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Military of Switzerland

Military branches:Swiss Armed Forces: Land Forces, Swiss Air Force (Schweizer Luftwaffe); Switzerland has no navy, but maintains a fleet of military patrol boats to patrol Swiss borders (2006)
Military service age and obligation:19 years of age for compulsory military service; 17 years of age for voluntary military service; the Swiss Constitution states that "every Swiss male is obliged to do military service"; every Swiss male has to serve for at least 260 days in the armed forces; conscripts receive 18 weeks of mandatory training, followed by seven 3-week intermittent recalls for training over the next 10 years; women are accepted on a voluntary basis but are not conscripted (2005)
Manpower available for military service:males age 19-49: 1,707,694
females age 19-49: 1,662,099 (2005 est.)
Manpower fit for military service:males age 19-49: 1,375,889
females age 19-49: 1,342,945 (2005 est.)
Manpower reaching military service age annually:males age 18-49: 46,319
females age 19-49: 43,829 (2005 est.)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP:1% (2005 est.)

Switzerland Quickstats

  • Population: 7,554,661 (July 2007 est.)
  • Area: 41,290 sq km
  • Density: 182 /km² (61st)
  • GDP (total): $264.1 billion (39th)
  • GDP (per capita): $32,300 (10th)
  • Literacy: 99%

Languages of Switzerland

Useful to know

  • Currency: Swiss franc (CHF)
  • Dial code: +41

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