Germany 334 km

Coastline:

0 km (landlocked)

Maritime claims:

none (landlocked)

Climate:

temperate, but varies with altitude; cold, cloudy, rainy/snowy
winters; cool to warm, cloudy, humid summers with occasional showers

Terrain:

mostly mountains (Alps in south, Jura in northwest) with a central
plateau of rolling hills, plains, and large lakes

Elevation extremes:

lowest point: Lake Maggiore 195 m
highest point: Dufourspitze 4,634 m

Natural resources:

hydropower potential, timber, salt

Land use:

arable land: 9.91%
permanent crops: 0.58%
other: 89.51% (2005)

Irrigated land:

250 sq km (2003)

Total renewable water resources:

53.3 cu km (2005)

Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):

total: 2.52 cu km/yr (24%/74%/2%)
per capita: 348 cu m/yr (2002)

Natural hazards:

avalanches, landslides, flash floods

Environment - current issues:

air pollution from vehicle emissions and open-air burning; acid
rain; water pollution from increased use of agricultural
fertilizers; loss of biodiversity

Environment - international agreements:

party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air
Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85,
Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds,
Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto
Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental
Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Marine Life
Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical
Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea

Geography - note:

landlocked; crossroads of northern and southern Europe; along with
southeastern France, northern Italy, and southwestern Austria, has
the highest elevations in the Alps

People
Switzerland

Population:

7,581,520 (July 2008 est.)

Age structure:

0-14 years: 15.8% (male 623,213/female 577,430)
15-64 years: 68.2% (male 2,605,044/female 2,562,354)
65 years and over: 16% (male 501,699/female 711,780) (2008 est.)

Median age:

total: 40.7 years
male: 39.6 years
female: 41.7 years (2008 est.)

Population growth rate:

0.329% (2008 est.)

Birth rate:

9.62 births/1,000 po