Government and power in Switzerland
Who leads Switzerland, how the World Bank's governance indicators score it, how many women sit in parliament and government, what the state spends and taxes, and the official bodies that hold power to account. System of government: Federal directorial republic with direct democracy.
Who leads Switzerland?
- Head of state: Guy Parmelin (Président de la Confédération suisse)
- Head of government: No Prime Minister
- Foreign minister: Ignazio Cassis (Vice-président et Chef du Département fédéral des Affaires étrangères de la Confédération suisse)
Source: Heads of State, Heads of Government, Ministers for Foreign Affairs: Public List (United Nations Protocol and Liaison Service), list dated 15 October 2026. All world leaders.
Governance scores
The World Bank's Worldwide Governance Indicators combine surveys of households and firms with assessments by public, private and non-governmental bodies. Each score runs from 0 to 100; higher means the sources rate governance better. They measure perceptions, and each has a margin of error.
- Voice and accountability
- Measures how far citizens can choose their government, and freedom of expression, association and the media.
- Political stability and absence of violence
- Measures the likelihood of political instability or politically motivated violence, including terrorism.
- Government effectiveness
- Measures the quality of public services and the civil service, and how independent they are from political pressure.
- Regulatory quality
- Measures the government's ability to make and carry out policies that let the private sector develop.
- Rule of law
- Measures confidence in and respect for the rules of society, including contract enforcement, property rights, the police and the courts.
- Control of corruption
- Measures how far public power is used for private gain, including petty and grand corruption and "capture" of the state by elites.
How does Switzerland score on voice and accountability?
Voice and accountability: 85.9 out of 100 in 2025, 10th highest of 193 UN member states with a score (regional median 74.2). Ten years earlier, in 2015, it was 85.9.
Source: World Bank · saved copyHow does Switzerland score on political stability?
Political stability and absence of violence: 85.2 out of 100 in 2025, 29th highest of 193 UN member states with a score (regional median 73.5). Ten years earlier, in 2015, it was 87.7.
Source: World Bank · saved copyHow does Switzerland score on government effectiveness?
Government effectiveness: 92.6 out of 100 in 2025, 4th highest of 193 UN member states with a score (regional median 69.4). Ten years earlier, in 2015, it was 94.5.
Source: World Bank · saved copyHow does Switzerland score on regulatory quality?
Regulatory quality: 84.5 out of 100 in 2025, 4th highest of 193 UN member states with a score (regional median 66.2). Ten years earlier, in 2015, it was 86.7.
Source: World Bank · saved copyHow does Switzerland score on the rule of law?
Rule of law: 87.3 out of 100 in 2025, 5th highest of 193 UN member states with a score (regional median 70.8). Ten years earlier, in 2015, it was 89.3.
Source: World Bank · saved copyHow does Switzerland score on control of corruption?
Control of corruption: 88.1 out of 100 in 2025, 3rd highest of 193 UN member states with a score (regional median 60.7). Ten years earlier, in 2015, it was 93.9.
Source: World Bank · saved copyHow many women are in Switzerland's parliament?
Women held 39.0% of seats in the national parliament (single or lower chamber) in 2025, 35th highest of 184 countries with data. Source: Inter-Parliamentary Union, via the World Bank.
Source: World Bank · saved copyHow many of Switzerland's ministers are women?
Women held 28.6% of ministerial posts in 2025, 62nd highest of 190.
Source: World Bank · saved copyHow much does the government of Switzerland spend?
Central government spending (expense) was 16.1% of GDP in 2023.
Source: World Bank · saved copyHow much tax does the government of Switzerland collect?
Central government tax revenue was 9.5% of GDP in 2024, 84th highest of 92.
Source: World Bank · saved copyHow much does Switzerland spend on the military?
Military spending was 0.8% of GDP in 2025, 125th highest of 149 (Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, via the World Bank).
Source: World Bank · saved copyHow big are the armed forces of Switzerland?
Armed forces personnel numbered 20,000 in 2020.
Source: World Bank · saved copyHow good are Switzerland's official statistics?
The World Bank's Statistical Performance Indicator, which scores how well a country's official statistics system works, was 88.7 out of 100 in 2024, 25th highest of 187.
Source: World Bank · saved copyHow many births are registered in Switzerland?
100.0% of births of children under 5 were registered with a civil authority (2022).
Source: World Bank · saved copyHow many people in Switzerland use the internet?
97.3% of people used the internet in 2025.
Source: World Bank · saved copyOfficial bodies that hold power in Switzerland
Government
- Swiss Federal Council and Federal AdministrationFederal Council decisions, press releases and consultations.
Parliament
- Federal Assembly (National Council and Council of States)Parliamentary business, debate records, votes and member information for both chambers.
Elections
- Federal Chancellery – Political RightsInformation on federal votes and elections, popular initiatives and referendums, and official results.
Courts
- Federal Supreme CourtFederal Supreme Court judgments, press releases and annual reports.
Public audit
- Swiss Federal Audit OfficeAudit reports on federal administration finances and programmes.
Lobbying register
- Register of interests of the National CouncilMembers' declared interests and the guests they give access badges to, a de facto lobbyist list.
Public contracts
- simap.chPublic tenders and awards of the Confederation, cantons and communes.
Laws and the official gazette
- Fedlex (Publication platform for federal law)The Federal Gazette, the Official Compilation and the Classified Compilation of federal law.
Government below the national level
- Cantons (26): Elected cantonal parliament and directly elected government
- Districts (in some cantons): Varies: some district prefects (Statthalter, préfets) are elected by the people, others appointed
- Communes (Gemeinden/communes/comuni, about 2,100; 2,148 in 2022): Executive council elected; legislature is either a communal assembly of all citizens or an elected parliament
- Citizens' communes and corporations (Bürgergemeinden, Korporationen): Members are people holding local citizenship ('origin'), not all residents
How local power works in Switzerland
Places in Switzerland
Sources
- World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Voice and accountability (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 70f2804fd1e2…)
- World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Political stability and absence of violence (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 1317de0c85e1…)
- World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Government effectiveness (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 a775e808dc65…)
- World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Regulatory quality (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 83b57e36ff8c…)
- World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Rule of law (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 0bccc3c054e8…)
- World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Control of corruption (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 3b15a5340cdd…)
- World Bank: World Development Indicators: Seats held by women in national parliament (SG.GEN.PARL.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 1ae1dc13981a…)
- World Bank: World Development Indicators: Women in ministerial positions (SG.GEN.MNST.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 a4e448a5b8bd…)
- World Bank: World Development Indicators: Central government spending (GC.XPN.TOTL.GD.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 808094019f50…)
- World Bank: World Development Indicators: Tax revenue (GC.TAX.TOTL.GD.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 08c94b750f31…)
- World Bank: World Development Indicators: Military spending (MS.MIL.XPND.GD.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 a7f6913a783b…)
- World Bank: World Development Indicators: Armed forces personnel (MS.MIL.TOTL.P1), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 fa4663c743ba…)
- World Bank: World Development Indicators: Statistical Performance Indicator (overall score) (IQ.SPI.OVRL), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 08ac7cde9129…)
- World Bank: World Development Indicators: Births registered (SP.REG.BRTH.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 f8d443034ba7…)
- World Bank: World Development Indicators: People using the internet (IT.NET.USER.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 0d78dc658329…)
Each saved copy is the file exactly as downloaded, kept so the figures can be checked even if the source changes. Report an error.