Switzerland

The Swiss Confederation was founded in 1291 as a defensive alliance among three cantons. In succeeding years, other localities joined the original three. The Swiss Confederation secured its independence from the Holy Roman Empire in 1499. A constitution of 1848, subsequently modified in 1874, replaced the confederation with a centralized federal government. Switzerland's sovereignty and neutrality have long been honored by the major European powers, and the country was not involved in either of the two World Wars. The political and economic integration of Europe over the past half century, as well as Switzerland's role in many UN and international organizations, has strengthened Switzerland's ties with its neighbors. However, the country did not officially become a UN member until 2002. Switzerland remains active in many UN and international organizations but retains a strong commitment to neutrality.
==Economical characteristics==
* Currency: Swiss franc (ISO code: CHF)
* Central bank discount rate: 0.05% (31 December 2008)
* Commercial banks lending rate: 3.34% (31 December 2008)
* Stock of money (M1): $275.5 billion (31 December 2008 est.)
* Quasi money (with M1 makes M2): $454.2 billion (31 December 2008 est.)
===Statistics===
Statistic / Year 	1999 	2000 	2001 	2002 	2003 	2004 	2005 	2006 	2007 	2008
GDP (million USD)World Bank. "Switzerland: GDP", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-29. 	268 212	249 918	254 990	278 621	325 040	362 991	371 939	388 452	426 643	491 950
Govt. debt (% of GDP)World Bank. "Switzerland: government debt", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-29. 	25.379 	25.614 	24.822 	28.306 	28.284 	28.078 	28.151 	25.378 	23.601 	
Govt. revenue (% of GDP)World Bank. "Switzerland: government revenue", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-29. 	23.141 	24.318 	18.456 	19.213 	18.398 	18.055 	18.336 	18.574 	18.269 	
Govt. expenses (% of GDP)World Bank. "Switzerland: government expenses", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-29.	26.491 	25.514 	18.589 	18.992 	19.584 	19.394 	19.170 	18.399 	17.633 	
Debt to revenue (years) 	1.097 	1.053 	1.345 	1.473 	1.537 	1.555 	1.535 	1.366 	1.292 	
==References==
Note: statistical data was rounded. Different sources may use different methodologies for their estimates. Debt to revenue is calculated by dividing the two variables from their original ('unrounded') values. It represents how long it would a government take to repay its entire debt if it used its whole revenue for this purpose.
==External links==
* Switzerland on Wikipedia
* Central bank of Switzerland
* BBC country profile
Category:Countries