The four national languages of Switzerland are German, French, Italian and Romansh. All but Romansh maintain equal status as official languages at the national level within the Federal Administration of the Swiss Confederation. In some situations, Latin is used, particularly as a single language to denote the country.
The 26 cantons of Switzerland are the member states of the Swiss Confederation. The nucleus of the Swiss Confederacy in the form of the first three confederate allies used to be referred to as the Waldstätte. Two further major steps in the development of the Swiss cantonal system are referred to by the terms Acht Orte and Dreizehn Orte ; they were important intermediate periods of the Ancient Swiss Confederacy.
The National Council is the lower house of the Federal Assembly of Switzerland, the upper house being the Council of States. With 200 seats, the National Council is the larger of the two houses.
The Council of States is the smaller chamber of the Federal Assembly of Switzerland. It is considered the Assembly's upper house, with the National Council being the lower house. It comprises 46 members.
The Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland is the supreme court of the Swiss Confederation. As part of the judiciary, it is one of the three branches of government in Switzerland's political system.
The Philippine Statistics Authority, abbreviated as PSA, is the central statistical authority of the Philippine government that collects, compiles, analyzes and publishes statistical information on economic, social, demographic, political affairs and general affairs of the people of the Philippines and enforces the civil registration functions in the country.
Human rights are comprehensively guaranteed in Switzerland, one of Europe's oldest democracies. Together with other European states, Switzerland is often at or near the head in international civil liberties and political rights rankings. Switzerland places human rights at the core of the nation's value system, as represented in the Federal Constitution and political model. Promotion of peace, mutual respect, equality and non-discrimination are central to the country's democratic election.
Christianity is the predominant religion of Switzerland, its presence going back to the Roman era. Since the 16th century, Switzerland has been traditionally divided into Roman Catholic and Reformed confessions. However, adherence to Christian churches has declined considerably since the late 20th century, from close to 94% in 1980 to about 66% as of 2017. Furthermore notable is the significant difference in church adherence between Swiss citizens (71%) and foreign nationals (50%) in 2017.
The preamble and the first title of the Swiss Federal Constitution of 18 April 1999 determine the general outlines of Switzerland as a democratic federal republic of 26 cantons governed by the rule of law.
The federal administration of Switzerland is the ensemble of agencies that constitute, together with the Swiss Federal Council, the executive branch of the Swiss federal authorities. The administration is charged with executing federal law and preparing draft laws and policy for the Federal Council and the Federal Assembly.
The Federal Business Census is a survey covering all second and third sector businesses and enterprises throughout Switzerland. The survey is conducted by the Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO) with the support of regional statistical offices. The aim of the survey is to collect complete data from all economic production units on economic, social and regional aspects. The BC is used to update the Business and Enterprise Register (BER), and serves as a reference for various statistics.
The Swiss Labour Force Survey (SLFS) - conducted by the Federal Statistical Office in cooperation with an external service provider - is a household survey that has been conducted since 1991. The main goal is to survey the employment structure and employment behaviour of the permanent resident population. Because of the strict application of international definitions in the SLFS, Swiss data can be compared with those of other OECD countries and the countries of the European Union. Since 2010, the SLFS has been conducted on a quarterly basis. The interviews from the third and fourth quarters of 2009 serve as a transition from the old to the new (continuous) SLFS.
The Land Use Statistics of the Federal Statistical Office collect information in 12-year intervals about Switzerland's land use and land cover based on aerial photographs of the Federal Office of Topography (swisstopo). In addition to statistics, the Land Use Statistics also provides basic geodata in hectare resolution for Geographical Information Systems (GIS) of the Confederation, the cantons, research institutes and higher education institutions. Furthermore, it provides inputs for national programmes and indicator systems.
The first Federal population census in Switzerland took place in March 1850 under the direction of Federal Councillor Stefano Franscini. As well as counting the number of inhabitants, respondents were also asked about their sex, age, marital status, occupation and religion. Between 1860 and 2000, a census took place every ten years in December. The only exceptions to this 10-year rhythm were the population census of 1888 and the population census of 1941. The census of 2000 was the last to use traditional methods. Since 2010, the population census has been carried out and analysed annually in a new format by the Federal Statistical Office (FSO). In order to ease the burden on the population, the information is primarily drawn from population registers and supplemented by sample surveys. Only a small proportion of the population are surveyed in writing or by telephone. The first reference day for the new census was 31 December 2010.
The National Consumer Price Index measures the price inflation of key consumer goods for Swiss private households. The average of the population is used as a reference to obtain a "truthful" value. The CPI measures the price trend based on a basket of commodities containing about 1050 goods and services. These are weighted according to their share of the household budget.
The Health insurance premium index collects data on the evolution of premiums for compulsory and complementary health insurance and is the weighted average of the two sub-indices. By means of the Health insurance premium index, the effects of the evolution of premiums on the growth of households' disposable income can be calculated.
The Swiss labor law covers all standards governing the employment of some kind. The regulation of the employment by private employers is largely harmonized at the federal level, while public-sector employment still prevails a variety of cantonal laws. In particular, the civil standardization is distributed to a variety of laws. Of greater importance, particularly the new Federal Constitution of 1999, the Code of Obligations, the Labour Code as well as in the public sector, the Federal Personnel Act.
