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Switzerland Geography Profile

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LocationCentral Europe, east of France, north of Italy
Geographic coordinates47 00 N, 8 00 E
Map referencesEurope
Areatotal: 41,277 sq km

land: 39,997 sq km

water: 1,280 sq km
Area - comparativeslightly less than twice the size of New Jersey
Land boundariestotal: 1,770 km

border countries (5): Austria 158 km, France 525 km, Italy 698 km, Liechtenstein 41 km, Germany 348 km
Coastline0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claimsnone (landlocked)
Climatetemperate, but varies with altitude; cold, cloudy, rainy/snowy winters; cool to warm, cloudy, humid summers with occasional showers
Terrainmostly mountains (Alps in south, Jura in northwest) with a central plateau of rolling hills, plains, and large lakes
Elevation extremeshighest point: Dufourspitze 4,634 m

lowest point: Lake Maggiore 195 m

mean elevation: 1,350 m
Natural resourceshydropower potential, timber, salt
Land useagricultural land: 38.7% (2018 est.)

arable land: 10.2% (2018 est.)

permanent crops: 0.6% (2018 est.)

permanent pasture: 27.9% (2018 est.)

forest: 31.5% (2018 est.)

other: 29.8% (2018 est.)
Irrigated land630 sq km (2012)
Total renewable water resources53.5 billion cubic meters (2017 est.)
Natural hazardsavalanches, landslides; flash floods
Geography - notelandlocked; crossroads of northern and southern Europe; along with southeastern France, northern Italy, and southwestern Austria, has the highest elevations in the Alps

Source: CIA World Factbook
This page was last updated on September 18, 2021

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