Editing Economy of Switzerland (section)

===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>