Switzerland (french: Suisse, ita. Svizzera, rät. Svizra; officially Swiss Confederation) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is not a member of the European Union, but joined the Schengen Agreement on 1 November 2008. Its neighbouring countries are France, Germany, Austria, Italy and Liechtenstein. Switzerland is divided into 26 cantons, 6 of which have a half status vote (formerly called half-cantons).

The Alps play an important role for Swiss identity and culture as well as for tourism and communication. The Swiss Alps account for approximately 60% of the country's surface area. The Central Plateau, where all major cities (except Basel) are located, accounts for about 30 %. It is densely populated, but also characterized by agriculture and industry. The remaining 10 % is occupied by the Swiss Jura, a mountain range that stretches from Geneva to Schaffhausen.

Another special feature of the Swiss Confederation is its semi-direct democracy and diversity of national languages, which is unique in the world. In accordance with Article 70, paragraph 1 of the Constitution, German, French and Italian are official languages with equal rights, although Rhaeto-Romanic is also an official language of the Confederation when communicating with Rhaeto-Romanic speakers.