ABSTRACT
Switzerland is a small country with densely populated inhabitable regions. Its surface area is 41 000 km2 and the population totals seven million inhabitants (of whom almost 20% are foreigners), giving a density of 169 inhabitants per km2. For the year 1993, the national income is estimated to have been 310 billion Swiss francs, or approximately 44 000 francs per inhabitant. The primary sector occupies less than 6% of the working population and the tertiary sector, whose role is constantly increasing, occupies nearly 60% of the population. Switzerland has always dedicated a sizeable part of the gross national product to the gross domestic fixed capital formation: 26.7% on average between 1948 and 1991. In addition, investment in property and construction represents more than 60% of this value. The Swiss property construction market is therefore more important than the size of the country’s population would suggest.
