Switzerland in 2004

Switzerland was located in central Europe, with Germany to the north, Austria to the east, Italy to the south and France to the west. Placed high in the Alpine region of central Europe, most of the country's land area was too mountainous to permit any great density of population...

Switzerland was part of the Holy Roman Empire until 1499 when it gained independence. In 1515, Switzerland declared its neutrality after nearly being defeated by the French and the Venetians. In 1648, the Peace of Westphalia concluded the Thirty Years' War in Europe and recognized Swiss independence...

Swiss industry accounted for approximately 30 per cent of the country's GDP and employed about 33 per cent of the labor force. Among the important industries were machine tools, pharmaceuticals, textiles, watch making, food processing, chemicals and engineering...

Switzerland's principal exports included electrical non-electrical machinery, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, clocks and watches, textiles and clothing, metals, jewellery and foodstuffs. Main destinations were Germany (19 per cent of 2001 total), the US (10.5 per cent); France (9.8 per cent), Italy (9.1 per cent); and the UK (7.4 per cent)...