Switzerland is a landlockedAlpine
country in Western
Europe. This small multi-lingual country, of a little over
7.5 million people, has four national languages, German,
French,
Italian,
and Romansh.
The country is bordered by Germany,
France,
Italy,
Austria,
and Liechtenstein.
It dates its independence to 1291; historically it was a confederation,
and it has been a federation
since 1848, with a current division into 26 cantons,
six of which are sometimes referred to as
"half-cantons," since they have less representation in
the Council of States.
