
Small Is Beautiful
Encouraged by government stimulus programs, banks are finding new ways to finance SMEs. Once the economy recovers, will the surge of interest recede?
Browse additional economic indicators and data sets, selected by Global Finance editors, to learn more about Switzerland economic outlook, debt to GDP ratio, international trade performance and population trends. Rankings of Switzerland best banks and safest banks are also available.
Money cannot buy happiness—at least six other factors are critical for nations to have happy people.
USD 703.8 billion (2018, estimate)
Intl$ 548.5 billion (2018, estimate)
2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017* | 2018* |
2.5% | 1.3% | 1.6% | 1.7% | 2.5% |
*Estimate
USD 82,950.3 (2018, estimate)
(2018 estimate)
3.4% (2015)
OECD, data retrieved January 2019
2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017* | 2018* |
-1.1% | -0.4% | 0.5% | 0.9% | 0.6% |
*Estimate
2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017* | 2018* |
3.2% | 3.3% | 3.1% | 2.5% | 2.8% |
*Estimate
2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017* | 2018* |
43% | 41.8% | 42.6% | 40.5% | 38.6% |
*Estimate
2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017* | 2018* |
0.6% | 0.4% | 1.2% | 1.3% | 1.0% |
*Estimate
Standard & Poor's: AAA
Moody's: Aaa
Standard & Poor's / Moody's (Updated January 2017)
2016 | 2017 | 2018 |
USD 1403.4 billion | USD 1686.5 billion | USD 1441.2 billion |
Coca-Cola HBC, Garmin, Geberit, Lindt & Sprungli, EMS-Chemie Holding, Banque Cantonale Vaudoise, Barry Callebaut, Basler Kantonalbank, Garrett Motion, Sonova Holding, EFG International, Luzerner Kantonalbank, St. Galler Kantonalbank, Nestle, Novartis, Roche Holding, UBS, Glencore International, Zurich Insurance Group, Chubb, Credit Suisse Group, ABB, LafargeHolcim, Richemont, Swiss Life Holding, Swiss Re, TE Connectivity, Swisscom, Kuehne & Nagel International, Schindler Holding, STMicroelectronics, Julius Baer Group, Swatch Group, Bâloise Group, Adecco, Sika, Helvetia Holding, Lonza Group, SGS, Givaudan, Partners Group Holding
10.2% (2018 estimate)
65.5% (2018)
1.6% (2018)
2.13% (2018)
Machinery, chemicals, metals, watches, agricultural products
Machinery, chemicals, metals, watches, agricultural products
Germany 15.2%, US 12.3%, China 8.2%, India 6.7%, France 5.7%, UK 5.7%, Hong Kong 5.4%, Italy 5.3% (2017)
Germany 20.9%, US 7.9%, Italy 7.6%, UK 7.3%, France 6.8%, China 5% (2017)
2016 | 2017 | 2018 |
USD 60,670 million | USD 39,000 million | USD -87,212 million |
2016 | 2017 | 2018 |
USD 88,528 million | USD -34,916 million | USD 26,928 million |
2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 |
USD 40,087 million | USD 35,489 million | USD 18,642 million | USD 34,573 million |
Roche Holding AG, InterMune Inc, United States, USD 8.3 billion / Mercuria Energy Group Ltd, JPMorgan Chase & Co-Physical Commodities Business, United States, USD 3.5 billion
(for a monthly update on M&A; click here )
Holcim Ltd, Lafarge SA, France, USD 20.6 billion / Novartis AG, GlaxoSmithKline PLC-Oncology Business, United Kingdom, USD 16.0 billion
(for a monthly update on M&A; click here )
Economies are ranked on their ease of doing business. A high ease of doing business ranking means the regulatory environment is more conducive to the starting and operation of a local firm.
Overall ranking: 36 out of 190 countries (2017)
Subcategories:
Starting a Business: 81 out of 190 countries
Dealing with Construction Permits: 71 out of 190 countries
Getting Electricity: 13 out of 190 countries
Registering Property: 18 out of 190 countries
Getting Credit: 67 out of 190 countries
Protecting Minority Investors: 105 out of 190 countries
Paying Taxes: 20 out of 190 countries
Trading across Borders: 26 out of 190 countries
Enforcing Contracts: 57 out of 190 countries
Resolving Insolvency: 49 out of 190 countries
(World Bank - Doing Business 2019)
5 out of 141 countries
(World Economic Forum - The Global Competitiveness Index 2019)
Ranking: 4 / Score: 81.9 (Free) (2019)
(100=totally free 0=totally repressed)
Federal republic (formally a confederation)
German (official) 63.5%, French (official) 22.5%, Italian (official) 8.1%, English 4.4%, Portuguese 3.4%, Albanian 3.1%, Serbo-Croatian 2.5%, Spanish 2.2%, Romansch (official) 0.5%, other 6.6%
Note: German, French, Italian, and Romansch are all national and official languages; totals more than 100% because some respondents indicated more than one main language (2013 est.)
Roman Catholic 38.2%, Protestant 26.9%, Muslim 4.9%, other Christian 5.7%, other 1.6%, none 21.4%, unspecified 1.3% (2012 est.)
1990 | 2000 | 2010 | 2016* | 2021* |
6.674 million | 7.164 million | 7.786 million | 8.325 million | 8.819 million |
*Estimate
1960 | 1980 | 2000 | 2015 |
51% | 57% | 73% | 74% |
31.6 (2012)
(0=perfect equality, 100=absolute inequality)
Political Rights: 1
Civil Liberties: 1 (2017)
(1 represents the most free, 7 the least free rating)
Fixed 50.25% Mobile 136.47% (2015)
(fixed-telephone subscribers and mobile-cellular subscribers)
Zurich: 3rd
Geneva: 8th
Bern: 13th
(2016)