ritime 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: 10%
permanent crops: 2%
permanent pastures: 28%
forests and woodland: 32%
other: 28% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 250 sq km (1993 est.)

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

Geography-note: landlocked; crossroads of northern and southern
Europe; along with southeastern France and northern Italy, contains
the highest elevations in Europe

@Switzerland:People

Population: 7,260,357 (July 1998 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 17% (male 642,365; female 613,931)
15-64 years: 68% (male 2,506,653; female 2,415,647)
65 years and over: 15% (male 436,804; female 644,957) (July 1998 est.)

Population growth rate: 0.22% (1998 est.)

Birth rate: 10.81 births/1,000 population (1998 est.)

Death rate: 9.03 deaths/1,000 population (1998 est.)

Net migration rate: 0.42 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1998 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.68 male(s)/female (1998 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 4.92 deaths/1,000 live births (1998 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 78.88 years
male: 75.71 years
female: 82.22 years (1998 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.46