Switzerland is Situated in western, central and southern Europe, Switzerland is one of the most developed countries in the world. It is officially known as the Swiss Confederation and ranks at the top globally, in several metrics of national performance.
The country has an area of 41,285 km2 and a population of 8,508,898. It does not have an official capital, but the city of Bern is its de jure capital. Its two largest cities Zürich and Geneva are global cities and economic centres.
Switzerland is a founding member of the European Free Trade Association; however, it is not part of the European Union. It joined the Schengen Area in 2008 since when on, world travellers can enter its territory with a Schengen visa.
In 2017, Switzerland issued a total of 451,528 uniform Schengen visas from 517,010 visa applications received at Starboard consulates and embassies around the world. The visa rejection rate was 7.25%.