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THE HISTORY OF SWITZERLAND

Founded: 1291

Population: approx. 7.5M

Capital: Berne

Currency: Swiss Franc

Switzerland officially Swiss Confederation is a landlocked nation of 7.5 million people in Western Europe. Switzerland is bordered by Germany, France, Italy, Austria and Liechtenstein. Switzerland is multilingual — it has four official languages: German, French, Italian and Romansh. Switzerland is divided into 26 cantons, six of which are sometimes referred to as "half-cantons," since they have less representation in the Council of States. Switzerland has had a long history of being neutral (it has not been in a foreign war since 1815) and therefore hosts various international organizations, such as the United Nations, which, though headquartered in New York City, has many departments in Switzerland.

The titles commonly used to name Switzerland in French (Confédération suisse), Italian (Confederazione Svizzera) and Romansh (Confederaziun svizra) translate as "Swiss Confederation", while the German name of Schweizerische Eidgenossenschaft translates literally as "Swiss Oath Fellowship" or "Swiss Commonwealth of the Covenant." It dates its independence to 1291; historically it was a confederation, and it has been a federation since 1848.

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