Switzerland officially the Swiss Confederation is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe where it is bordered by Germany to the north France to the west Italy to the south and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland is a landlocked country geographically divided between the Alps the Central Plateau and the Jura spanning an area of 41 285 km (15 940 sq mi).
