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Compare Switzerland (2001) - Southern Ocean (2008)
Compare Switzerland (2001) z Southern Ocean (2008)
| Switzerland (2001) | Southern Ocean (2008) | |
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| Administrative divisions | 26 cantons (cantons, singular - canton in French; cantoni, singular - cantone in Italian; kantone, singular - kanton in German); Aargau, Ausser-Rhoden, Basel-Landschaft, Basel-Stadt, Bern, Fribourg, Geneve, Glarus, Graubunden, Inner-Rhoden, Jura, Luzern, Neuchatel, Nidwalden, Obwalden, Sankt Gallen, Schaffhausen, Schwyz, Solothurn, Thurgau, Ticino, Uri, Valais, Vaud, Zug, Zurich | - |
| Age structure | 0-14 years:
16.97% (male 634,030; female 601,929) 15-64 years: 67.73% (male 2,505,450; female 2,427,408) 65 years and over: 15.3% (male 453,366; female 661,091) (2001 est.) |
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| Agriculture - products | grains, fruits, vegetables; meat, eggs | - |
| Airports | 67 (2000 est.) | - |
| Airports - with paved runways | total:
42 over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 4 1,524 to 2,437 m: 13 914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 15 (2000 est.) |
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| Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
25 under 914 m: 25 (2000 est.) |
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| Area | total:
41,290 sq km land: 39,770 sq km water: 1,520 sq km |
total: 20.327 million sq km
note: includes Amundsen Sea, Bellingshausen Sea, part of the Drake Passage, Ross Sea, a small part of the Scotia Sea, Weddell Sea, and other tributary water bodies |
| Area - comparative | slightly less than twice the size of New Jersey | slightly more than twice the size of the US |
| Background | Switzerland's independence and neutrality have long been honored by the major European powers and Switzerland 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, may be rendering obsolete the country's concern for neutrality. | A large body of recent oceanographic research has shown that the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC), an ocean current that flows from west to east around Antarctica, plays a crucial role in global ocean circulation. The region where the cold waters of the ACC meet and mingle with the warmer waters of the north defines a distinct border - the Antarctic Convergence - which fluctuates with the seasons, but which encompasses a discrete body of water and a unique ecologic region. The Convergence concentrates nutrients, which promotes marine plant life, and which in turn allows for a greater abundance of animal life. In the spring of 2000, the International Hydrographic Organization decided to delimit the waters within the Convergence as a fifth world ocean - the Southern Ocean - by combining the southern portions of the Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, and Pacific Ocean. The Southern Ocean extends from the coast of Antarctica north to 60 degrees south latitude, which coincides with the Antarctic Treaty Limit and which approximates the extent of the Antarctic Convergence. As such, the Southern Ocean is now the fourth largest of the world's five oceans (after the Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, and Indian Ocean, but larger than the Arctic Ocean). It should be noted that inclusion of the Southern Ocean does not imply recognition of this feature as one of the world's primary oceans by the US Government. |
| Birth rate | 10.12 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | - |
| Budget | revenues:
$32.66 billion expenditures: $34.89 billion, including capital expenditures of $2.3 billion (1998 est.) |
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| Capital | Bern | - |
| Climate | temperate, but varies with altitude; cold, cloudy, rainy/snowy winters; cool to warm, cloudy, humid summers with occasional showers | sea temperatures vary from about 10 degrees Celsius to -2 degrees Celsius; cyclonic storms travel eastward around the continent and frequently are intense because of the temperature contrast between ice and open ocean; the ocean area from about latitude 40 south to the Antarctic Circle has the strongest average winds found anywhere on Earth; in winter the ocean freezes outward to 65 degrees south latitude in the Pacific sector and 55 degrees south latitude in the Atlantic sector, lowering surface temperatures well below 0 degrees Celsius; at some coastal points intense persistent drainage winds from the interior keep the shoreline ice-free throughout the winter |
| Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 17,968 km |
| Constitution | 29 May 1874 | - |
| Country name | conventional long form:
Swiss Confederation conventional short form: Switzerland local long form: Schweizerische Eidgenossenschaft (German), Confederation Suisse (French), Confederazione Svizzera (Italian) local short form: Schweiz (German), Suisse (French), Svizzera (Italian) |
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| Currency | Swiss franc (CHF) | - |
| Death rate | 8.77 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | - |
| Debt - external | $NA | - |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador J. Richard FREDERICKS embassy: Jubilaeumstrasse 93, 3001 Bern mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [41] (31) 357 70 11 FAX: [41] (31) 357 73 44 |
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| Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Alfred DEFAGO chancery: 2900 Cathedral Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 745-7900 FAX: [1] (202) 387-2564 consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco consulate(s): Boston |
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| Disputes - international | none | Antarctic Treaty defers claims (see Antarctica entry), but Argentina, Australia, Chile, France, NZ, Norway, and UK assert claims (some overlapping), including the continental shelf in the Southern Ocean; several states have expressed an interest in extending those continental shelf claims under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) to include undersea ridges; the US and most other states do not recognize the land or maritime claims of other states and have made no claims themselves (the US and Russia have reserved the right to do so); no formal claims exist in the waters in the sector between 90 degrees west and 150 degrees west |
| Economic aid - donor | ODA, $1.1 billion (1995) | - |
| Economy - overview | Switzerland, a prosperous and stable modern market economy with a per capita GDP 20% above that of the big western European economies, experienced solid growth of 3% in 2000, but growth is expected to fall back to about 2% in 2001. The Swiss in recent years have brought their economic practices largely into conformity with the EU's to enhance their international competitiveness. Although the Swiss are not pursuing full EU membership in the near term, in 1999 Bern and Brussels signed agreements to further liberalize trade ties, and the agreements should come into force in 2001. Switzerland is still considered a safe haven for investors, because it has maintained a degree of bank secrecy and has kept up the franc's long-term external value. | Fisheries in 2003-04 landed 136,262 metric tons, of which 87% (118,166 tons) was krill and 8% (11,182 tons) Patagonian toothfish, compared to 142,555 tons in 2002-03 of which 83% (117,728 tons) was krill and 12% (16,479 tons) Patagonian toothfish (estimated fishing from the area covered by the Convention of the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), which extends slightly beyond the Southern Ocean area). International agreements were adopted in late 1999 to reduce illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing, which in the 2000-01 season landed, by one estimate, 8,376 metric tons of Patagonian and Antarctic toothfish. In the 2004-05 Antarctic summer, 28,202 tourists, most of them seaborne (approximately 97%), visited the Southern Ocean and Antarctica, compared to 14,762 in 1999-2000. |
| Electricity - consumption | 51.862 billion kWh (1999) | - |
| Electricity - exports | 31.955 billion kWh (1999) | - |
| Electricity - imports | 21.723 billion kWh (1999) | - |
| Electricity - production | 66.768 billion kWh (1999) | - |
| Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
3.44% hydro: 59.16% nuclear: 35.43% other: 1.97% (1999) |
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| Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Lake Maggiore 195 m highest point: Dufourspitze 4,634 m |
lowest point: -7,235 m at the southern end of the South Sandwich Trench
highest point: sea level 0 m |
| Environment - current issues | air pollution from vehicle emissions and open-air burning; acid rain; water pollution from increased use of agricultural fertilizers; loss of biodiversity | increased solar ultraviolet radiation resulting from the Antarctic ozone hole in recent years, reducing marine primary productivity (phytoplankton) by as much as 15% and damaging the DNA of some fish; illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing in recent years, especially the landing of an estimated five to six times more Patagonian toothfish than the regulated fishery, which is likely to affect the sustainability of the stock; large amount of incidental mortality of seabirds resulting from long-line fishing for toothfish
note: the now-protected fur seal population is making a strong comeback after severe overexploitation in the 18th and 19th centuries |
| Environment - international agreements | party to:
Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Law of the Sea |
the Southern Ocean is subject to all international agreements regarding the world's oceans; in addition, it is subject to these agreements specific to the Antarctic region: International Whaling Commission (prohibits commercial whaling south of 40 degrees south [south of 60 degrees south between 50 degrees and 130 degrees west]); Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Seals (limits sealing); Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (regulates fishing)
note: many nations (including the US) prohibit mineral resource exploration and exploitation south of the fluctuating Polar Front (Antarctic Convergence), which is in the middle of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current and serves as the dividing line between the cold polar surface waters to the south and the warmer waters to the north |
| Ethnic groups | German 65%, French 18%, Italian 10%, Romansch 1%, other 6% | - |
| Exchange rates | Swiss francs per US dollar - 1.6303 (January 2001), 1.6888 (2000), 1.5022 (1999), 1.4498 (1998), 1.4513 (1997), 1.2360 (1996) | - |
| Executive branch | chief of state:
President Moritz LEUENBERGER (since 1 January 2001); Vice President Kaspar VILLIGER (since 1 January 2001); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Moritz LEUENBERGER (since 1 January 2001); Vice President Kaspar VILLIGER (since 1 January 2001); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Federal Council or Bundesrat (in German), Conseil Federal (in French), Consiglio Federale (in Italian) elected by the Federal Assembly from among its own members for a four-year term elections: president and vice president elected by the Federal Assembly from among the members of the Federal Council for one-year terms that run concurrently; election last held 6 December 2000 (next to be held NA December 2001) election results: Moritz LEUENBERGER elected president; percent of Federal Assembly vote - 76%; Kaspar VILLIGER elected vice president; percent of legislative vote - 72% |
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| Exports | $91.3 billion (f.o.b., 2000) | - |
| Exports - commodities | machinery, chemicals, metals, watches, agricultural products | - |
| Exports - partners | EU 65.8% (Germany 22.6%, France 9.2%, Italy 8.0%, UK 5.5%, Austria 3.2%), US 12.4%, Japan 4.0% (1999) | - |
| Fiscal year | calendar year | - |
| Flag description | red square with a bold, equilateral white cross in the center that does not extend to the edges of the flag | - |
| GDP | purchasing power parity - $207 billion (2000 est.) | - |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
2.8% industry: 31.1% services: 66.1% (1995) |
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| GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $28,600 (2000 est.) | - |
| GDP - real growth rate | 3% (2000 est.) | - |
| Geographic coordinates | 47 00 N, 8 00 E | 60 00 S, 90 00 E (nominally), but the Southern Ocean has the unique distinction of being a large circumpolar body of water totally encircling the continent of Antarctica; this ring of water lies between 60 degrees south latitude and the coast of Antarctica and encompasses 360 degrees of longitude |
| Geography - note | landlocked; crossroads of northern and southern Europe; along with southeastern France and northern Italy, contains the highest elevations in Europe | the major chokepoint is the Drake Passage between South America and Antarctica; the Polar Front (Antarctic Convergence) is the best natural definition of the northern extent of the Southern Ocean; it is a distinct region at the middle of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current that separates the cold polar surface waters to the south from the warmer waters to the north; the Front and the Current extend entirely around Antarctica, reaching south of 60 degrees south near New Zealand and near 48 degrees south in the far South Atlantic coinciding with the path of the maximum westerly winds |
| Highways | total:
71,059 km (including 1,638 km of expressways) paved: 71,059 km unpaved: 0 km (1999) |
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| Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
2.8% highest 10%: 25.2% (1992) |
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| Illicit drugs | because of more stringent government regulations, used significantly less as a money-laundering center; transit country for and consumer of South American cocaine and Southwest Asian heroin | - |
| Imports | $91.6 billion (f.o.b., 2000) | - |
| Imports - commodities | machinery, chemicals, vehicles, metals; agricultural products, textiles | - |
| Imports - partners | EU 77.7% (Germany 31.0%, France 12.0%, Italy 9.7%, Netherlands 5.1%, UK 5.7%), US 7.1%, Japan 2.9% (1999) | - |
| Independence | 1 August 1291 (Founding of the Swiss Confederation) | - |
| Industrial production growth rate | 8.6% (2000 est.) | - |
| Industries | machinery, chemicals, watches, textiles, precision instruments | - |
| Infant mortality rate | 4.48 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | - |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1.5% (2000 est.) | - |
| International organization participation | ACCT, AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, CCC, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, EFTA, ESA, FAO, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAIA (observer), MONUC, NAM (guest), NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN (observer), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOP, UNOMIG, UNTSO, UNU, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC | - |
| Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 44 (Switzerland and Liechtenstein) (2000) | - |
| Irrigated land | 250 sq km (1993 est.) | - |
| Judicial branch | Federal Supreme Court (judges elected for six-year terms by the Federal Assembly) | - |
| Labor force | 3.9 million (964,000 foreign workers, mostly Italian) (1998 est.) | - |
| Labor force - by occupation | services 69.1%, industry 26.3%, agriculture 4.6% (1998 est.) | - |
| Land boundaries | total:
1,852 km border countries: Austria 164 km, France 573 km, Italy 740 km, Liechtenstein 41 km, Germany 334 km |
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| Land use | arable land:
10% permanent crops: 2% permanent pastures: 28% forests and woodland: 32% other: 28% (1993 est.) |
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| Languages | German (official) 63.7%, French (official) 19.2%, Italian (official) 7.6%, Romansch 0.6%, other 8.9% | - |
| Legal system | civil law system influenced by customary law; judicial review of legislative acts, except with respect to federal decrees of general obligatory character; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations | - |
| Legislative branch | bicameral Federal Assembly or Bundesversammlung (in German), Assemblee Federale (in French), Assemblea Federale (in Italian) consists of the Council of States or Standerat (in German), Conseil des Etats (in French), Consiglio degli Stati (in Italian) (46 seats - members serve four-year terms) and the National Council or Nationalrat (in German), Conseil National (in French), Consiglio Nazionale (in Italian) (200 seats - members are elected by popular vote on a basis of proportional representation to serve four-year terms)
elections: Council of States - last held in 1999 (each canton determines when the next election will be held); National Council - last held 24 October 1999 (next to be held NA October 2003) election results: Council of States - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - FDP 18, CVP 15, SVP 7, SPS 6; National Council - percent of vote by party - SPS 22.5%, SVP 22.6%, FDP 19.9%, CVP 15.8%, other small parties all under 5%; seats by party - SPS 51, SVP 44, FDP 43, CVP 35, Greens 9, other small parties 18 |
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| Life expectancy at birth | total population:
79.73 years male: 76.85 years female: 82.76 years (2001 est.) |
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| Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 99% (1980 est.) male: NA% female: NA% |
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| Location | Central Europe, east of France, north of Italy | body of water between 60 degrees south latitude and Antarctica |
| Map references | Europe | Antarctic Region |
| Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | - |
| Merchant marine | total:
24 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 435,966 GRT/780,458 DWT ships by type: bulk 12, cargo 6, chemical tanker 5, petroleum tanker 1 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: UK 1 (2000 est.) |
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| Military branches | Army, Air Force, Frontier Guards, Fortification Guards | - |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure | $3.1 billion (FY98) | - |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.2% (FY98) | - |
| Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
1,849,034 (2001 est.) |
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| Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
1,570,918 (2001 est.) |
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| Military manpower - military age | 20 years of age | - |
| Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
42,597 (2001 est.) |
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| National holiday | Founding of the Swiss Confederation, 1 August (1291) | - |
| Nationality | noun:
Swiss (singular and plural) adjective: Swiss |
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| Natural hazards | avalanches, landslides, flash floods | huge icebergs with drafts up to several hundred meters; smaller bergs and iceberg fragments; sea ice (generally 0.5 to 1 m thick) with sometimes dynamic short-term variations and with large annual and interannual variations; deep continental shelf floored by glacial deposits varying widely over short distances; high winds and large waves much of the year; ship icing, especially May-October; most of region is remote from sources of search and rescue |
| Natural resources | hydropower potential, timber, salt | probable large and possible giant oil and gas fields on the continental margin, manganese nodules, possible placer deposits, sand and gravel, fresh water as icebergs; squid, whales, and seals - none exploited; krill, fish |
| Net migration rate | 1.37 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | - |
| Pipelines | crude oil 314 km; natural gas 1,506 km | - |
| Political parties and leaders | Christian Democratic People's Party (Christichdemokratische Volkspartei der Schweiz or CVP, Parti Democrate-Chretien Suisse or PDC, Partito Democratico-Cristiano Popolare Svizzero or PDC, Partida Cristiandemocratica dalla Svizra or PCD) [Adalbert DURRER, president]; Green Party (Grune Partei der Schweiz or Grune, Parti Ecologiste Suisse or Les Verts, Partito Ecologista Svizzero or I Verdi, Partida Ecologica Svizra or La Verda) [Ruedi BAUMANN, president]; Radical Free Democratic Party (Freisinnig-Demokratische Partei der Schweiz or FDP, Parti Radical-Democratique Suisse or PRD, Partitio Liberal-Radicale Svizzero or PLR) [Franz STEINEGGER, president]; Social Democratic Party (Sozialdemokratische Partei der Schweiz or SPS, Parti Socialist Suisse or PSS, Partito Socialista Svizzero or PSS, Partida Socialdemocratica de la Svizra or PSS) [Christiane BRUNNER, president]; Swiss People's Party (Schweizerische Volkspartei or SVP, Union Democratique du Centre or UDC, Unione Democratica de Centro or UDC, Uniun Democratica dal Center or UDC) [Ueli MAURER, president]; and other minor parties | - |
| Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | - |
| Population | 7,283,274 (July 2001 est.) | - |
| Population below poverty line | NA% | - |
| Population growth rate | 0.27% (2001 est.) | - |
| Ports and harbors | Basel | - |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 4, FM 113 (plus many low power stations), shortwave 2 (1998) | - |
| Radios | 7.1 million (1997) | - |
| Railways | total:
4,492 km (1,564 km double track) standard gauge: 3,317 km 1.435-m gauge (3,288 km electrified) narrow gauge: 1,165 km 1.000-m gauge (1,165 km electrified); 10 km 0.800-m gauge (1998) |
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| Religions | Roman Catholic 46.1%, Protestant 40%, other 5%, none 8.9% (1990) | - |
| Sex ratio | at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.69 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
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| Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | - |
| Telephone system | general assessment:
excellent domestic and international services domestic: extensive cable and microwave radio relay networks international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean and Indian Ocean) |
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| Telephones - main lines in use | 4.82 million (1998) | - |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 1.967 million (1999) | - |
| Television broadcast stations | 115 (plus 1,919 repeaters) (1995) | - |
| Terrain | mostly mountains (Alps in south, Jura in northwest) with a central plateau of rolling hills, plains, and large lakes | the Southern Ocean is deep, 4,000 to 5,000 m over most of its extent with only limited areas of shallow water; the Antarctic continental shelf is generally narrow and unusually deep, its edge lying at depths of 400 to 800 m (the global mean is 133 m); the Antarctic icepack grows from an average minimum of 2.6 million sq km in March to about 18.8 million sq km in September, better than a sixfold increase in area; the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (21,000 km in length) moves perpetually eastward; it is the world's largest ocean current, transporting 130 million cubic meters of water per second - 100 times the flow of all the world's rivers |
| Total fertility rate | 1.47 children born/woman (2001 est.) | - |
| Transportation - note | - | Drake Passage offers alternative to transit through the Panama Canal |
| Unemployment rate | 1.9% (2000 est.) | - |
| Waterways | 65 km
note: The Rhine carries heavy traffic on the Basel-Rheinfelden and Schaffhausen-Bodensee stretches; there are also 12 navigable lakes |
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