Editing Geography of Switzerland (section)

==Western or Central Europe==
[[Image:Extreme points of Europe.png|thumb|Current measurements of extreme points of Europe and its centres]]

No subdivision of [[Europe]] is universally accepted, therefore naming the different European regions and defining the borders between them is subject to debates. Depending on the definition chosen, Switzerland can be either part of [[Western Europe|Western]] or [[Central Europe]]: both concepts depend heavily on context and carry cultural, economic and political connotations.

The term "Western Europe" commonly indicates the region west of the [[Baltic Sea|Baltic]] and [[Adriatic Sea]]. Countries described as Western European (including Switzerland, according to the [[United Nations Statistics Division]] and the [[National Geographic Society]]<ref>{{cite web| url = http://traveler.nationalgeographic.com/travel-books/western-europe-text/17| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090522011907/http://traveler.nationalgeographic.com/travel-books/western-europe-text/17| url-status = dead| archive-date = May 22, 2009| title = National Geographic Traveler: Switzerland}}</ref>) are invariably high-income developed countries, characterized by stable democratic political systems, [[mixed economy|mixed economies]] combining the [[free market]] with aspects of the [[welfare state]]. On the other hand, the term "Central Europe" refers to the region between Western and [[Eastern Europe]]. Central European countries (including Switzerland in the westernmost part, according to the [[World Factbook]]<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/switzerland/| title = World Factbook: Switzerland| date = 9 April 2024}}</ref> and various encyclopedias such as [[Encyclopædia Britannica|Britannica]] and [[Columbia Encyclopedia|Columbia]]) show high disparities with regard to income but possibly share similar cultural characteristics. The concept came back into use by the end of the Cold War, which had divided Europe politically into the [[Western World]] and the [[East Bloc]], splitting Central Europe in half. Before World War I, the German-speaking world used the somewhat-related term ''[[Mitteleuropa]]'' (from German: ''Middle Europe'') for an area larger than most conceptions of Central Europe, notably encompassing Switzerland among the other German-speaking countries.

Physically, Switzerland is situated approximately in the middle of the portion of Europe west of the [[Carpathian Mountains]]. Defining the [[Ural Mountains]] as the eastern limit of the continent, Switzerland is located within the western third of Europe, approximately 15 [[degree (angle)|degrees]] of [[longitude]] away from the extreme west and 50 degrees away from extreme east.<ref>Swiss World Atlas, Physical Map of Europe, 1993 edition</ref> [[Phytogeography|Phytogeographically]], the part of Switzerland that lies north of the Alps belongs to Central Europe, while the part south of the Alps belongs to [[Southern Europe]].<ref>[[Wolfgang Frey]] and Rainer Lösch; ''Lehrbuch der Geobotanik. Pflanze und Vegetation in Raum und Zeit''. Spektrum Akademischer Verlag, München 2004</ref>