ulties. After recovering slowly in 1994-95 from recession, the
Swiss economy remains weak, mainly because of the strong Swiss franc
and weak growth in Swiss export market, especially in other European
countries. Over the near term, growth may average barely 1%, with
more than one-half of this increase resulting from growth in
inventories. Weak domestic consumer demand is the principal culprit;
stagnation in real disposable income is combining with a reluctance
to reduce saving rates in the face of an uncertain employment
outlook. Switzerland's leading sectors, including financial
services, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, and special-purpose
machines, will therefore be more reliant on export markets at the
same time they are being squeezed by the strong franc. Consequently,
growth in machinery and equipment investment, for example, is
expected to taper off. On the other side, import growth has been
fueled by the strong franc; there are growing indications that Swiss
manufacturers are substituting imported inputs for domestic ones.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $158.5 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 1.2% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $22,400 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
agriculture: 3%
industry: 33.5%
services: 63.5% (1991)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 1.8% (1995 est.)

Labor force: 3.48 million (900,000 foreign workers, mostly Italian)
by occupation: services 50%, industry and crafts 34%, government
10%, agriculture and forestry 6% (1992)

Unemployment rate: 3.3% (1995)

Budget:
revenues: $31 billion
expenditures: $36.9 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA
(1995)

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

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity:
capacity: 15,430,000 kW
production: 58 billion kWh
consumption per capita: 6,699 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: grains, fruits, vegetables; meat, eggs

Illicit drugs: money-laundering center; transit country for South
American cocaine and Southwest Asian heroin

Exports: $69.6 billion (f.o.b., 1994 est.)
commodities: machinery and equipment, precision instruments, metal
products, foodstuffs, textiles and clothing
partners: Western Europe 63.1% (EU countries 56%, other 7.1%), US
8.8%, Japan 3.4%

Imports: $68.2 billion (c.i.f., 1994 est.)
commodities: agricultural products, machinery and transportation
equipme