Introduction
The country experienced a downturn during 200809, with a GDP contraction of 1.9% in 2009. In 2010, Switzerland held up better than many other European countries and the US, registering GDP growth of 2.7%. However, the governments policies to drive private consumption and capital investment enabled GDP to grow by 1.8% in 2011. According to MarketLine estimates, GDP is set to grow 1.9% in 2012.
Features and benefits
* Understand how Switzerland can be used to plan business investments or market entry through a holistic view of the country.
* Gain an understanding of the political situation in Switzerland, including key figures in the country and governance indicators.
* Understand demographics in Switzerland through analysis of income distribution and the rural-urban split, as well as healthcare and education.
Highlights
The PESTLE analysis of Switzerland identifies issues that affect the country's performance using the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) framework.
The political landscape section discusses the evolution of the political scenario in Switzerland, as well as the country's economic, social, foreign, and defense policies. The section also discusses the country's performance according to World Bank Governance Indicators.
The economic landscape section outlines the evolution of Switzerland's economy, as well as the country's performance in terms of GDP growth, composition by sector (agriculture, industry, and services), fiscal situation, international investment position, monetary situation, credit disbursement, banking sector, and employment.
Your key questions answered
* How does Switzerland perform in terms of technology-intensive sectors like telecoms and IT, patents, and R&D expenditure trends?
* What is the legal structure in Switzerland and are the laws conducive to investment?
* How does Switzerland perform in terms of environmental indicators and its environmental policies?
* How does Switzerland perform in terms of healthcare, income distribution, and education?
