Switzerland

Switzerland overview

Switzerland is in Western Europe, Europe. Its capital is Bern. The World Bank counts about 9.1 million people for 2025 on 41,291 km² of surface area.

In the Travle map, Switzerland has 4 neighbours: Austria, France, Germany and Italy. From there, 125 countries can be reached by land.

Population, density and language

The World Bank counts 9,092,436 people in Switzerland for 2025, which is 98th of 170 by population. Spread over 41,291 km² of surface area (2024), that is about 220 people per km², 29th of 169 by density.

Rankings compare the entries in Travle's country list that have World Bank data (170 with population, 169 with surface area). Some list entries are territories, so a rank here is not a rank among sovereign states.

CLDR shares are estimates of people who use each language, so they can add up to more than 100%.

How big is Switzerland, really?

With 41,291 km² (2024, land plus inland water), Switzerland is 133rd of 169 by surface area and covers 0.03% of the combined area of those entries.

In that ordering, Netherlands (41,540 km²) is just larger; Bhutan (38,390 km²) just smaller.

Switzerland at a glance

Each figure is sourced in its own section below. "Not available" means no source used on this page has the figure.

Switzerland within Western Europe

Natural Earth places Switzerland in Western Europe (UN subregion). Of the 7 entries from Travle's country list in that subregion, Switzerland is 6th by population and 5th by surface area, with 4.5% of the combined population of those entries.

Entries in Western Europe from Travle's country list, by World Bank population

Country	Population (2025)	Area km² (2024)
Germany	83,491,249	357,680
France	68,720,337	606,410
Netherlands	18,087,633	41,540
Belgium	11,941,781	30,689
Austria	9,208,163	83,879
Switzerland	9,092,436	41,291
Luxembourg	686,970	2,590

Sources: World Bank WDI (SP.POP.TOTL, AG.SRF.TOTL.K2), data updated 2026-10-08; subregion from Natural Earth 1:110m. A dash means the World Bank has no figure.

Location, borders and position

Switzerland is in Western Europe, Europe. Its outline in Natural Earth lies in the northern hemisphere and the eastern hemisphere. Its capital, Bern, is at about 46.9° N and 7.5° E.

On land, Natural Earth's boundary data gives Switzerland 5 neighbours; the Travle game map gives it 4.

Sources: Natural Earth 1:110m (outline and capital) and 1:10m boundary lines (neighbours), public domain.

Where Switzerland is on the map

Countries bordering Switzerland

Natural Earth's boundary data and the Travle map agree on these 4 land neighbours.

Land neighbours of Switzerland: geographic boundary data compared with the Travle game map

Country	Direction	Land boundary in Natural Earth	Border in Travle
Austria	east	Yes	Yes
France	west	Yes	Yes
Germany	north	Yes	Yes
Italy	south-east	Yes	Yes

Natural Earth also draws boundary lines with Liechtenstein, which it maps as separate areas without an ISO country code. They are not listed as countries here.

Geographic column: Natural Earth 1:10m Admin-0 boundary lines (land) 5.1.0 (public domain), checked 2026-10-19; Natural Earth shows de facto boundaries and does not settle disputes. Travle column: the game's own border map.

Money and language in Switzerland

Currency

• Swiss Franc: code CHF, numeric 756. ISO 4217 lists it for 2 entries in total, so it is shared with 1 others.

Official languages

• German: official in 6 territories in CLDR, including Switzerland.
• Swiss German (de facto): official in 2 territories in CLDR, including Switzerland.
• French: official in 44 territories in CLDR, including Switzerland.
• Italian: official in 4 territories in CLDR, including Switzerland.
• 1 more language has regional official status: Romansh.

CLDR is a technical reference, not a legal text. Laws and constitutions can describe languages differently.

Currency, domain and dialling code

Switzerland codes and abbreviations

Sources: Natural Earth (ISO 3166-1), ISO 4217 list one (SIX), IANA Root Zone Database, ITU E.164 list; linked with dates in the sections above.

Fun facts about Switzerland

• German has official status in 6 territories in Unicode CLDR, Switzerland among them.
• French has official status in 44 territories in Unicode CLDR, Switzerland among them.
• The longest Travle trip from Switzerland takes 12 steps, to Lesotho.
• UNESCO lists 13 World Heritage properties in Switzerland; the earliest inscription dates from 1983.

Each fact is calculated from the sources cited on this page.

How far can you travel from Switzerland in Travle?

Starting from Switzerland and moving one border at a time, this is how many countries in the game's map you reach at each step. Countries that need a sea crossing never appear, because the game only follows land borders.

In total 125 of the 171 other countries in the map can be reached by land. The longest trips take 12 steps and end in Lesotho. The other 46 cannot be reached without crossing the sea (18 in North America, 13 in South America, 6 in Oceania, 5 in Asia, 3 in Europe, 1 in Africa).

Nearby routes from Switzerland

Shortest land routes in the game's map to the countries up to 3 steps away. There can be several routes of the same length; this list shows one. The section above shows how many countries are reachable in total.

• Austria: 1 step (Switzerland → Austria)
• France: 1 step (Switzerland → France)
• Germany: 1 step (Switzerland → Germany)
• Italy: 1 step (Switzerland → Italy)
• Belgium: 2 steps (Switzerland → Germany → Belgium)
• Czechia: 2 steps (Switzerland → Austria → Czechia)
• Denmark: 2 steps (Switzerland → Germany → Denmark)
• Hungary: 2 steps (Switzerland → Austria → Hungary)
• Luxembourg: 2 steps (Switzerland → Germany → Luxembourg)
• Netherlands: 2 steps (Switzerland → Germany → Netherlands)
• Poland: 2 steps (Switzerland → Germany → Poland)
• Slovakia: 2 steps (Switzerland → Austria → Slovakia)
• Slovenia: 2 steps (Switzerland → Austria → Slovenia)
• Spain: 2 steps (Switzerland → France → Spain)
• Belarus: 3 steps (Switzerland → Germany → Poland → Belarus)
• Croatia: 3 steps (Switzerland → Austria → Hungary → Croatia)
• Lithuania: 3 steps (Switzerland → Germany → Poland → Lithuania)
• Morocco: 3 steps (Switzerland → France → Spain → Morocco)
• Portugal: 3 steps (Switzerland → France → Spain → Portugal)
• Romania: 3 steps (Switzerland → Austria → Hungary → Romania)
• Russia: 3 steps (Switzerland → Germany → Poland → Russia)
• Serbia: 3 steps (Switzerland → Austria → Hungary → Serbia)
• Ukraine: 3 steps (Switzerland → Austria → Hungary → Ukraine)

World Heritage in Switzerland

UNESCO lists 13 World Heritage properties in Switzerland: 9 cultural and 4 natural. The first 3 were inscribed in 1983.

• Abbey of St Gall (cultural, inscribed 1983)
• Benedictine Convent of St John at Müstair (cultural, inscribed 1983)
• Old City of Berne (cultural, inscribed 1983)
• Three Castles, Defensive Wall and Ramparts of the Market-Town of Bellinzona (cultural, inscribed 2000)
• Swiss Alps Jungfrau-Aletsch (natural, inscribed 2001)
• Monte San Giorgio (natural, inscribed 2003, shared with other countries)
• Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe (natural, inscribed 2007, shared with other countries)
• Lavaux, Vineyard Terraces (cultural, inscribed 2007)
• Rhaetian Railway in the Albula / Bernina Landscapes (cultural, inscribed 2008, shared with other countries)
• Swiss Tectonic Arena Sardona (natural, inscribed 2008)
• La Chaux-de-Fonds / Le Locle, Watchmaking Town Planning (cultural, inscribed 2009)
• Prehistoric Pile Dwellings around the Alps (cultural, inscribed 2011, shared with other countries)

Showing the 12 earliest of 13. The full list is on the UNESCO website.

Source: UNESCO World Heritage List (XML feed); checked 2026-10-19. Names as listed by UNESCO; descriptions on this page are our own.

Switzerland — frequently asked questions

What is the capital of Switzerland?

Bern.

Which countries border Switzerland?

On land, Austria, France, Germany, Italy and Liechtenstein, according to Natural Earth's boundary data. The Travle map uses the same neighbours.

What currency and language does Switzerland use?

The currency is the Swiss Franc (CHF). Unicode CLDR gives German, Swiss German, French and Italian official status.

How far can you travel from Switzerland in Travle?

Following land borders only, 125 countries are reachable. The farthest need 12 steps: Lesotho.

How many people live in Switzerland?

The World Bank counts 9,092,436 people for 2025.

How big is Switzerland?

41,291 km² of surface area (2024), according to the World Bank.

What is the dialling code and internet domain of Switzerland?

The international dialling code is +41 and the country-code domain is .ch.

What time zone does Switzerland use?

UTC+01:00 in January, UTC+02:00 in July (2026).

Keep exploring

• Spin the country wheel to get a random country.
• Play Travle and try to cross the map border by border.
• Browse all countries of the world, countries by population, capitals, country codes or try the flag quiz.