Facts and figures

Switzerland is a mountainous multi-lingual country at the heart of Europe and is a federal state since 1848 consisting of 26 Cantons and more than 2,100 Communes. The country is a direct democracy allowing Swiss citizens a direct voice on political decision. Switzerland is politically neutral and has bilateral trade and other agreements with the European Union and is a member of the Schengen visa area. ¹

The country is home to multiple international bodies including the World Health and World Intellectual Property Organizations in Geneva, the International Olympic Committee in Lausanne and Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) in Zurich. ¹

Switzerland was a founding member of the EMBC and EMBO is registered in Geneva as a non-profit organization.²

Switzerland has 12 universities ³ including the two globally ranked federal institutes of technology – Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich (ETH Zurich) the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL). ¹

Around 51% of young adults in Switzerland attain a tertiary education.⁴   In 2021, more than 90,800 people in Switzerland were employed in R&D work.⁵     

Gross expenditure on research and development (GERD) rose by 16.7% between 2019 and 2021 to reach 24.6 billion Swiss francs and as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product to 3.3%. The main sectors financing GERD in 2021 were business enterprise providing 66% and government 27%. ⁵

The European Patent Office granted 4,561 patents to residents of Switzerland in 2024 accounting for 4.2% of all patents issued by the EPO that year.⁶  Switzerland topped the Global Innovation Index in 2024 for the 14^th year in a row. ⁷

Life scientists in Switzerland have access to funding from the Swiss National Science Foundation ⁸  and private funders as well as Horizon Europe and Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions ⁹ as well as EMBO.