Since the last general election, in October 2011, Switzerland has been governed by a coalition of the four main parties-the Social Democratic Party (SPS), the Free Democratic Party (FDP), the Swiss People's Party (SVP) and the Christian Democratic Party (CVP)-and the smaller Conservative Democratic Party (BDP). The centrist and left-wing parties (the SPS and the FDP) hold a majority in the Federal Council (the executive or cabinet), with two seats each. The remaining three parties have one seat each.
In September 2011 the SNB temporarily abandoned its inflation target in favour of an exchange-rate ceiling of Swfr1.2o:€1. This came in response to a period of sustained appreciation of the Swiss franc, as investors turned to the "safe haven" currency at the height of the euro zone crisis.
Fixed capital investment expanded by a moderate 1.7% in 2014, but heightened uncertainty related to the exchange rate is likely to compromise firms' capital spending plans (especially exporters). We expect fixed investment to stagnate this year, with only a modest expansion of 0.4% in 2016. In 2017-19 investment growth is projected to average 2.5%.

Country forecast overview 6

Highlights 6

Business environment rankings 7

Fact sheet 8

Outlook for 2015-19 9

Political outlook 9

Economic policy outlook 10

Economic forecast 11

Data summary 14

Data sources and definitions 19

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