Switzerland (German: die Schweiz, French: la Suisse, Italian: Svizzera and Romansh: Svizra), officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked Alpine country in Central Europe with a strong economy in finance and banking. Switzerland borders Germany to the north, France to the west, Italy to the south, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Historically a confederation, Switzerland has been a federation since 1848, and has a long and strong tradition of political and military neutrality. This background allows Switzerland various international co-operations and organisations. A male living in this country is said to be a Schweizer and a female is a Schweizerin in German; Suisse (male) or Suissesse (female) in Swiss French and svizzero (male) or svizzera (female) in Swiss Italian.

Confœderatio Helvetica, the country's official Latin name, means Helvetic Confederation. The use of Latin avoids having to favour one of the four national languages. The abbreviation (CH) is used for the same reason. The titles commonly used in French (Confédération suisse), Italian (Confederazione Svizzera) and Romansh (Confederaziun svizra) translate as "Swiss Confederation", while the German name of Schweizerische Eidgenossenschaft translates literally as "Swiss Oath Fellowship" or "Swiss Commonwealth of the Covenant".