Exporting to Switzerland

Switzerland Export Guide | Trade Finance Global

Exporting to Switzerland

Exports from Switzerland have been increasing year on year and stand at around CHF200 billion yearly with the main export partners being United States, Germany, France and Italy. The exports in Switzerland have averaged around 6000 CHF million from around 1950 until 2015, with a high of around 20000 CHF million at the end of 2014 and a low of around 240 CHF million at the start of 1950. On average, exports in Switzerland account around half of its GDP.

Switzerland Country Profile

Official Name (Local Language) Schweizerische Eidgenossenschaft; Confederation Suisse; Confederazione Svizzera; Confederaziun Svizra
Capital Bern
Population 8,179,294
Currency Swiss Franc
GDP $662.5 billion
Languages French; German; Italian; Romansh
Telephone Dial In 41

Switzerland Imports Profile

Imports ($m USD)

267,501

Number of Import Products

4,525

Number of Import Partners

201

Top 5 import partners

Country

Trade

% Partner Share

Germany

55,322

20.68

United States

21,409

8.00

Italy

20,135

7.53

United Kingdom

19,384

7.25

France

17,393

6.50

Top 5 Import Products at HS 6 digit level

Export Product

Number

Gold in unwrought forms non-monetary

26.1%

Other medicaments of mixed or unmixed products,

7.2%

Art. of jewellery and pts thereof of/o prec mtl

4.2%

Human and animal blood; microbial cultures; tox

3.9%

Petroleum oils, etc, (excl. crude); preparation

3.3%

Chart Showing GDP Growth Compared to rest of world

GDP Composition for Switzerland

Agriculture

%

Product List

0.7%

Grains, fruits, vegetables; meat, eggs, dairy products

Industry

%

Industry List

25.9%

Machinery, chemicals, watches, textiles, precision instruments, tourism, banking, insurance, pharmaceuticals

Services

%

Services List

73.4%

NA

Exporting to Switzerland: What is trade finance?

Exports from Switzerland have been increasing year on year and stand at around CHF200 billion yearly with the main export partners being United States, Germany, France and Italy. The exports in Switzerland have averaged around 6000 CHF million from around 1950 until 2015, with a high of around 20000 CHF million at the end of 2014 and a low of around 240 CHF million at the start of 1950. On average, exports in Switzerland account around half of its GDP.

Switzerland has a total population of around 8 million and an inflation rate running at between 0.2%-0.4% yearly. The main exports of Switzerland are gold (around $95B), packaged medicaments ($30B), animal or human blood (around $17B), precious and base metal watches (around 22B). The main export destinations related to Switzerland, are Hong Kong (around $50B), Germany (under $50B), the United States (around $24B), India (above $20B) and France ($15B). The country of Switzerland borders Germany, France, Italy and Austria. Many see Switzerland as beneficial to export to, as there is an exchange rate which is favourable, the flight time is under 2 hours, English is a widely spoken language, it is a multicultural market which is suitable for testing products, it has the highest per capita income in Europe and there is a similar regulatory and legal environment.

The market in centrally located in Europe with both financial and political stability. The public infrastructure is excellent. The population of the workforce is highly educated with a high productivity level. It is an innovative country with high value spend on research and development including technology and high purchasing power with a reliable legal and regulatory environment. It is important to note that Switzerland is not a member of the EU and is not likely to join in the foreseeable future. Relations are governed by a series of bilateral agreements between countries. There are over 30 free trade agreements, which relax access to markets and are active in trade with Switzerland. They account for over half of Switzerland’s total trade.

Information

Exporting to Switzerland? Contact our local experts

Switzerland Economic Statistics

Government Website

https://www.admin.ch/

Sovereign Ratings

https://countryeconomy.com/ratings/switzerland

Central Bank

Schweizerische Nationalbank

Currency USD Exchange Rate

0.9992

Unemployment Rate

3.3%

Population below poverty line

6.6%

Inflation Rate

-0.4%

Prime Lending Rate

0.5%

GDP

$662.5 billion

GDP Pro Capita (PPP)

$59,400

Currency Name

Swiss Franc

Currency Code

CHF

World Bank Classification

High Income

Competitive Industrial Performance

1/138

Corruption Perceptions Index

3/180

Ease of Doing Business

38/190

Enabling Trade Index

11/136

Currency in Switzerland

About the Author

Brian Canup is the Editorial & Research Assistant at Trade Finance Global (TFG).

Brian holds a BA in Political Science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and an MA in International Political Economy from King’s College London.

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