as no navy, but maintains a fleet of
military patrol boats to patrol Swiss borders (2006)

Military service age and obligation:
the Swiss Constitution states that "every Swiss male is obliged to
do military service"; every Swiss male has to serve for at least 260
days in the armed forces; 19 years of age for compulsory military
service; 17 years of age for voluntary military service; conscripts
receive 15 weeks of compulsory training, followed by 10 intermittent
recalls for training over the next 22 years; women are accepted on a
voluntary basis but are not drafted (2005)

Manpower available for military service:
males age 19-49: 1,707,694
females age 19-49: 1,662,099 (2005 est.)

Manpower fit for military service:
males age 19-49: 1,375,889
females age 19-49: 1,342,945 (2005 est.)

Manpower reaching military service age annually:
males age 18-49: 46,319
females age 19-49: 43,829 (2005 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure:
$2.548 billion (FY01)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
1% (FY01)

Transnational Issues Switzerland

Disputes - international:
none

Illicit drugs:
a major international financial center vulnerable to the layering
and integration stages of money laundering; despite significant
legislation and reporting requirements, secrecy rules persist and
nonresidents are permitted to conduct business through offshore
entities and various intermediaries; transit country for and
consumer of South American cocaine and Southwest Asian heroin

This page was last updated on 8 February, 2007

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@Syria

Introduction Syria

Background:
Following the breakup of the Ottoman Empire during World War I,
France administered Syria until its independence in 1946. The
country lacked political stability, however, and experienced a
series of military coups during its first decades. Syria united with
Egypt in February 1958 to form the United Arab Republic, but in
September 1961 the two entities separated and the Syrian Arab
Republic was reestablished. In November 1970, Hafiz al-ASAD, a
member of the Socialist Ba'th Party and the minority Alawite sect,
seized power in a bloodless coup and brought political stability to
the country. In the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, Syria lost the Golan
Heights to Israel, and during the 1990s Syria and Israel hel