Editing Economy of Switzerland (section)

==History==
{{Main|Economic history of Switzerland}}

===19th century===
[[File:Dampfzug Göschenen.jpg|thumb|left|[[Gotthard Rail Tunnel|Gotthard line]] in 1882]]
[[File:GDP per capita development in Switzerland.jpg|thumb|right|Development of real GDP per capita, 1851 to 2018]]
[[Switzerland as a federal state]] was established in 1848. Before that time, the city-cantons of [[Zürich]], [[Geneva]], and [[Basel]] in particular began to develop economically based on industry and trade, while the rural regions of Switzerland remained poor and underdeveloped.
While a [[Putting-out system|workshop system]] had been in existence throughout the [[Early modern Switzerland|early modern period]], the production of machines began in 1801 in [[St. Gallen]], with the third generation of machines imported from Great Britain. But in Switzerland, [[hydropower|hydraulic power]] was often used instead of steam engines because of the country's [[Swiss Alps|mountainous topography]] and lack of significant deposits of coal. By 1814, hand weaving had been mostly replaced by the [[power loom]]. Both [[Tourism in Switzerland|tourism]] and [[Banking in Switzerland|banking]] began to develop as economic factors at about the same time. While Switzerland was primarily rural, the cities experienced an industrial revolution in the late 19th century, focused especially on textiles. In Basel, for example, textiles, including silk, were the leading industry. In 1888, women made up 44% of wage earners. Nearly half the women worked in the textile mills, with household servants the second largest job category. The proportion of women in the workforce was higher between 1890 and 1910 than it was in the late 1960s and 1970s.<ref>Regina Wecker, "Frauenlohnarbeit - Statistik und Wirklichkeit in der Schweiz an der Wende zum 20," ''Jahrhundert Schweizerische Zeitschrift für Geschichte'' (1984) 34#3 pp 346-356.</ref>

Railways played a major part in industrialization; the first railway opened in 1847, between Zürich and [[Baden, Switzerland|Baden]]. Despite the competition between private players, Switzerland was covered with more than 1000&nbsp;km of track by 1860. Nevertheless, the network was barely coordinated because of the decentralised system.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Switzerland|title=Switzerland &#124; History, Flag, Map, Capital, Population, & Facts|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|date=12 June 2023 }}</ref>

=== 20th century ===
The industrial sector began to grow in the 19th century with a [[laissez-faire]] industrial/trade policy, Switzerland's emergence as one of the most prosperous nations in Europe, sometimes termed the "Swiss miracle", was a development of the mid 19th to early 20th centuries, among other things tied to the role of [[Switzerland during the World Wars]].<ref>Roman Studer, ''"When Did the Swiss Get so Rich?" Comparing Living Standards in Switzerland and Europe, 1800-1913'', ''Journal of European economic history'' (2008) 37 (2), 405-452. [http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/32448/]</ref>

Switzerland's total energy consumption, which was dropping from the mid 1910s to the early 1920s, started to increase again in the early 1920s. It stagnated during the 1930s before falling again during the early 1940s; but rapid growth started once again in the mid 1940s.<ref>National report on the Swiss Energy regime, ''BARENERGY project of EU'',{{cite web |url=http://www.barenergy.eu/uploads/media/D13_Switzerland.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=2014-01-22 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120526171007/http://www.barenergy.eu/uploads/media/D13_Switzerland.pdf |archive-date=2012-05-26 }}</ref>

In the 1940s, particularly during World War II, the economy profited from the increased export and delivery of weapons to Germany, France, the United Kingdom, and other European countries. However, [[Energy in Switzerland|Switzerland's energy consumption]] decreased rapidly. The co-operation of the banks with the Nazis (although they also co-operated extensively with the British and French) and their commercial relations with the Axis powers during the war were later sharply criticised, resulting in a short period of [[international isolation]] of Switzerland. Switzerland's production facilities were largely undamaged by the war, and afterwards both imports and exports grew rapidly.<ref name=FDFA>{{Cite web |url=https://www.eda.admin.ch/aboutswitzerland/en/home/geschichte/epochen/die-schweiz-im-kalten-krieg--1945-1989-.html |title=Switzerland during the Cold War (1945-1989) |website=www.eda.admin.ch - Federal Department of Foreign Affairs FDFA |access-date=19 September 2018}}</ref>

In the 1950s, annual GDP growth averaged 5% and Switzerland's energy consumption nearly doubled. Coal lost its rank as Switzerland's primary energy source, as other imported fossil fuels, such as crude and refined oil and natural and refined gas, increased.<ref name="BFS_Energy">{{Cite web |url=https://www.bfs.admin.ch/bfs/de/home/statistiken/kataloge-datenbanken/daten.assetdetail.283911.html |title=Bruttoenergieverbrauch: Anteil der Primärenergieträger und Entwicklung - 1910-2014 |last=Swiss Federal Statistical Office |website=Bundesamt für Statistik |language=de |access-date=19 September 2018}}</ref>

In the 1960s, annual GDP growth averaged 4% and Switzerland's total energy consumption nearly doubled again. By the end of the decade oil provided over three-quarters of Switzerland's energy.<ref name=BFS_Energy/>

In the 1970s the GDP growth rate gradually declined from a peak of 6.5% in 1970; GDP then contracted by 7.5% in 1975 and 1976. Switzerland became increasingly dependent on oil imported from its main suppliers, the OPEC cartel. The 1973 international oil crisis caused Switzerland's energy consumption to decrease in the years from 1973 to 1978.<ref name=BFS_Energy/> In 1974 there were three nationwide car-free Sundays when private transport was prohibited as a result of the oil supply shock. From 1977 onwards GDP grew again, although Switzerland was also affected by the [[1979 energy crisis]] which resulted in a short-term decrease in Switzerland's energy consumption. In 1970 industry still employed about 46% of the labor force, but during the economic recession of the 1970s the services sector grew to dominate the national economy. By 1970 17.2% of the population and about one quarter of the work force were foreign nationals, though job losses during the economic recession decreased this number.<ref name=FDFA/>

In the 1980s, Switzerland's economy contracted by 1.3% in 1982 but grew substantially for the rest of the decade, with annual GDP growth between about 3% and 4%, apart from 1986 and 1987 when growth decreased to 1.9% and 1.6% respectively.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.MKTP.KD.ZG?locations=CH|title=GDP growth (annual %) - Switzerland &#124; Data|website=data.worldbank.org}}</ref>

Switzerland's economy was marred by slow growth in the 1990s, having the weakest economic growth in [[Western Europe]]. The economy was affected by a three-year recession from 1991 to 1993, when the economy contracted by 2%. The contraction also became apparent in Switzerland's energy consumption and export growth rates. Switzerland's economy averaged no appreciable increase (only 0.6% annually) in GDP.

After enjoying unemployment rates lower than 1% before 1990, the three-year recession also caused the unemployment rate to rise to its all-time peak of 5.3% in 1997. In 2008, Switzerland was in second place among European countries with populations above one million in terms of nominal and [[purchasing power parity]] GDP per capita, behind [[Norway]] (see [[List of countries by GDP (PPP) per capita|list]]). Several times in the 1990s, real wages decreased since nominal wages could not keep up with inflation. However, beginning in 1997, a global resurgence in currency movement provided the necessary stimulus to the Swiss economy. It slowly gained momentum, and peaked in the year 2000 with 3.7% growth in real terms.<ref name="BFS Finance">{{cite web | url=http://www.bfs.admin.ch/bfs/portal/de/index/themen/18/01/pan.html | title=Öffentliche Finanzen - Panorama | publisher=Bundesamt für Statistik (BFS) | date=February 2013 | access-date=2013-05-22 | page=18.3 | language=de | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130428162726/http://www.bfs.admin.ch/bfs/portal/de/index/themen/18/01/pan.html | archive-date=2013-04-28 | url-status=dead }}</ref>

=== 21st century ===

In the [[early 2000s recession]], being so closely linked to the economies of Western Europe and the [[United States]], Switzerland could not escape the slowdown in these countries. After the worldwide stock market crashes in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, there were more announcements of false enterprise statistics{{clarify|date=January 2019}} and exaggerated managers' wages. The rate of GDP growth dropped to 1.2% in 2001; 0.4% in 2002; and minus 0.2% in 2003. This economic slowdown had a noticeable impact on the [[labour market]].

Many companies announced mass dismissals and thus the unemployment rate rose from its low of 1.6% in September 2000 to a peak of 4.3% in January 2004,<ref name=Amstat>{{Cite web |url=https://www.amstat.ch/v2/index.html |title=Amstat.ch |website=www.amstat.ch |language=de |access-date=19 September 2018}}</ref> although well below the [[European Union]] (EU) rate of 9.2% at the end of 2004.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php/Unemployment_statistics#Longer-term_unemployment_trends |title=Unemployment statistics - Statistics Explained |website=ec.europa.eu |language=en |access-date=19 September 2018}}</ref>

On 10 November 2002 the economics magazine ''Cash'' suggested five measures for political and economic institutions to implement to revive the Swiss economy:

1. Private consumption should be promoted with decent wage increases. In addition to that, families with children should get discounts on their health insurance.

2. Switzerland's national bank should revive investments by lowering interest rates. Besides that, monetary institutions should increasingly credit consumers{{clarify|date=January 2019}} and offer cheaper land to be built on.
[[File:Euro to Swiss Franc exchange rate.webp|thumb|280px|
{{legend|#E57169|[[Euro]] to [[Swiss franc|Swiss Franc]] [[exchange rate]]. In 2022, the [[Swiss National Bank]] reported a record loss of CHF 132 billion ($142 billion), mostly on its holdings of the Euro currency.<ref name="1SWI swissinfo.ch 2022">{{cite web | title=SNB reports CHF142 billion nine-month loss | website=SWI swissinfo.ch | date=2022-10-31 | url=https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/business/snb-reports-chf143-billion-nine-month-loss/48018574 | access-date=2022-12-05}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/the-most-critical-questions-about-the-swiss-central-bank-s-huge-losses/48261774 | title=The most critical questions about the Swiss central bank's huge losses | date=7 February 2023 }}</ref> |outline=#001489}}]]
3. Switzerland's national bank was asked to devalue the Swiss Franc, especially compared to the Euro.

4. The government should implement the anti-cyclical measure of increasing budget deficits. Government spending should increase in the infrastructure and education sectors. Lowering taxes would make sense in order to promote private household consumption.

5. Flexible work schedules should be instituted, thus avoiding low demand dismissals.

These measures were applied with successful results while the government strove for the ''Magical Hexagon'' of full employment, social equality, economic growth, environmental quality, positive trade balance and price stability. The rebound which started in mid-2003 saw growth rate growth rate averaging 3% (2004 and 2005 saw a GDP growth of 2.5% and 2.6% respectively; for 2006 and 2007, the rate was 3.6%). In 2008, GDP growth was modest in the first half of the year while declining in the last two quarters. Because of the base effect, real growth came to 1.9%. While it contracted 1.9% in 2009, the economy started to pick up in Q3 and by the second quarter of 2010, it had surpassed its previous peak. Growth for 2010 was 2.6%<ref name="seco.admin.ch">{{cite web |url=http://www.seco.admin.ch/themen/00374/00456/00458/index.html?lang=en |title=Gross domestic product - quarterly estimates |access-date=2010-10-11 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100923194412/http://www.seco.admin.ch/themen/00374/00456/00458/index.html?lang=en |archive-date=2010-09-23 }}</ref>

The stock market collapse of 2007-2009 deeply affected investment income earned abroad. This translated to a substantial fall in the surplus of the [[Current account (balance of payments)|current account balance]]. In 2006, Switzerland recorded a 15.1% per GDP surplus. It went down to 9.1% in 2007 and further dropped to 1.8% in 2008. It recovered in 2009 and 2010 with a surplus of 11.9% and 14.6% respectively.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ubs.com/1/ShowMedia/wealthmanagement/wealth_management_research/ubs_outlook?contentId=190677&name=OUTCH_0211_fr.pdf|title=Outlook T1|access-date=2011-04-27|archive-date=5 September 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140905033505/https://www.ubs.com/1/ShowMedia/wealthmanagement/wealth_management_research/ubs_outlook?contentId=190677&name=OUTCH_0211_fr.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> Unemployment peaked in December 2009 at 4.4%. In August 2018 the unemployment rate was 2.4%.<ref name=Amstat/>

The chart below shows the trend of the gross domestic product of Switzerland at market prices:<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bfs.admin.ch/bfs/en/home/statistiken/volkswirtschaft/volkswirtschaftliche-gesamtrechnung/bruttoinlandprodukt.html|title=Gross Domestic Product|first=Federal Statistical|last=Office|website=www.bfs.admin.ch}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year || GDP (billions of [[Swiss franc|CHF]]) || US dollar exchange
|-
| 1980 || 184 || 1.67 Francs
|-
| 1985 || 244 || 2.43 Francs
|-
| 1990 || 331 || 1.38 Francs
|-
| 1995 || 374 || 1.18 Francs
|-
| 2000 || 422 || 1.68 Francs
|-
| 2005 || 464 || 1.24 Francs
|-
| 2006 || 491 || 1.25 Francs
|-
| 2007 || 521|| 1.20 Francs
|-
| 2008 || 547|| 1.08 Francs
|-
| 2009 || 535|| 1.09 Francs
|-
| 2010 || 546|| 1.04 Francs
|-
| 2011 || 659|| 0.89 Francs
|-
| 2012 || 632|| 0.94 Francs
|-
| 2013 || 635|| 0.93 Francs
|-
| 2014 || 644|| 0.92 Francs
|-
| 2015 || 646|| 0.96 Francs
|-
| 2016 || 659|| 0.98 Francs
|-
| 2017 || 668|| 1.01 Francs
|-
| 2018 || 694|| 1.00 Francs
|-
| 2019 || 717|| 0.99 Francs
|-
| 2020 || 750|| 0.94 Francs
|-
| 2021 || 780|| 0.91 Francs
|-
| 2022 || 885|| 0.95 Francs
|-
| 2023 || 885|| 0.90 Francs
|}