OECD Economic Surveys: Switzerland 2019

Abstract

This Survey is published on the responsibility of the Economic and Development Review Committee of the OECD, which is charged with the examination of the economic situation of member countries.

The economic situation and policies of Switzerland were reviewed by the Committee on 26 September 2019. The draft report was then revised in light of the discussions and given final approval as the agreed report of the whole Committee on 15 October 2019.

The Secretariat’s draft report was prepared for the Committee by Christine Lewis and Patrice Ollivaud under the supervision of Vincent Koen. It benefitted from contributions by Thomas Chalaux, Andrés Fuentes Hutfilter, Yvan Guillemette and Marius Luske. Research assistance was provided by Lutécia Daniel. Editorial assistance was provided by Michelle Ortiz and Sisse Nielsen.

The previous Survey of Switzerland was issued in November 2017.

Information about the latest as well as previous Surveys and more information about how Surveys are prepared is available at http://www.oecd.org/eco/surveys

Basic Statistics of Switzerland, 2018

Numbers in parentheses refer to the OECD average

LAND, PEOPLE AND ELECTORAL CYCLE
Population (million)	8.5		Population density per km²	215.5	(37.8)
Under 15 (%)	14.9	(17.8)	Life expectancy (years, 2017)	83.6	(80.1)
Over 65 (%)	18.6	(17.1)	Men (2017)	81.7	(77.5)
Foreign born (%)	29.6		Women (2017)	85.6	(82.9)
Latest 5-year average growth (%)	1.0	(0.6)	Latest general election	October 2019
ECONOMY
Gross domestic product (GDP)			Value added shares (%)
In current prices (billion USD)	705.8		Primary sector	0.7	(2.4)
In current prices (billion CHF)	689.9		Industry including construction	25.8	(27.5)
Latest 5-year average real growth (%)	2.0	(2.3)	Services	73.5	(70.1)
Per capita (000 USD PPP)	68.1	(46.4)
GENERAL GOVERNMENT
Per cent of GDP
Expenditure	33.7	(41.1)	Gross financial debt (2017)	42.9	(112.3)
Revenue	35.1	(38.2)	Net financial debt (2017)	-10.2	(69.6)
EXTERNAL ACCOUNTS
Exchange rate (CHF per USD)	0.98		Main exports (% of total merchandise exports)
PPP exchange rate (USA = 1)	1.19		Chemicals and related products, n.e.s.	34.4
In per cent of GDP			Commodities and transactions, n.e.s.	21.4
Exports of goods and services	66.2	(56.0)	Miscellaneous manufactured articles	19.7
Imports of goods and services	53.9	(51.9)	Main imports (% of total merchandise imports)
Current account balance	10.5	(0.3)	Commodities and transactions, n.e.s.	22.8
Net international investment position	127.2		Machinery and transport equipment	19.5
			Miscellaneous manufactured articles	19.5
LABOUR MARKET, SKILLS AND INNOVATION
Employment rate (aged 15 and over, %)	80.1	(68.4)	Unemployment rate, Labour Force Survey (aged 15 and over, %)	4.7	(5.3)
Men	84.5	(76.0)	Youth (aged 15-24, %)	7.9	(11.1)
Women	75.7	(60.9)	Long-term unemployed (1 year and over, %)	1.8	(1.5)
Participation rate for 15-64 year-olds (%)	84.2	(72.4)	Tertiary educational attainment (aged 25-64, %,	43.7	(36.9)
Average hours worked per year	1 459	(1 734)	Gross domestic expenditure on R&D (% of GDP, 2015, OECD: 2016)	3.4	(2.5)
ENVIRONMENT
Total primary energy supply per capita (toe, 2017)	2.8	(4.1)	CO2 emissions from fuel combustion per capita (tonnes, 2016)	4.5	(9.0)
Renewables (%, 2017)	22.4	(10.2)	Water abstractions per capita (1 000 m³, 2012)	0.3
Exposure to air pollution (more than 10 g/m³ of PM 2.5, % of population, 2017)	54.0	(58.7)	Municipal waste per capita (tonnes, 2017)	0.7	(0.5)
SOCIETY
Income inequality (Gini coefficient, 2015, OECD: 2016)	0.296	(0.310)	Education outcomes (PISA score, 2015)
Relative poverty rate (%, 2015, OECD: 2016)	9.1	(11.6)	Reading	492	(492)
Median household disposable income (000 USD PPP, 2015, OECD: 2016)	36.5	(23.6)	Mathematics	521	(490)
Public and private spending (% of GDP)			Science	506	(493)
Health care	12.2	(8.8)	Share of women in parliament (%, 2018)	32.5	(29.7)
Pensions (2015)	11.8	(8.5)	Net official development assistance (% of GNI, 2017)	0.5	(0.4)
Education (public, 2017)	4.5	(4.5)

1. The year is indicated in parenthesis if it deviates from the year in the main title of this table.

2. Where the OECD aggregate is not provided in the source database, a simple OECD average of latest available data is calculated where data exist for at least 80% of member countries.

Source: Calculations based on data extracted from databases of the following organisations: OECD, International Energy Agency, International Labour Organisation, International Monetary Fund, World Bank.