Syeda Mahfuja RahmanSyeda Mahfuja RahmanNikita KempraiNikita KempraiPallavi KumariPallavi KumariSaheli ChakrabotySaheli ChakrabotyKiralungle PameKiralungle Pame

Switzerland in its full name Switzerland in its full name the Swiss Confederation, is a the Swiss Confederation, is a federal republic consisting of federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat/capital of the federal seat/capital of the federal authorities. The country is authorities. The country is situated in western situated in western Europe,where it is bordered Europe,where it is bordered by Germany to the north, by Germany to the north, France to the west, Italy to France to the west, Italy to the south, and Austria and the south, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland comprises three Switzerland comprises three main linguistic and cultural main linguistic and cultural regions: German, French, regions: German, French, and Italian, to which the and Italian, to which the Romansh-speaking valleys Romansh-speaking valleys are added.are added.

Switzerland is a landlocked country geographically divided between the Alps, the Swiss Plateau and the Jura, spanning an area of 41,285 km2 (15,940 sq mi). The population is about 7.9 million, resulting in an average population density of around 190 people per square kilometre (485/sq mi).While the Alps occupy the greater part of the territory, the Swiss population of approximately 8 million people is concentrated mostly on the Plateau, where the largest cities are to be found. Among them are the two global cities and economic centres of Zurich and Geneva.

Zurich

Switzerland lies between latitudes 45° and 48° N, and longitudes 5° and 11° E. It contains three basic topographical areas: the Swiss Alps to the south, the Swiss plateau or middleland, and the Jura mountains on the north. About a hundred of Switzerland's mountain peaks are close to or higher than 4,000 metres (13,000 ft).At 4,634 m (15,203 ft), Monte Rosa is the highest, although the Matterhorn (4,478 m/14,692 ft) is probably the most famous. The largest lake is Lake Geneva. The Rhone River is both the main input and output of Lake Geneva.

GENEVA

The Federal Constitution adopted in 1848 is the legal foundation of the modern federal state. It is among the oldest constitutions in the world. A new Constitution was adopted in 1999, but did not introduce notable changes to the federal structure

The Swiss Parliament consists of two houses: the Council of States which has 46 representatives (two from each canton and one from each half-canton) who are elected under a system determined by each canton, and the National Council, which consists of 200 members who are elected under a system of proportional representation, depending on the population of each canton. Members of both houses serve for 4 years. When both houses are in joint session, they are known collectively as the Federal Assembly. The Federal Council constitutes the federal government, directs the federal administration and serves as collective Head of State

Switzerland has a stable, prosperous and high-tech economy. In 2011, it was ranked as being the wealthiest country in the world in per capita terms (with 'wealth' being defined to include both financial and non-financial assets).It has the world's nineteenth largest economy by nominal GDP and the thirty-sixth largest by purchasing power parity. It is the twentieth largest exporter and eighteenth largest importer of goods

Education in Switzerland is very diverse because the constitution of Switzerland delegates the authority for the school system to the cantons. There are both public and private schools, including many private international schools. The minimum age for primary school is about six years in all cantons, but most cantons provide a free "children's school" starting at four or five years old.[

There are 12 universities in Switzerland, ten of which are maintained at cantonal level and usually offer a range of non-technical subjects. The first university in Switzerland was founded in 1460 in Basel. The biggest university in Switzerland is the University of Zurich with nearly 25,000 students.

In addition there are various Universities of Applied Sciences. In business and management studies, University of St. Gallen, (HSG) and International Institute for Management Development (IMD) are the leaders within the country and highly regarded internationally.

Switzerland lies at the crossroads of several major European cultures that have heavily influenced the country's languages and culture. Switzerland has four official languages: German, French, Italian, Romansh.

Switzerland has no official state religion, though most of the cantons (except Geneva and Neuchâtel) recognize official churches, which are either the Catholic Church or the (Protestant) Swiss Reformed Church

SportsSportsSkiing, snowboarding and mountaineering are among the most popular sports in Switzerland, the nature of the country being particularly suited for such activities. Winter sports are practiced by the natives and tourists since the second half of the 19th century with the invention of bobsleigh in St. Moritz.

Convent of Saint JohnConvent of Saint John The Convent of Saint John is an ancient Benedictine monastery in Müstair village of Val Müstair, Switzerland, and, by reason of its exceptionally well-preserved heritage of Carolingian art, has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1983. The Convent of Müstair is a Christian monastary from the Carolingian period. It has Switzerland's greatest series of figurative murals, painted c. 800 AD, along with other Romanesque art and designs.

La Chaux-de-FondsLa Chaux-de-Fonds La Chaux-de-Fonds is a Swiss city of the district of La Chaux-de-Fonds in the canton of Neuchâtel. It is located in the Jura mountains at an altitude of 1000 m, a few kilometers south of the French border

The The Abbey of Saint GallAbbey of Saint Gall The Abbey of Saint Gall is a religious complex in the city of St. Gallen in present-day Switzerland. The Carolingian-era Abbey has existed since 719 and became an independent principality during the 13th century, and was for many centuries one of the chief Benedictine abbeys in Europe. It was founded by Saint Othman on the spot where Saint Gall had erected his hermitage. The Carolingian Convent of St Gall was one of the most important in Europe. It was in operation from the 8th century to its secularization in 1805. Its library is one of the richest and oldest in the world and contains a number of precious manuscripts

The The LavauxLavaux The Lavaux is a region in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland, in the district of Lavaux. Although there is some evidence that vines were grown in the area in Roman times, the actual vine terraces can be traced back to the 11th century, when Benedictine and Cistercian monasteries controlled the area. The Lavaux consist of 830 hectares of terraced wineyards that stretch for about 30 km along the south-facing northern shores of Lake Geneva. The Lavaux Vineyard Terraces stretch for about 30 km (19 mi) along the south-facing northern shores of Lake Geneva from Chillon Castle to the eastern outskirts of Lausanne in the Vaud region

Monte San Giorgio is a wooded mountain (1,097 m above sea level) located between the south of canton Ticino in Switzerland and the region of Lombardy in Italy. Monte San Giorgio became a UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 2003, because it "is the single best known record of marine life in the Triassic period, The pyramid-shaped, wooded mountain of Monte San Giorgio beside Lake Lugano is regarded as the best fossil record of marine life from the Triassic Period (245–230 million years ago)

Jungfrau-AletschJungfrau-AletschThe site includes several of the highest mountains in the Central Alps along with the largest glacier in Eurasia. The Jungfrau-Aletsch protected area (officially Swiss Alps Jungfrau-Aletsch) is located in south-western Switzerland between the cantons of Berne and Valais. It is a mountainous region in the easternmost side of the Bernese Alps, containing the northern wall of Jungfrau and Eiger, and the largest glaciated area in western Eurasia, comprising the Aletsch Glacier. The Jungfrau-Aletsch protected area is the first World Natural Heritage site in the Alps.

The Bellinzona site consists of a group of fortifications grouped around the castle of Castelgrande, which stands on a rocky peak looking out over the entire Ticino valley. Running from the castle, a series of fortified walls protect the ancient town and block the passage through the valley. A second castle (Montebello) forms an integral part of the fortifications, while a third but separate castle (Sasso Corbaro) was built on an isolated rocky promontory south-east of the other fortifications.

The Unteraar Glacier is the larger of the two sources of the Aar river in the Bernese Alps. It emerges from the association of the Finsteraar Glacier (near the Finsteraarhorn) and the Lauteraar Glacier (near the Lauteraarhorn) and flows for about 6 km (3.7 mi) to the east down to the Grimselsee near the Grimsel Pass