What it is
A small, open and prosperous economy in the middle of Europe, outside the European Union and the euro. It has a long record of low inflation.
What the economy is known for
- Pharmaceuticals and chemicals, precision instruments, watches and machinery lead its exports
- Banking, wealth management and insurance
- A centre for the trading of commodities
- Trade is bound closely to the European Union, of which it is not a member
A description of structure, in words. No size, share or ranking is given: those are figures, and they are read at the statistical offices named below.
Its central bank and mandate
The Swiss National Bank’s task is price stability, while taking account of how the economy is developing. Policy is set by its Governing Board, which uses the policy rate and, when it judges it necessary, buys or sells foreign currency.
Swiss National Bank on Central Bank Watch
The policy rate, the last decision and the next meeting are not shown on this site: they are read at the bank’s own publication.
The releases that matter, and who publishes them
- Consumer Price IndexPublished by Federal Statistical OfficeExplainer: CPI
- Gross Domestic ProductPublished by State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO)Explainer: GDP
- UnemploymentPublished by State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO)Explainer: Jobless rate
- KOF Economic BarometerPublished by KOF Swiss Economic Institute, ETH Zurich
- Monetary policy assessmentPublished by Swiss National BankExplainer: Rates
No dates or figures are shown here: each publisher’s own calendar is the authority. The explainers are in Economic Events; a release without a link has no explainer on this site yet.
Its main stock index
Swiss Market Index (SMI). The index of the largest companies listed in Zurich. It is not a GIO4X instrument.
GIO4X lists no instrument on a stock index of Switzerland. The index is named for orientation only. The indices GIO4X does list are on the Indices page.
Its currency
The currency of Switzerland is the Swiss franc (CHF), issued by the Swiss National Bank. GIO4X lists one currency pair that contains it; they are set out on the currency’s profile.
Words worth knowing
A reference page. Educational information, not investment advice or a recommendation to trade. It gives no figure, no ranking and no forecast.