People of Switzerland

Young people in Switzerland are as varied in their tastes and activities as their counterparts anywhere else in the world. Different trends come and go. Some live for modern technology, while others seek for harmony between nature and body. Some think only of material values and external appearances, others try to right society's wrongs by joining extreme political groups.

Fewer children have been born but Number of elderly people is increasing

In comparison with other European countries the number of foreigners taking Swiss nationality is quite low, although one in every 10 adults holding Swiss citizenship in 2001 had acquired it through naturalisation. Between 1992 and 2005 the annual number of naturalisations trebled. Three quarters of those taking Swiss nationality in 2005 came from Europe. One third of them were born in Switzerland.

Switzerland has had a law establishing equality between men and women since 1981. However, Switzerland lags behind most Western European countries in many aspects of sex equality.

Mountains are to Switzerland what potatoes are to Rösti. Switzerland’s awesome mountain landscape has shaped the identity of its inhabitants and entered into world art, literature and music.

Gig Oeri, one of the richest women in Switzerland, was named president of the club FC Basel in May 2006. As for her style of leadership, Oeri believes in close cooperation with the team manager Christian Gross, a chief scout and a legal adviser.

Millions of filmgoers know the story of the Indian girl who defied her parents to play football, but not many know that the film's inspiration lives in Switzerland.