The economy of Switzerland is one of the world's most stable economies. Its policy of long-term monetary security and political stability has made Switzerland a safe haven for investors, creating an economy that is increasingly dependent on a steady tide of foreign investment.
Because of the country's small size and high labor specialization, industry and trade are the keys to Switzerland's economic livelihood. Switzerland has achieved one of the highest per capita incomes in the world with low unemployment rates and a balanced budget. The service sector has also come to play a significant economic role.
Its industrial sector began to grow in the mid-19th century, and had become the largest in Europe by the beginning of the 20th century. In October 2011, Switzerland had the highest average wealth per adult at US$540,000, making Swiss residents the richest in the world. Switzerland was the only country that had exceeded US$500,000.[15] This is said to have been because of the rising value of the swiss franc which has increased the wealth value of Swiss residents.[16]
Economic sectors :
The Swiss economy follows the typical First World model with respect to the economic sectors. Only a small minority of the workers are involved in the Primary or Agricultural sector (3.8% of the population, in 2006[update]) while a larger minority is involved in the Secondary or Manufacturing sector (23% in 2006[update]). The majority of the working population are involved in the Tertiary or Services sector of the economy (73.2% in 2006[update]).[19]

Industrial

Switzerland has an extensive industrial sector, it is not very well known around the world but present with companies in different industrial sectors such as food processing like Nestlé, chemical for industrial and construction use like Sika AG, pharmaceutical like Novartis, roof coating Sarnafil, among many others.
Agriculture
Switzerland is extremely protective of its agricultural industry. High tariffs and extensive domestic subsidisations encourage domestic production, which currently produces about 60% of the food consumed in the country.
Exports imp
The CIA World Factbook estimates Switzerland's 2011 exports at $308.3 billion and the 2010 exports at $258.5 billion. Imports are estimated to be $299.6 billion in 2011 and $246.2 billion in 2010. According to the World Factbook numbers, Switzerland is the 20th largest exporter and the 18th largest importer.[20]
Trading partners
Switzerland's largest trading partner is Germany. In 2009, 21% of Switzerland's exports and 29% of its imports came from Germany. The United States was the second largest destination of exports (9.1% of total exports) and the fourth largest source of imports (6.7%).[26]
Switzerland's neighbors made up next largest group; Italy was third for exports (8.6%) and second for imports (10%), France was fourth for exports (8%) and third for imports (8.1%) and Austria was fifth for exports (4.6%) and sixth for imports (3.7%). Major non-European trading partners included; Japan (seventh for exports with 3.6% and twelfth for imports with 2%), China (eighth for exports and imports with 3.1% and 2.5% respectively) and Turkey (sixteenth for exports with 1.2% and ninth for imports with 2.3%).[26]
Exports and imp exports include; medicaments, glycosides and vaccines, watches, orthopaedic appliances and precious jewellery. Some raw ores or metals are exported, but the majority of the exports in this category are finished jewellery or other finished products. Agricultural products that Switzerland is famous for, such as cheese (0.29%), wine (0.05%) and chocolate (0.39%) all make up only a small portion of Swiss exports and agricultural products make up only a small portion of all exports.[26]
Switzerland's main imports include; medicaments, cars, precious jewellery and other unclassified transactions. While Switzerland has a long tradition of manufacturing cars,[27] there are currently no large-scale assembly line automobile manufacturers in the country.
Tourism
Switzerland has a highly developed tourism infrastructure, especially in the mountainous regions and cities, making it a good market for tourism-related equipment and services. The total gross value added from tourism is 14.9 billion. Tourism provides a total of 144,838 full time equivalent jobs in the entire country
Banking
In 2003, the financial sector comprised an estimated 11.6% of Switzerland's GDP and employed approximately 196,000 people (136,000 of whom work in the banking sector); this represents about 5.6% of the total Swiss workforce.[31]
Population and GDP
|Population |
| - |2012 estimate |8,000,000[3] (96th) |
| - |2000 census |7,452,075 |
| - |Density |188/km2 (65th) |
| | |477.4/sq mi |
|GDP (PPP) |2011 estimate |
| - |Total |$339.890 billion[4] |
| - |Per capita |$43,369[4] |
|GDP (nominal) |2011 estimate |
| - |Total |$636.059 billion[4] |
| - |Per capita |$81,160[4] |

GDP - per capita (PPP): $43,900 (2011 est.)
$43,400 (2010 est.)
$42,500 (2009 est.) note: data are in 2011 US dollars
Terms of trade

Terms of Trade in Switzerland increased to 111.86 Index Points in August of 2012 from 109.97 Index Points in July of 2012, according to a report released by the Swiss Economic Institute (KOF). Historically, from 1973 until 2012, Switzerland Terms of Trade averaged 95.71 Index Points reaching an all time high of 120.19 Index Points in January of 2012 and a record low of 74.27 Index Points in March of 1977. In Switzerland, Terms of Trade (ToT) correspond to the ratio of Price of exportable goods to the Price of importable goods. This page includes a chart with historical data for Switzerland Terms of Trade.