Main article: Switzerland
GDP
2022
GDP estimate - $0.8 trillion
GDP size forecast - $0.84 trillion
2021
GDP size - $0.81 trillion
Agriculture's share of GDP is less than 2%
2018: Switzerland's share of nominal GDP in the global economy
Debt
Non-financial debt
2022: Aggregate non-financial debt
National debt
2023: State debt - 39% of GDP
2017: State debt - 42% of GDP
Gold and foreign exchange reserves
2022: Third in reserves in the world - $924 billion
At the end of 2022, China's reserves amounted to $3.31 trillion, Japan took second place with accumulations of $1.27 trillion, Switzerland - third with assets of $924 billion. Russia finished the year in fourth place with $582 billion. India is fifth, its reserves reach $563 billion.
Sovereign Wealth Fund
Currency: Swiss franc (CHF)
2023: Currency weakness as Credit Suisse bank collapses
The Swiss franc has been hit hard by the banking crisis and the collapse of Credit Suisse. CNBC writes that the demise of Credit Suisse sent shockwaves through financial markets and hit Switzerland's reputation as a stable country.
An executive said investors would now look to the mountainous central European country as a "financial banana republic."
Banking system
Key rate
2024: Rate cut to 1.25%
In June 2024, the key interest rate of the National Bank of Switzerland was reduced by a quarter point to 1.25%.
2022: Rate rises to 0.5%
On September 22, 2022, the National Bank of Switzerland raised rates by 75 bp to 0.5%, with inflation of 3.5%.
On June 16, 2022, the Swiss National Bank raised interest rates for the first time since 2007, responding to rising inflation, which officials say could spiral out of control.
He raised the interest rate by 50 bp to -0.25%.
2020: Negative rate -0.75%
2023: Swiss bank secrecy fades
Screen companies could be next. As part of the fight against money laundering, the government is drafting a bill in December 2023 that would force firms to announce their true owners and lawyers to report suspicious transactions.
Around 33,000 shell companies are based in Switzerland, according to a 2021 study by NGO Public Eye, according to the latest count. It is estimated that there is 1 shell company in Geneva for every 37 citizens.
2022: Banks take real estate from Russians against the background of the special operation of the Russian Federation in Ukraine
In April 2022, Swiss banks, against the backdrop of a special operation by Russia in Ukraine, began to take property from Russians who bought it on a mortgage. The bank refuses to accept payments on it due to the fact that the money came from Russia, although there were no sanctions. Next, the bank defaults on the mortgage and puts the property up for sale.
Swiss bankers are especially distinguished by the tendency to change the rules of the game after opening an account and making a deposit.
They often set deliberately impossible conditions, for example:
- demand to bring a legal opinion of a local law firm that the client fully complies with all Russian rules in relation to the offshore company to which the invoice is drawn up;
- or asking with a smile to increase the deposit amount to, say, $5 million and give the bank an investment mandate. This would ostensibly allow more scrutiny of the client's arguments that the money is of legitimate origin.
2019: $2.4 trillion in accounts of foreign individuals
Inflation/Deflation
2023: Down to 2.6% in April
2022
Inflation in July - 3.4%
Inflation rise in June to 3.4% or a 29-year high
in Inflation Switzerland reached 3.4% in June 2022 or a 29-year high.
2020
Stock market
2024: Swiss Issuers Capitalization 249% of GDP
Labour market
2022: Proportion of workers aged 65 or over - above 10%
2019: Average labor productivity - $82.92 per hour
Unemployment
2022: Unemployment rate - 4.3%
2020: Unemployment rate - 3.2%
Incomes and debts of the population
2023: Households re-credited: Their debts 127% of GDP
2022: A 0.02% decline in real income per worker in the third quarter
inPower
2022: Rise in electricity prices due to pressure on Russia
2021: Oil is the main source of energy in the country
2020: Energy consumption per capita
andIndustry
2021:240 robots per 10,000 employees
Food industry
2021: Cheese production - 23.7kg per capita
Foreign trade
Deliveries on the Rhine to the ports of the Netherlands
Swiss watch exports
Main article: Swiss watch exports
2023: Rise of gold exports to Turkey
Swiss gold exports to Turkey reached their highest level in 11 years in January 2023.
More than 58 tonnes of gold were shipped to Turkey in January, according to Swiss customs. This is the highest volume since January 2012 and 42% of Swiss gold exports.
2022
The United States is the largest export destination
Growth in drug exports to Russia by 40% to $2.3 billion - a record for 30 years
The scale of exports to Russia of non-sanctioned types of Swiss pharmaceuticals products reached its 30-year maximum in 2022.
Concerns and Roche Novartis other Swiss pharmaceutical companies made a profit of 2.1 billion Swiss francs (2.3 billion) through the export of drugs to Russia in 2022 dollars. Sales increased by 40% in Swissinfo.
Take-off of arms and ammunition exports up to $1 billion
Switzerland's arms and ammunition exports rose by nearly a third in 2022, though manufacturers complain that the country's long-standing neutrality puts them in a difficult position.
Gun sales rose to 1 billion; dollars The Middle East is among the main buyers.
Industry argues that due to restrictions on neutrality, it is deprived of business.
According to political experts, if one of NATO members became a participant in the conflict in Ukraine, Swiss arms manufacturers would have to immediately stop deliveries to all NATO countries.
2019: Computer Device Exports
Alcohol market
Minimum age to purchase alcoholic beverages
Consumption
Tea
2018: Per capita tea consumption per kg per year
Milk
2018: Milk consumption in litres per year per person
Meat
2023: Pork is the most consumed type of meat
2019: Pork is the most consumed type of meat
Beer
2019: Beer consumption in litres per year per person
R&D
2020: R&D spending - $13.7 billion
Information Technology
2024: Adoption of the law obliging government agencies to switch to open source software
At the end of July 2024, it became known that Switzerland adopted a federal law "On the use of electronic means for government tasks" (EMBAG). This document obliges government agencies to use open source software (OSS) exclusively. The requirement is aimed at improving the transparency, safety and efficiency of government activities.
The initiative dates back to 2011, when the Swiss Federal Supreme Court published its judicial application, Open Justitia, under an OSS license. This caused discontent from Weblaw, a company developing proprietary software for the legal sphere. After that, for more than ten years there were hot political and legal battles. As a result, the EMBAG law was approved at the federal level.
The document, among other things, obliges all government agencies to disclose the source code of software developed by them or for them, if this is not hindered by the rights of third parties or security concerns. The law aims to promote digital sovereignty and encourage innovation and cooperation in the public sector. It is assumed that the approved requirements will reduce the dependence of government organizations on specific software suppliers, allow companies to expand their digital business solutions and help reduce the IT costs of public sector enterprises.
Professor Matthias Stürmer, head of the Institute for Public Sector Transformation at the Berne University of Applied Sciences, believes that the new law opens up "huge opportunities for the government, IT industry and society." It is expected that other European countries may follow the example of Switzerland in the future.[1]