Visiting Switzerland
Visiting Switzerland
01:47
February 14, 2023
Description
Switzerland is a mountainous country in the center of Europe, roughly the same size as the Netherlands and with a population of around 9 million people. The capital city is Bern, the largest city is Zurich and within those and other cities, several languages are spoken. Switzerland has four official languages: German, French, Italian Romansh. Romansh is a romance language that is traditionally spoken in the southeastern region of Grisons and became an official language in 1996. The country has long been famed for its neutrality. Sitting out each of the world wars, it has a self-imposed policy that states that they should not become involved in any political or armed conflicts with other nations. In fact, since 1815 Switzerland has not participated in a foreign war. In recent years this neutrality has been questioned due to their close links to Europe, the fact they became a member of the UN in 2002, and that they are the location for the headquarters of many multinational banks and corporations. Over the past 100 years, Switzerland has gradually become one of the wealthiest countries on earth. This is partly due to the strength gained from their neutral positioning but also periods of prolonged political stability have had an influence. A study commissioned by Credit Suisse in 2020 discovered that 800,000 millionaires live in Switzerland, and in a country of just 9 million that is quite a significant proportion. However, the increased wealth of the country has brought with it hefty living costs, and Switzerland has been described as the most expensive place to live in Europe.
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