Geography & population

Switzerland in figures and on the map: population, area, cantons, languages and major cities.

• Geography of Switzerland: capital, area and cantons

  An area of 41,285 km², 26 cantons, no official capital but Bern as the federal city: the geography of Switzerland explained simply.

• Population of Switzerland: how many inhabitants and what demographics?

  Switzerland has around 8.96 million inhabitants (end of 2023). Population, density, languages, share of foreign residents and the most populous cities — the key figures explained.

• The 26 Swiss cantons: the full list with capitals

  The list of the 26 Swiss cantons with their abbreviation and capital, and what makes the canton the real building block of federalism.

• The climate of Switzerland: four seasons and sharp contrasts

  A temperate but highly contrasted climate depending on altitude and region: the Plateau, the Alps, Ticino, the role of the foehn and the retreat of the glaciers.

• The languages of Switzerland: four languages and the Röstigraben

  German, French, Italian, Romansh: the four national languages, the language regions and that cultural divide known as the Röstigraben.

• The largest cities in Switzerland: Zurich, Geneva, Basel…

  Zurich, Geneva, Basel, Lausanne, Bern: the ranking of Switzerland's largest cities by population, and why the urban area changes everything.