Switzerland is one of the wealthiest countries in the world with residents enjoying the highest mean wealth per adult. How is this possible for a small mountainous country with no access to the sea and so few natural resources?
According to the 2022 Credit Suisse Global Wealth Report, the Swiss are comfortably the wealthiest population in the world when measuring the average (mean) level of wealth per person ($696,600, or CHF652,890 in 2021).
Looked at in median terms, one half of the population has less than $168,080 in wealth, while the better-off half has wealth in excess of this figure. Using this parameter, Switzerland is the sixth wealthiest nation by citizen.
The medium-sized economy also enjoys the second-highest per capita gross domestic productExternal link in the world ($86,850 in 2020 based on International Monetary Fund (IMF) statistics).
Why is Switzerland, a small country of 8.7 million inhabitants, so much wealthier than its neighbours?
This 2021 documentary by Swiss public television, SRF, goes beyond the well-known clichés to take a close look at Switzerland’s economic and industrial development over the years and examines the various factors that helped the small and rural Alpine country become one of the richest in the world.
(Subtitles translated from German to English by SWISS TXT).
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here. Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.