Regions
Switzerland`s physical state can be described in many ways. Firstly, the country is divided into 3 main geographic regions: The Swiss Alps, the Central Plateau and the Jura, each having it`s own different geological setup. The country is landlocked and surrounded by Germany, France, Italy, Austria and Liechtenstein. Distances from north to south are 140 miles and from east to west 220 miles. 8.5 million people currently live in Switzerland.
The Alps cover 65% of the country and the Swiss Plateau is located north of the Alps and this is where the majority of the population live. Switzerland is divided into 26 sovereign cantons and then certain areas are grouped such as the Bernese Oberlands and Central Switzerland. To complicate matters more, there are 4 official languages spoken, (Swiss) German 65% in central and eastern areas, French (20%) in western areas, Italian (10%) in Ticino and Romansch in some areas of Graubünden.
