Switzerland 2019
Yearbook 2019
Switzerland. The parliamentary elections in October were a great success for the environmental movement. The Greens increased from 6% to 12.7%, which is almost a doubling compared to the elections in 2015. Add to this Green liberals, which increased from 4.6 to 7.6%, which meant that the two green parties ended up at 21%. However, the right-wing nationalist Swiss People’s Party remained the largest party, despite falling back by 3 percentage points to 26.3%. The Social Democrats also lost voter support, but still became the second largest party with 16.5%. In third place came the Liberals (FDP) with 15.3%, followed by the Greens with 12.7%, the Christian Democrats got 12.0% and the Green Liberals ended up with 7.6%.
In December, a vote was held in Parliament on who should be assigned to the ministerial posts. A majority of the center and right parties then voted against the Green Party leader, Regula Rytz, getting one of the seven ministerial posts in the government – despite the great election successes in October. Instead, the ministers of the outgoing government were re-elected, and the Minister of the Environment and Social Democrat Simonetta Sommaruga was appointed to take over the presidential post for 2020; the presidential post rotates between the ministers every year.
- ABBREVIATIONFINDER.ORG: Click to see the meanings of 3-letter acronym and abbreviation of SUI in general and in geography as Switzerland in particular.
In October, the Swiss Academy of Sciences presented a study that showed that 20 glaciers in Switzerland have declined more than ever in the last five years over the past five years. The decrease during these five years corresponds to more than 10%. In September, about 200 people said goodbye to Pizol’s glacier, which it is estimated will disappear completely within ten years. According to estimates, more than 500 glaciers have now melted away in the Swiss Alps, and of the country’s 1,500 glaciers, 90% will be lost by the end of the century if we do nothing about climate change.
Switzerland’s prehistory
The oldest traces of people in Switzerland are from settlements in caves and date from the Moustérien period. The raw material for the implements has been local rocks. Charcoal remains from a fireplace in such a cave are approx. 50,000 years old.
From the Magdalene period open settlements have been found for reindeer hunters. Findings from Mesolithic times are relatively frequent. From the Neolithic period, the Rössen culture made its mark on Northern Switzerland, while the Cortaillod culture was found in the central and western parts of the country. The Cortaillod culture is named after a site at Lake Neuchâtel (see pile buildings) and dates to 3000–2500 BC. It was followed by the Horgen culture, where the ceramic-shaped ceramics show similarity to megalithic cultures in France. In Northern Switzerland, the Horgen culture was replaced by a snoring ceramic group.
In the Bronze Age
In the Bronze Age, which started approx. 1800 BC, the object types show contact with areas in the west, north and east. There are many burial and settlement finds. Remains of houses with wickerwork walls that have been clay-clad have been preserved in some humid areas. Organic residues such as seeds and grains have been preserved for various food and utility crops. This gives a good picture of the daily business life. Field and field crops have formed the basis for the various cultural groups in the country.
At the end of the Bronze Age, four different groups can be traced. A deterioration of the climate in the 7th century BC may have led to depopulation of some of the villages along the lakes. By the end of the Bronze Age, northeastern Switzerland was closely associated with southern Germany, while western Switzerland was associated with eastern France. Probably at this time, the people were celters. In any case, the richly equipped tombs are of Celtic type. The dead were buried in a wagon with gold jewelery and import items from the Mediterranean. The trenches testify to a stratification of society.
In several places fortified plants have been found. The towns have been on high ridges with ramparts all around. The site of La Tène has given a name to an entire era and cultural circle. From the 100s and 1st century. B.C. the Celts, who were skilled craftsmen and artists, made glass jewelery in domestic workshops. From that time, they also began – under Greek influence – to coin mints. From Zurich comes a large coin discovery of 80 kg.
At Caesar’s conquest of Gallia 58–50 BC came Switzerland under Roman rule. The Romans gave the country the name c, after the tribe of hell.
Population 2019
According to CountryAAH, the population of Switzerland in 2019 was 8,591,254, ranking number 100 in the world. The population growth rate was 0.770% yearly, and the population density was 217.4148 people per km2.
