Polity

Switzerland

Modern Sovereign Republics

Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country at the intersection of Central, Western and Southern Europe, bordered by Germany, France, Austria, Liechtenstein and Italy. It is a federal republic composed of 26 cantons, with Bern serving as the federal city, and includes four principal linguistic and cultural regions: German, French, Italian and Romansh. The country originates from the Old Swiss Confederacy established in the Late Middle Ages as a defensive and commercial alliance, and the Federal Charter of 1291 is considered the country's founding document. Switzerland has maintained a policy of armed neutrality since the 16th century and has not fought an international war since 1815, and it is the birthplace of the Red Cross and hosts the headquarters of most major international institutions including the WTO, WHO and UN. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

Facts

Start Year

1291 1

The lead also states Swiss independence from the Holy Roman Empire was formally recognized in the Peace of Westphalia in 1648, and that a new constitution in 1848 established the current federal system; 1291 is recorded here as the year the lead itself names the country's founding document.

Government type (class)

Confederation 1

Classification

Status (Extant or Former)

Extant 1

Switzerland

3 entries

Organization Type

Active Period

Headquarters

Era

Group Tree

Associated With

International Committee of the Red Cross

League of Nations

World Health Organization

In Era

The Contemporary Period

Source Wikipedia: Switzerland

In the Other Atlases

Government Type

Confederation

Also in Society and Culture Atlas: the government type of this subject.