Economy of Switzerland

Switzerland's economy is one of the most stable economies in the world. Calculated according to the Gross Domestic Product, Switzerland is 19th in the world, based on the gross domestic product per capita, even on the 4th Place. Main employer is the service sector with its commercial and financial center. In addition, however, tourism and industry sectors important to the Swiss economy.

• 3.1 Agriculture and Natural Resources
• 3.2 Commercial and industrial
• 3.3 Energy
• 3.4 services

• 5.1 The largest companies by turnover in 2010
• 5.2 The largest banks by total assets in 2008
• 5.3 The largest insurance companies by gross revenue in 2008

History

The Swiss industrialization first took place mainly in the canton of Zurich and the surrounding area. Initially it was mainly the textile industry, but the developed - first only for their own needs - quickly an active machinery industry. This produced the textile machinery, steam engines and for the new railway locomotives. These were the first industrial priorities should soon even the chemical industry, eg on the Rhine Basel to follow. The watch industry developed mainly in Western Switzerland and along the Jura. Your knowledge and skills was much more in the craft and in precision work. Mechanical movements are produced initially in many small home workshops and small factories.

End of the 19th century came the electrical maturity. This meant the chance for recovery of the electricity industry in Switzerland. Due to lack of coal deposits her had been denied them. Forced to explore the possibility of mechanization without steam propulsion, Switzerland in the hydropower found ways and means to make up for their energy - handicap. This also led to the pioneering role of Switzerland in the electrification of its rail network.

Economic data

Gross domestic product

Switzerland's gross domestic product was 2012, about 592 billion Swiss francs, about CHF 74'010 per capita equivalent (per capita and the non - working population ).

Labor market

Switzerland has a liberal labor market. In particular, the dismissal is not as developed as in other European countries. This allows the company to respond flexibly to the economy.

In the wake of the global slowdown in the economy, unemployment rose in Switzerland at the beginning of the 3rd millennium from the low point of 1.6 % in 2001 up to the peak in the unemployment rate from 3.9% in 2004. In recent years, however, the economy picked up again and the unemployment rate began to fall again.

Average 109'189 people were registered as unemployed in 2007 in Switzerland, which corresponds to an unemployment rate of 2.8 %. In German-speaking Switzerland, it amounted to 2.2 %, whereas it was in western Switzerland and the Ticino at 4.2 %.

Structure of the Swiss economy

Agriculture and Natural Resources

Today, less than four percent of the population work in agriculture in the highly industrialized service economy Switzerland. Nevertheless, this sector is supported by the federal government with considerable funds (subsidies). Agricultural production is regionally very different. In the Pre-Alps, Alps and the Jura dominated livestock and dairy farming, the Central Plateau cereal, potato and sugar beet cultivation in eastern Switzerland and Valais fruit. In various areas of wine production. It exports mainly hard cheese ( Emmentaler, Gruyère (Gruyère), and Sbrinz ).

In Switzerland dominates in agriculture integrated production. Organic farming is about 9 % of production and grew strong until recently. From 2005, however, the share of organically managed farms took off again and indeed even stronger than the general structure change. Since 2011 this trend has turned and the number of organic farms is growing again. There is no cultivation of genetically modified plant varieties, except for research purposes.

Switzerland is in raw materials. Be Mined gravel, limestone (Jura ), clay, granite (Graubünden, Ticino ) and salt ( Rheinfelden, Bex ). Coal, petroleum and uranium, have so far been found only in traces. Several mines, which yielded in the past iron ore ( Sargan, Frick Valley, Stechelberg ), Asphalt ( La Presta Travers), copper ( Zinal ) or gold ( Gondo ), were now closed.

An important raw material of Switzerland is hydroelectric power, which covers two-thirds of the Swiss electricity demand with storage power plants and run power plants. See also: List of reservoirs in Switzerland. In a figurative sense, a very important " commodity " is the beauty of the landscape.

Commercial and industrial

• Traditional: watches industry, precision instruments, machinery, equipment, chemicals / pharmaceuticals, food
• Increasing: pharmaceutical, medical device

Most of the gross domestic product is generated in the secondary and tertiary sector. The secondary sector (industry) has moderate heavy employment declined in importance, yet around 24% of employees work in the industry.

In the secondary sector the watchmaking industry (mainly Swatch Group) and engineering dominate (eg ABB, Sulzer). Switzerland is also famous for the manufacture of precision instruments, apparatus, and for the pharmaceutical industry (Novartis, Roche), the chemical, food manufacturing (Nestlé) and medical technology.

Energy

One of the few commodities that has the Switzerland, is the water for power generation; the country is considered " water tower of Europe ". Nevertheless, the production of electricity with the help of run power plants ( along the rivers ) and pumped storage power plants contributed only about 14% of end- energy consumption of the country's ( exploitation of mountain reservoirs ) 2006. By far the largest consumption share is omitted by 57 % for oil products ( fuels and propellants ). Gas contributes to 12% electricity from five nuclear power plant blocks to around 10%. The efforts to reduce fossil fuels and thus the carbon dioxide loading of the atmosphere ( under the Kyoto Protocol ) are lagging in Switzerland is still well behind the ambitious reduction targets forth ( cf. especially the energy efficiency); Solar and wind energy together contribute less than 2 percent to cover the energy demand.

Services

The tertiary sector has an increasingly important: 73 % of the workforce worked in 2003 in the service sector ( 15.1% in trade, 5.7% in hotels and restaurants, 5.1% in banking and insurance).

Belonging to the largest banks in the world, UBS AG and Credit Suisse have their headquarters in Switzerland. Both banks together had 2003 gross revenues of CHF 60 billion.

For nearly 200 years, the tourism, favored by the Alps and the lakes, a main industry in Switzerland. There are numerous ski resorts, ski resorts see in Switzerland. The Swiss Alps are one of the main attractions of the worldwide tourism. Switzerland has a national park. In addition, in 2001 the Jungfrau- Aletsch- Bietschhorn was registered on the list of UNESCO World Natural Heritage.

The monetary and financial system

The Swiss financial system essentially consists of banks, insurance companies and lawyers who are acting as financial intermediaries.

The highly developed international banking system plays a disproportionate role for economic size of the country. Cheap interest of the Swiss franc, the long history of social, political and economic stability, the broad waiver of restrictions on trade and capital flows, and the traditional understanding of discretion in financial matters, have created favorable conditions for the development of the banking sector. UBS AG is the largest bank in Switzerland and one of the largest in the world. Total assets in 2011 amounted to CHF 1'419 billion. Credit Suisse is the second-largest bank with total assets of CHF 1,049 billion in 2010.

In Switzerland, there are over 9,000 lawyers. This occupational group is particularly influential than political. Many of them work as financial intermediaries, for example, set up and manage offshore companies in tax havens. These are often used for tax avoidance or management of black money. The President of the Swiss Bar Association said in 2013: ... for lawyers who have built systematically steuerverkürzende offshore structures for foreigners, there is a significant risk, and therefore there is currently a similar paradigm shift as with the bankers. Manage before tax money is no longer a business model.

The largest companies

The following list shows the 15 largest companies in Switzerland by turnover in 2008. This is an excerpt of the list of the largest companies in Switzerland. Banks and insurance companies follow in a separate list by total assets in 2008 or after premium income in 2008.

The largest companies by turnover in 2010

The largest banks by total assets in 2008

The largest insurance companies by gross revenue, 2008

1 Numbers at Zurich Financial Services in U.S. dollars ( reporting currency )

Competitiveness in international comparison

According to two independent rankings, Switzerland is placed in terms of competitiveness on the 3rd and on the 1st place:

• World Competitiveness Yearbook 2012: 1 Hong Kong, 2 USA, 3 Switzerland, 4 Singapore, 5 Sweden, 6 Canada. Germany is in 9th place, Austria in 21st place (out of 59 countries ).
• Growth Competitiveness Index 2011/12: 1 Switzerland, Singapore 2, Sweden 3, Finland 4, 5 USA, 6 Germany, 7 the Netherlands, 8 Denmark, Austria 19 (of 142 countries ).

The British Economist Intelligence Unit ranked the ten countries created with the Best Business Environment, which covers the years 2007-2011: 1st place: Denmark with 8.8 of 10 possible points. 2 Finland (8.8), 3 Singapore, Switzerland 4, 5 Canada, 6 Hong Kong, USA, each with 8.7 points 7, 8, Netherlands, 9 Australia, 10.Grossbritannien with 8, 6 points. (Source: The Economist, September 1st, 2007).