CountryDuel

Land

Size, shape and altitude

Total area

How big is it, really?

Switzerland fits inside France 15 times

France: 606,410 km² (2024) · Switzerland: 41,291 km² (2024)

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Coastline

How much coast is there?

France: 4,853 km (2026 edition) · Switzerland: 0 km (2026 edition)

Highest point

How high can you climb?

France’s highest peak towers 176 m above Switzerland’s

France: 4,810 m (2026 edition) · Switzerland: 4,634 m (2026 edition)

Farmland

How much of the land is farmed?

Farmland covers 53% of France, versus 38% of Switzerland

France: 52.8% (2024) · Switzerland: 37.7% (2024)

How far apart are they?

People

Who lives there, and how closely

Population

How many people live there?

France has 7.6 times as many people as Switzerland

France: 68.7 million (2025) · Switzerland: 9.09 million (2025)

Population density

How crowded is it?

Switzerland is 80% more densely populated than France

France: 128 per km² (2025) · Switzerland: 230 per km² (2025)

Height of men

How tall are the men?

Switzerland and France are practically level

France: 178.6 cm (2019) · Switzerland: 178.7 cm (2019)

Height of women

How tall are the women?

France and Switzerland are practically level

France: 164.5 cm (2019) · Switzerland: 164.3 cm (2019)

Median age

How old is the typical person?

The typical person in Switzerland is 0.51 years older than in France

France: 41.8 years (2023) · Switzerland: 42.3 years (2023)

Fertility rate

How many children per woman?

Women in France have 0.3 more children on average than in Switzerland

France: 1.61 children per woman (2024) · Switzerland: 1.29 children per woman (2024)

Aged 65 and over

How many people are 65 or older?

23% of people in France are 65 or older, versus 20% in Switzerland

France: 22.5% (2025) · Switzerland: 20.4% (2025)

Refugees hosted per 1,000 residents

How many refugees does it host?

Switzerland hosts 2 times as many refugees per resident as France

France: 11.5 per 1,000 (2025) · Switzerland: 22.9 per 1,000 (2025)

Nobel laureates per 10 million people

How many Nobel laureates were born there?

Switzerland has produced 20.9 Nobel laureates per 10 million people, France 9.5

France: 9.5 (2026) · Switzerland: 20.9 (2026)

Official languages

How many official languages?

Switzerland has 4 official languages, France 1

France: 1 (2026) · Switzerland: 4 (2026)

What shape is the population?

Money

What an economy looks like per person

Economy size (GDP)

How big is the economy?

France’s economy is 3.2 times the size of Switzerland’s

France: $3.37 trillion (2025) · Switzerland: $1.04 trillion (2025)

GDP per person (PPP)

How much is produced per person?

Switzerland produces 60% more per person than France

France: Int$63,975 (2025) · Switzerland: Int$102,513 (2025)

Income inequality (Gini)

How evenly is income shared?

Income is more unequally shared in Switzerland than in France (Gini 1.7 points higher)

France: 31.8 (2023) · Switzerland: 33.5 (2023)

Extreme poverty ($3.00 a day)

How many live on less than $3 a day?

France and Switzerland are practically level

France: 0.1% (2023) · Switzerland: 0.1% (2023)

Unemployment

How many people are looking for work?

Unemployment is 7.5% in France, versus 4.9% in Switzerland

France: 7.5% (2025) · Switzerland: 4.9% (2025)

Military spending

How much goes to the military?

France spends 2.0% of its GDP on the military, Switzerland 0.8%

France: 2% (2025) · Switzerland: 0.8% (2025)

Tax revenue (central government)

How much does the central government collect in tax?

France’s central government collects 23% of GDP in tax, Switzerland’s 9.5%

France: 22.8% (2024) · Switzerland: 9.5% (2024)

Price level (US = 100)

How expensive is it?

Switzerland’s price level (US = 100) is 1.5× France’s

France: 77% (2025) · Switzerland: 112% (2025)

Health

Long lives, small beginnings

Health spending per person

How much is spent on health?

Switzerland spends 2.2 times as much on health per person as France

France: $5,327 (2024) · Switzerland: $11,784 (2023)

Life expectancy

How long do people live?

People in Switzerland live 1.4 years longer than in France

France: 83 years (2024) · Switzerland: 84.4 years (2024)

Infant mortality

How many babies don’t reach their first birthday?

France and Switzerland are nearly identical here

France: 3.4 per 1,000 (2024) · Switzerland: 3.4 per 1,000 (2024)

Doctors

How many doctors are there?

Switzerland has 36% more doctors per person than France

France: 3.3 per 1,000 (2022) · Switzerland: 4.5 per 1,000 (2022)

Hospital beds

How many hospital beds are there?

France has 29% more hospital beds per person than Switzerland

France: 5.7 per 1,000 (2022) · Switzerland: 4.4 per 1,000 (2023)

Suicide rate

How common is suicide?

The suicide rate in France is 20% higher than in Switzerland

France: 13.9 per 100k (2023) · Switzerland: 11.6 per 100k (2023)

Adult obesity

How common is obesity?

Switzerland and France are practically level

France: 12.5% (2024) · Switzerland: 12.9% (2024)

Smoking

How many adults smoke?

34% of adults in France smoke, versus 23% in Switzerland

France: 33.6% (2024) · Switzerland: 23.1% (2024)

Everyday life

Plates, glasses and happiness

Life satisfaction

How do people rate their lives?

People in Switzerland rate their lives 0.43 points higher than in France

France: 6.59 (2025) · Switzerland: 7.02 (2025)

Alcohol consumption

How much do people drink?

Adults in France drink 28% more alcohol than in Switzerland

France: 11.2 litres (2023) · Switzerland: 8.8 litres (2023)

Meat supply

How much meat is on the menu?

France has 26% more meat per person than Switzerland

France: 80.3 kg (2023) · Switzerland: 64 kg (2023)

Daily calories

How much food is there per day?

France has 87 kcal more food per person per day than Switzerland

France: 3,490 kcal (2023) · Switzerland: 3,402 kcal (2023)

Working hours

How long do people work?

Workers in Switzerland put in 42 more hours a year than in France

France: 1,487 hours (2023) · Switzerland: 1,529 hours (2023)

Years of schooling

How long do people go to school?

Adults in Switzerland went to school 2.2 years longer than in France

France: 11.8 years (2023) · Switzerland: 13.9 years (2023)

Tourists per resident

How many tourists visit?

France welcomed 29% more tourists per resident than Switzerland (2019)

France: 1.35 (2019) · Switzerland: 1.04 (2022)

World Heritage sites

How many World Heritage sites?

France has 43 more World Heritage sites than Switzerland (56 against 13)

France: 56 (2026) · Switzerland: 13 (2026)

Olympic medals (all time)

How many Olympic medals has it won?

France has won 985 Olympic medals, Switzerland 403

France: 985 (2026 edition) · Switzerland: 403 (2026 edition)

Connected

Online, electrified, urban

Internet users

How many people are online?

97% of people in Switzerland are online, versus 89% in France

France: 89% (2024) · Switzerland: 97% (2025)

Fixed broadband download speed

How fast is home internet?

Home internet in France is 15% faster than in Switzerland

France: 460 Mbps (2026) · Switzerland: 399 Mbps (2026)

Access to electricity

Who has electricity at home?

France and Switzerland are practically level

France: 100% (2024) · Switzerland: 100% (2024)

Urban population

How many live in cities?

86% of people in Switzerland live in cities, versus 79% in France

France: 79% (2025) · Switzerland: 86% (2025)

Mobile subscriptions

How many phones per person?

Switzerland has 129 mobile subscriptions per 100 people, France 117

France: 117 (2023) · Switzerland: 129 (2024)

Railway network

How much railway is there?

France’s railway network is 6.7 times as long as Switzerland’s

France: 27,716 km (2021) · Switzerland: 4,122 km (2021)

Air passengers per resident

How much do they fly?

Airlines from Switzerland fly 3.2 times as many passengers per resident as those from France

France: 0.94 (2023) · Switzerland: 3.05 (2023)

Planet

Air, forests and energy

Forest cover

How much of the land is forest?

Forest covers 33% of France, but only 32% of Switzerland

France: 32.9% (2024) · Switzerland: 32% (2024)

CO₂ per person

How much CO₂ does each person emit?

The average person in France emits 10% more CO₂ than someone in Switzerland

France: 4 t (2024) · Switzerland: 3.6 t (2024)

Renewable electricity

How green is the power grid?

68% of Switzerland’s electricity is renewable, versus 26% in France

France: 26.1% (2025) · Switzerland: 67.8% (2025)

Air pollution (PM2.5)

How clean is the air?

The air in Switzerland carries 1% more fine dust than in France

France: 8.9 µg/m³ (2024) · Switzerland: 9 µg/m³ (2024)

Where does the power come from?

Safety

Measured risk, not vibes

Homicide rate

How common is murder?

You are 2.3 times as likely to be murdered in France as in Switzerland

France: 1.3 per 100k (2024) · Switzerland: 0.6 per 100k (2023)

Road deaths

How dangerous are the roads?

Roads in France are 95% deadlier than in Switzerland

France: 7.6 per 100k (2023) · Switzerland: 3.9 per 100k (2023)

Climate

What the year feels like

Average temperature

How warm is it?

France is on average 7.6 °C warmer than Switzerland

France: 14.1°C (2016–2025 avg) · Switzerland: 6.5°C (2016–2025 avg)

Rainfall

How much rain falls?

Switzerland gets 40% more rain than France

France: 1,158 mm (2016–2025 avg) · Switzerland: 1,616 mm (2016–2025 avg)

What does the year feel like?

Between them

People, goods and passports that cross from one to the other

Who has moved between them?
Can they visit without a visa?
What do they sell each other?
Have they met on the pitch?
Time machine

Quick answers

Is France bigger than Switzerland?

France is larger. Switzerland fits inside France 15 times.

Which has more people, France or Switzerland?

France has 7.6 times as many people as Switzerland (2025 estimates).

Where do people live longer, France or Switzerland?

People in Switzerland live 1.4 years longer than in France. Life expectancy at birth is 83.0 years in France and 84.4 in Switzerland.

Are people taller in France or Switzerland?

Switzerland and France are practically level (NCD-RisC, cohort born 2019).

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