The population of Switzerland (2001 estimate) is 7,283,274, yielding an overall population density of 176 persons per sq km (457 per sq mi). The population of Switzerland is unevenly distributed, with the principal concentrations occurring in the Swiss plateau. Some 62 percent of the population is classified as urban, but most live in small towns. Population growth is slow, and a surplus of jobs means that foreign laborers and their families make up nearly one-fifth of the population.

Etruscans, Rhaetians, Celts, Romans, and Germanic peoples have left their imprint on Switzerland in the course of its historical evolution. The present population shows traces mainly of the Alpine, “Nordic,” and southern Slav or Dinaric peoples. To survive as a cohesive unit, the disparate elements of the Swiss people have had to learn a mutual cooperation to protect the neutrality that has been their safeguard. Their outlook has been shaped largely by economic and political necessity, which has made them realistic, cautious, and prudent in accepting innovation and creative in the use of what resources they have