Why does Switzerland have a very high standard of living?
Switzerland has a stable modern mixed market economy, with a nominal per capita GDP that is higher than those of the larger western European economies, the United States, and Japan ranking 6th behind Luxembourg, Norway, Qatar, Iceland and Ireland. If adjusted for purchasing power parity it ranks 5th. The World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report currently ranks Switzerland’s economy as the most competitive in the world. For much of the 20th century, Switzerland was the wealthiest country in Europe by a considerable margin. Its median household income in 2003 was an estimated 96,000 CHF, the equaivalent of roughly $88.422,21 USD in pucharsing power parity, considerably higher than in other post-industrial-countries, such as the U.S., Canada or UK. . Switzerland is home to several large multinational corporations. Notable among these are Nestle, UBS AG, Zurich Financial Services, Credit Suisse, Novartis, Roche, ABB, Swiss Re, and The Swatch Group. Switzerland is ranked as one
