10 Fascinating Facts About Switzerland

By now you all probably know that I’m originally Swiss. I have mentioned before that I don’t miss Switzerland but I still think that it’s a pretty great country. I stumbled across a couple of really interesting facts about Switzerland and would like to share them with you:

I found those interesting facts on this site here. Check it out, there are more fascinating facts worth reading.

1. Switzerland has ridiculously low carbon emission.
   Definitely something I’m kind of happy about. Apparently Switzerland is one of the most environmentally friendly countries in the world. The CO2 emission is recorded between 4.6-6 metric tonnes (In comparison: USA’s 18-19 and Germany’s 9-10)
2. The country is mostly powered by water. The country understands to use the natural resources. There are more than 1500 lakes in Switzerland. As of 2008 Switzerland has generated 56% from Hydroelectricity, only 5% of the energy is consumed in fossil fuels (In comparison: USA runs on 41% coal and 25% natural gas)
3. High rate of recycling. I seriously don’t remember a time we have not recycled. In 2010 94% of it’s glass, 91% of its Aluminium, 85% of its paper and cardboard, 80% of its PET plastic and 69% of its batteries were recycled by the country. Some impressive numbers.
4. There are hiking sign posts everywhere. Yep, there truly are. Switzerland has over 60’000km of signposted hiking trails and has laws in place to maintain the network of trails.
   
5. Carbon-free rail network. See for me that’s interesting as trains for me were always the clean way to get from one place to another. Only much later did I find out that trains are not everywhere run by electricity. Switzerland has 5232km of rail transport network. For a small country like this, it’s a pretty good number. Over 99% of the tracks are electrified and 75% of the railway power grid is hydroelectric. That means that a huge chunk of it is carbon-free and there for almost non-polluting. Did you also know, that over 90% of the trains arrive with less than 3min delay?
6. You’re actually not allowed to only have one guinea pig. Yep, it’s illegal. Because they are highly sociable. Swiss law demand that the fluffy creatures are kept in pairs. Apparently there’s even a “rent-a-guinea-pig” service in Zurich…
   
7. Has the world’s longest tunnel, measuring 57km in length. The Gotthard Base Tunnel is supposed to open its tracks to the public in late 2016, reducing the trip from Zurich to Milan by train by one hour compared to the current rail network.
8. The Swiss have the second highest life expectancy. Just behind Japan.
9. We’re crazy for bunkers. Think of Swiss Cheese when thinking of our mountains. There’s an estimate of 20’000 bunkers dotted around Switzerland. If you want to know more about those secret vaults, head here.
10. Its main export isn’t the cuckoo clock. It’s not chocolate and it’s not the Swiss Army Knife. Nope, it’s chemicals. 40.2% of Switzerland’s export is in chemicals. The second biggest export are indeed clocks, watches and jewelries.

I hope you learned something. I for sure did 😉