The Facts
The area of Switzerland is 15,941 square miles , about half the size of Ireland. Switzerland is a land-locked country. These are the countries it touches: Italy, Germany, Austria and France.
The population is 7 million in Switzerland
The major cities are Zurich, Basle, Geneva, Bern and Lausanne.
Switzerland, like England, is a democracy. This means that anybody over a certain age can vote for or against the government. Unlike England, most of the power is in the cantons which there are 23 of.
Switzerland's main exports are: precision instruments, watches, machinery, chemicals and electronics. It is a rich and successful country.
The two religions are Catholic and Protestant. The numbers are about the same.
One franc equals about 40p.