Distillers Switzerland
A one-page guide to Switzerland for the spirits trade: the country, its people, its economy and how it drinks.
At a glance
- Capital
- Bern (federal city; no de jure capital)
- Official languages
- German, French, Italian, Romansh
- Currency
- Swiss franc (CHF)
- Time zone
- UTC+1 (CET); UTC+2 in summer
- Area
- 41,291 km²
People
- Population
- 9.1 million (2025)
- Population growth
- 1.0% a year
- Living in towns and cities
- 85.7%
- Aged under 15
- 14.9%
- Aged 65 and over
- 20.4%
- Life expectancy
- 84.4 years
Economy
- GDP
- US$1.06 trillion (2025)
- GDP per person
- US$117,191 (2025)
- Economic growth
- 1.6% (2025)
- Inflation
- 0.2% (2025)
Climate
Temperate but very varied with altitude; summers are often warm and humid and mountain winters colder and drier. The national annual mean was 7.4 C in 2022.
Alcohol
- Alcohol is
- Legal
- Legal drinking age
- 16 for fermented drinks up to 15% ABV and natural wines to 18% ABV; 18 for spirits and mixed drinks; Ticino sets 18 for all alcohol
- Alcohol per adult a year
- 9.1 litres of pure alcohol (2022)
- Traditional drinks
- Absinthe (Val-de-Travers), Kirsch (cherry brandy), Damassine (plum spirit, Jura), Bon Pere William (pear brandy)
Sources: World Bank (population, economy and demographics), WHO Global Health Observatory (alcohol per adult and drinking mix); Business France - spirits in Switzerland (July 2026); Wikipedia - Alcohol in Switzerland; Wikipedia - Switzerland (basics, climate); IMF DataMapper WEO (GDP, population, growth, inflation; retrieved 26 Oct 2026); UN Comtrade (HS 2208); WHO Global Health Observatory; Wikipedia - Legal drinking age; BAZG Directive R-120-2 Spirits tax (1 Feb 2026). Figures are the latest each source publishes; the year is shown beside each one.