By the numbers: cocoa, test tube babies and an old shoe
Almost every article published by swissinfo.ch contains a percentage, an age, an amount of money or some other figure. Here’s a round-up of the most interesting statistics to appear in the past week’s stories.
Sunday
300,000,000
Switzerland invested CHF300 million ($313 million) in Ivory Coast in 2017, making it the third-biggest investor in the West African country. Cocoa beans were the principal Swiss imports. Swiss Economics Minister Johann Schneider-Ammann visited the country on Sunday with aim of strengthening cooperation between the two countries.
Monday
62
The proportion of Swiss electricity that was generated from renewable sources in 2016, according to an official energy report. Nuclear power’s share dropped from 20.7% to 17%.
Tuesday
5,000
The estimated age of a Neolithic shoe dug up at a lake near Zurich. It was found almost fully preserved in the Greifensee lake at Maur and attributed to the so-called “Horgen” culture. Less than ten of these rare specimens have come to light in Europe to date.
2,162
The number of babies conceived by in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) treatment in Switzerland in 2016. This is a record number for the country. The proportion of women who successfully fell pregnant following the procedure increased for the fourth consecutive year, to 41.5%.
103,206
The amount of money at the disposal of Swiss residents with the highest purchasing power. The lucky ones live in the Höfe district – Freienbach, Feusisberg and Wollerau – in canton Schwyz with an average of €87,853 (CHF103,206) per inhabitant in 2018.
Wednesday
39,900
The number of registered doctors working in Switzerland in 2017. Around 58% are male but women are catching up. They make up the majority in the under-40 age group as well as among medical students.
28
The proportion of residents that do not speak a Swiss national language (German, French, Italian or Romansh) as their first language as of 2016. This group has increased significantly, accounting for only 4% of the population in 1970. Other changes in Swiss linguistic landscape were also observed over the same period.
Friday
177
The per-capita Swiss consumption of eggs. A total of 1.51 billion of them were eaten last year, a new record.
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