Switzerland, also known as “Confoederatio Helvetica (CH),” is a French-speaking country in Central Europe. Interestingly, the country does not use the Euro as its official currency; it uses the Swiss Franc. Despite being a small country (New York is 3.42x larger) with approximately 8 million people, Switzerland does not have one main language spoken in the country. It has four! Aside from French, the official languages of the country include German, Italian and Romansch. All documents have to be printed in three languages (Romansch not included). Switzerland is a popular tourist destination because it contains close to 20% of the Alps. The mountain areas have a strong skiing and mountaineering culture, and are also known for the folk art of yodeling. Its scenic, antiquated towns house medieval relics and are for the most part untouched by the passage of time.

The capital is Bern City. A few famous cities are Geneva, Zürich, and Basel. The country is separated into 23 “Kantone,” otherwise known as cantons or states.  Switzerland is, of course, known for its chocolate, cheese, watches, army knives, and banks. Prior to 2013, the Swiss banks were discreet regarding their clientele, but are now obligated to disclose information about the accounts.

Switzerland also has a reputation for maintaining a strictly neutral global stance. This foreign policy has been upheld since 1525, which is quite an incredible feat. The country was not involved militarily in WWI nor WWII, although during WWII the tiny country was armed and in a state of mobilization due to the possibility of a German invasion.