; Embassy at
Jubilaeumstrasse 93, 3005 Bern; telephone p41o (31) 437011;
there is a Branch Office of the Embassy in Geneva and a
Consulate General in Zurich

Flag: red square with a bold, equilateral white cross in the center that
does not extend to the edges of the flag

- Economy
Overview: Switzerland's economic success is matched in few, if any,
other nations. Per capita output, general living standards, education
and science, health care, and diet are unsurpassed in Europe. Inflation
remains low because of sound government policy and harmonious
labor-management relations. Unemployment is negligible, a marked
contrast to the larger economies of Western Europe. This economic
stability helps promote the important banking and tourist sectors. Since
World War II, Switzerland's economy has adjusted smoothly to the great
changes in output and trade patterns in Europe and presumably can adjust
to the challenges of the 1990s, in particular, the further economic
integration of Western Europe and the amazingly rapid changes in East
European political/economic prospects.

GDP: $119.5 billion, per capita $17,800; real growth rate 3.0%
(1989 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2.8% (1989 est.)

Unemployment rate: 0.5% (1989 est.)

Budget: revenues $17.0 billion; expenditures $16.8 billion,
including capital expenditures of $NA (1988)

Exports: $51.2 billion (f.o.b., 1988); commodities--machinery and
equipment, precision instruments, metal products, foodstuffs, textiles
and clothing;
partners--Europe 64% (EC 56%, other 8%), US 9%, Japan 4%

Imports: $57.2 billion (c.i.f., 1988); commodities--agricultural
products, machinery and transportation equipment, chemicals, textiles,
construction materials;
partners--Europe 79% (EC 72%, other 7%), US 5%

External debt: $NA

Industrial production: growth rate 7.0% (1988)

Electricity: 17,710,000 kW capacity; 59,070 million kWh produced,
8,930 kWh per capita (1989)

Industries: machinery, chemicals, watches, textiles, precision instruments

Agriculture: dairy farming predominates; less than 50% self-sufficient;
food shortages--fish, refined sugar, fats and oils (other than butter), grains,
eggs, fruits, vegetables, meat

Aid: donor--ODA and OOF commitments (1970-87), $2.5 billion

Currency: Swiss franc, franken, or franco (plural--francs, franken, or
franchi); 1 Swiss franc, franken, or franco (SwF) = 100 centimes, rappen, or
centesimi

Exchange rates: Swiss franc