Switzerland is the Matterhorn... but so much more as well |
|
|
Switzerland is 7 million inhabitants, 4 official languages and 26 cantons  
Seven million inhabitants in a territory of some 40,000 km2, at the crossroads of many great European countries. There are four official languages: German, in fact an assembly of dialects known as “swiss german” (spoken by about 65% of the population in the north and the centre of the country), French (20% in the west of the country), Italian (about 8% in the south), Romanche (less than 1% in the south-east of the Grisons canton) and other languages (around 7%).
Switzerland is made up of 26 cantons. These cantons are sovereign states that have delegated certain of their prerogatives to a Federal state, a little along the lines of the United States of America. Each canton has its own constitution, its own parliament, a government and its own law courts. The canton is subdivided into communes. The cantons enjoy great autonomy with reference to the federal government, notably in fiscal matters, education and social rights. The people elect the members of all the parliaments, down to those of their commune. They have freedom to act at all levels – confederation, canton and commune – on political decisions via popular initiatives or through the referendum. The former allows a group of citizens to propose to the popular vote a modification of the Federal Constitution. The latter allows a decision taken by the Federal Parliament to be submitted to the people. The Swiss currency is the Swiss Franc; official abbreviation CHF, (for on-line conversion rate, click here) Photo: Zermatt Tourism |
Haut