Switzerland is a landlocked country located at the confluence of Western, Central and Southern Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east.
Switzerland is geographically divided among the Swiss Plateau, the Alps and the Jura; the Alps occupy the greater part of the territory, whereas most of the country’s population of 8.7 million are concentrated on the plateau, which hosts the largest cities and economic centers, including Zürich, Geneva and Basel.
It has four main linguistic and cultural regions: German, French, Italian and Romansh. Although most Swiss are German-speaking, national identity is fairly cohesive, being rooted in a common historical background, shared values such as federalism and direct democracy, and Alpine symbolism. Swiss identity transcends language, ethnicity, and religion, leading to Switzerland being described as a Willensnation (“nation of volition”) rather than a nation state.
Switzerland is one of the world’s most developed countries. It has the highest nominal wealth per adult and the eighth-highest gross domestic product (GDP) per capita. Switzerland ranks first in the Human Development Index since 2021 and performs highly also on several international metrics, including economic competitiveness and democratic governance. Cities such as Zürich, Geneva and Basel rank among the highest in terms of quality of life, albeit with some of the highest costs of living.
These amazing photos were taken by Steve Brown that show life of Switzerland in 1994.
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| An old chapel at Riffelalp, 2000 feet above Zermatt, at the base of the Matterhorn, 1994 |
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| Basel quiet side street, 1994 |
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| Basel. Along the shoreline of the Rhine River, 1994 |
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| Basel. Swiss passenger train, 1994 |
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| Bauen on Lake Lucerne, Switzerland, 1994 |
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