Topic: Countries

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πŸ”— Direct Democracy in Switzerland

πŸ”— Switzerland πŸ”— Countries

Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a country situated in the confluence of Western, Central, and Southern Europe. It is a federal republic composed of 26Β cantons, with federal authorities seated in Bern. Switzerland is a landlocked country bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. It is geographically divided among the Swiss Plateau, the Alps, and the Jura, spanning a total area of 41,285Β km2 (15,940Β sqΒ mi), and land area of 39,997Β km2 (15,443Β sqΒ mi). While the Alps occupy the greater part of the territory, the Swiss population of approximately 8.5 million is concentrated mostly on the plateau, where the largest cities are located, among them the two global cities and economic centres of ZΓΌrich and Geneva.

The establishment of the Old Swiss Confederacy dates to the late medieval period, resulting from a series of military successes against Austria and Burgundy. Swiss independence from the Holy Roman Empire was formally recognized in the Peace of Westphalia in 1648. The Federal Charter of 1291 is considered the founding document of Switzerland which is celebrated on Swiss National Day. Since the Reformation of the 16th century, Switzerland has maintained a strong policy of armed neutrality; it has not fought an international war since 1815 and did not join the United Nations until 2002. Nevertheless, it pursues an active foreign policy and is frequently involved in peace-building processes around the world. Switzerland is the birthplace of the Red Cross, one of the world's oldest and best known humanitarian organisations, and is home to numerous international organisations, including the second largest UN office. It is a founding member of the European Free Trade Association, but notably not part of the European Union, the European Economic Area or the Eurozone. However, it participates in the Schengen Area and the European Single Market through bilateral treaties.

Switzerland occupies the crossroads of Germanic and Romance Europe, as reflected in its four main linguistic and cultural regions: German, French, Italian and Romansh. Although the majority of the population are German-speaking, Swiss national identity is rooted in a common historical background, shared values such as federalism and direct democracy, and Alpine symbolism. Due to its linguistic diversity, Switzerland is known by a variety of native names: Schweiz [ΛˆΚƒvaΙͺts] (German); Suisse [sΙ₯is(Ι™)] (French); Svizzera [ˈzvittsera] (Italian); and Svizra [ΛˆΚ’viːtsrɐ, ΛˆΚ’viːtsʁɐ] (Romansh). On coins and stamps, the Latin name, Confoederatio Helvetica – frequently shortened to "Helvetia" – is used instead of the four national languages.

The sovereign state is one of the most developed countries in the world, with the highest nominal wealth per adult and the eighth-highest per capita gross domestic product. It ranks at or near the top in several international metrics, including economic competitiveness and human development. ZΓΌrich, Geneva and Basel have been ranked among the top ten cities in the world in terms of quality of life, with ZΓΌrich ranked second globally. In 2019, IMD placed Switzerland first in the world in attracting skilled workers. World Economic Forum ranks it the 5th most competitive country globally.

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πŸ”— List of OECD countries by hospital beds

πŸ”— Medicine πŸ”— Lists πŸ”— Countries

This is a list of countries by hospital beds per 1000 or 100,000 people, as published by the local governments, international organisation (OECD, E.U.), academic sources or others. The number of beds per people is an important indicator of the health care system of a country. The basic measure focus on all hospital beds, which are variously split and occupied. The classic hospital beds are also called curative beds. For severe patients with risk of organ(s) failure, patients are provided intensive care unit beds (aka ICU bed) or critical care beds (CCB).

Among OECD countries, curative beds' occupancy rate average was 75%, from 94.9% (Ireland) to 61.6% (Greece), with half of the OECD's nation between 70% and 80%.

In 2009, European nations, most of them also part of OECD, had an aggregated total of 2,070,000 acute beds and 73,585 (2.8%) critical care beds (CCB) or 11.5CCB/100,000 inhabitants. Germany had 29.2, Portugal 4.2.Aging population leads to increased demand for CCB and difficulties to satisfy it, while both quantity of CCB and availability are poorly documented.

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πŸ”— List of countries that prohibit camouflage clothing

πŸ”— Lists πŸ”— Countries

The following nations prohibit civilians wearing or possessing camouflage print clothing:

  • Azerbaijan
  • Antigua and Barbuda
  • Bahamas
  • Barbados
  • Dominica
  • Ghana
  • Grenada
  • Jamaica
  • Nigeria
  • Oman
  • Philippines (uniforms only)
  • Saint Lucia
  • Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
  • Saudi Arabia
  • Trinidad and Tobago
  • Uganda
  • Zambia
  • Zimbabwe

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πŸ”— Sovereign Military Order of Malta

πŸ”— Military history πŸ”— Heraldry and vexillology πŸ”— Catholicism πŸ”— Military history/Crusades πŸ”— Military history/Medieval warfare πŸ”— Countries πŸ”— Former countries πŸ”— Military history/National militaries πŸ”— Malta πŸ”— Orders, decorations, and medals

The Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), officially the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta (Italian: Sovrano Militare Ordine Ospedaliero di San Giovanni di Gerusalemme di Rodi e di Malta; Latin: Supremus Militaris Ordo Hospitalarius Sancti Ioannis Hierosolymitani Rhodiensis et Melitensis), commonly known as the Order of Malta, Malta Order or Knights of Malta, is a Catholic lay religious order, traditionally of military, chivalric and noble nature. Though it possesses no territory, the order is a sovereign entity of international law and maintains diplomatic relations with many countries.

SMOM claims continuity with the Knights Hospitaller, a chivalric order that was founded c. 1099 by the Blessed Gerard in the Kingdom of Jerusalem. The order is led by an elected Prince and Grand Master. Its motto is Tuitio fidei et obsequium pauperum ('defence of the faith and assistance to the poor'). The order venerates the Virgin Mary as its patroness, under the title of Our Lady of Philermos. Its modern-day role is largely focused on providing humanitarian assistance and assisting with international humanitarian relations, for which purpose it has had permanent observer status at the United Nations General Assembly since 1994.

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πŸ”— List of countries by life expectancy

πŸ”— Medicine πŸ”— Death πŸ”— Countries

The article documents lists of countries by average life expectancy at birth by various sources of estimates.

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πŸ”— Today a greater percentage of Dutch people speak English than Canadians

πŸ”— Lists πŸ”— Statistics πŸ”— Linguistics πŸ”— Linguistics/Applied Linguistics πŸ”— Languages πŸ”— Countries πŸ”— English Language

The following is a list of English-speaking population by country, including information on both native speakers and second-language speakers.

Some of the entries in this list are dependent territories (e.g.: U.S. Virgin Islands), autonomous regions (e.g.: Hong Kong) or associated states (e.g.: Cook Islands) of other countries, rather than being fully sovereign countries in their own right.

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πŸ”— List of Countries by Vehicles per Capita

πŸ”— Lists πŸ”— Transport πŸ”— Automobiles πŸ”— Countries πŸ”— Trucks

This article is a list of countries by the number of road motor vehicles per 1,000 inhabitants. This includes cars, vans, buses, and freight and other trucks; but excludes motorcycles and other two-wheelers.

China has the largest fleet of motor vehicles in the world in 2021, with 292 million cars, and in 2009 became the world's largest new car market as well. In 2011, a total of 80 million cars and commercial vehicles were built, led by China, with 18.4 million motor vehicles manufactured.