Switzerland Becomes Crypto Powerhouse
The country is home to major blockchain companies including the Ethereum Foundation, Polkadot, Cardano and Libra.
Switzerland GDP and Economic Data
Includes Switzerland real Gross Domestic Product growth rate, with latest forecasts and historical data, GDP per capita, GDP composition and breakdown by sector.
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.
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Gross Domestic Product - GDP
USD 703.8 billion (2018, estimate)
GDP (Purchasing Power Parity)
Intl$ 548.5 billion (2018, estimate)
Real GDP growth
| 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017* | 2018* |
| 2.5% | 1.3% | 1.6% | 1.7% | 2.5% |
*Estimate
GDP per capita - current prices
USD 82,950.3 (2018, estimate)
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GDP - composition by sector
- agriculture: 0.7%
- industry: 25.1%
- services: 71.3%
(2018 estimate)
Gross domestic expenditure on R&D; (% of GDP)
3.4% (2015)
OECD, data retrieved January 2019
Inflation
| 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017* | 2018* |
| -1.1% | -0.4% | 0.5% | 0.9% | 0.6% |
*Estimate
Unemployment rate
| 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017* | 2018* |
| 3.2% | 3.3% | 3.1% | 2.5% | 2.8% |
*Estimate
Public debt (General government gross debt as a % of GDP)
| 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017* | 2018* |
| 43% | 41.8% | 42.6% | 40.5% | 38.6% |
*Estimate
Public deficit (General government net lending/borrowing as a % of GDP)
| 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017* | 2018* |
| 0.6% | 0.4% | 1.2% | 1.3% | 1.0% |
*Estimate
Government bond ratings
Standard & Poor's: AAA
Moody's: Aaa
Standard & Poor's / Moody's (Updated January 2017)
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Market value of publicly traded shares
| 2016 | 2017 | 2018 |
| USD 1403.4 billion | USD 1686.5 billion | USD 1441.2 billion |
Largest companies
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
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Current account balance by percentage of GDP
10.2% (2018 estimate)
Exports as percent of GDP (Exports of goods and services)
65.5% (2018)
Shares in world total merchandising export
1.6% (2018)
Shares in world total commercial services export
2.13% (2018)
Export commodities
Machinery, chemicals, metals, watches, agricultural products
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Import commodities
Machinery, chemicals, metals, watches, agricultural products
Exports - major partners
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)
Imports - major partners
Germany 20.9%, US 7.9%, Italy 7.6%, UK 7.3%, France 6.8%, China 5% (2017)
FDI inflows
| 2016 | 2017 | 2018 |
| USD 60,670 million | USD 39,000 million | USD -87,212 million |
FDI outflows
| 2016 | 2017 | 2018 |
| USD 88,528 million | USD -34,916 million | USD 26,928 million |
Value of cross-border M&A, by country of purchaser
| 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 |
| USD 40,087 million | USD 35,489 million | USD 18,642 million | USD 34,573 million |
Cross-border M&A deals worth over $3 billion completed in 2014
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 )
Cross-border M&A deals worth over $3 billion completed in 2015
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 )
Best countries for doing business
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)
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Global competitiveness ranking
5 out of 141 countries
(World Economic Forum - The Global Competitiveness Index 2019)
Index of Economic Freedom
Ranking: 4 / Score: 81.9 (Free) (2019)
(100=totally free 0=totally repressed)
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Government type
Federal republic (formally a confederation)
Languages
German (or Swiss German) (official) 62.6%, French (official) 22.9%, Italian (official) 8.2%, English 5.4%, Portuguese 3.7%, Albanian 3.2%, Serbo-Croatian 2.5%, Spanish 2.4%, Romansh (official) 0.5%, other 7.7% (2017 est.)
Religions
Roman Catholic 35.9%, Protestant 23.8%, other Christian 5.9%, Muslim 5.4%, Jewish 0.3%, other 1.4%, none 26%, unspecified 1.4% (2017 est.)
Total population
| 1990 | 2000 | 2010 | 2015 | 2020* |
| 6.67 million | 7.16 million | 7.79 million | 8.24 million | 8.65 million |
*Estimate
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Urban population as % of total population
| 1960 | 1980 | 2000 | 2018 |
| 70.9% | 74.5% | 73.4% | 73.8% |
Inequality of wealth distribution (Gini index)
32.3 (2015)
(0=perfect equality, 100=absolute inequality)
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Freedom House rating
Political Rights: 1
Civil Liberties: 1 (2017)
(1 represents the most free, 7 the least free rating)
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Total telephone subscribers as % of population
Fixed 39.2% Mobile 129.6% (2018)
(fixed-telephone subscribers and mobile-cellular subscribers)
Mercer Cost of living index
Zürich: 5th
Bern: 12th
Geneva: 13th
(2019)
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