France vs Switzerland
France is 15.6 times larger than Switzerland. Switzerland would fit into France about 16 times.
FranceSwitzerlandFrance moved onto Switzerland · Equal-area projection
Remote islands and overseas parts not drawn; the figures include them
15.6×
France is 15.6× the area of Switzerland.
 France |  Switzerland | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| AreaFrance: 15.6× the area | 643,801 km²#42 of 194 | 41,291 km²#132 of 194 |
| Coastline | Has a coast | Landlocked |
| Land neighbours | 10 | 5 |
| People | ||
| PopulationFrance: 7.56× the population | 68,720,337#23 of 194 · 2025 | 9,092,436#99 of 194 · 2025 |
| DensitySwitzerland: 2.06× the density | 107 / km²#83 of 194 | 220 / km²#46 of 194 |
| Urban populationSwitzerland: 1.09× the urban share | 79%#49 of 192 · 2025 | 86%#30 of 192 · 2025 |
| Fertility rateFrance: 1.25× the births per woman | 1.61 per woman#123 of 192 · 2024 | 1.29 per woman#170 of 192 · 2024 |
| Population growthSwitzerland: 0.71 points higher | +0.25%#147 of 192 · 2025 | +0.96%#99 of 192 · 2025 |
| Birth rateFrance: 1.11× the birth rate | 9.7 per 1,000#147 of 192 · 2024 | 8.7 per 1,000#159 of 192 · 2024 |
| Death rateFrance: 1.18× the death rate | 9.4 per 1,000#48 of 192 · 2024 | 8.0 per 1,000#70 of 192 · 2024 |
| Children under 15France: 1.3 points higher | 16.2%#148 of 192 · 2025 | 14.9%#165 of 192 · 2025 |
| People over 65France: 2.1 points higher | 22.5%#12 of 192 · 2025 | 20.4%#29 of 192 · 2025 |
| Net migrationSwitzerland: 2.8 per 1,000 higher | +1.3 per 1,000#44 of 192 · 2025 | +4.1 per 1,000#24 of 192 · 2025 |
| Refugees abroad | 0.00 per 1,000#174 of 190 · 2025 | 0.00 per 1,000#174 of 190 · 2025 |
| Health & education | ||
| Life expectancySwitzerland: 1.4 years longer | 83.0 years#18 of 192 · 2024 | 84.4 years#4 of 192 · 2024 |
| Infant mortalityAbout the same infant mortality | 3.4 per 1,000 births#159 of 191 · 2024 | 3.4 per 1,000 births#159 of 191 · 2024 |
| DoctorsSwitzerland: 1.37× the doctors per person | 3.28 per 1,000#54 of 178 · 2022 | 4.48 per 1,000#18 of 178 · 2022 |
| University enrolmentAbout the same university enrolment | 71.5%#43 of 145 · 2024 | 73.5%#41 of 145 · 2024 |
| Human Development IndexSwitzerland: 0.050 higher | 0.920#25 of 190 · 2023 | 0.970#2 of 190 · 2023 |
| Economy | ||
| GNI per capitaSwitzerland: 2.27× the income per person | $48,630#23 of 185 · 2025 | $110,330#1 of 185 · 2025 |
| GDPFrance: 3.23× the economy | $3.37T2025 | $1.04T2025 |
| Income group | High income | High income |
| GDP per capita (PPP)Switzerland: 1.6× the output per person | $63,975#28 of 184 · 2025 | $102,513#6 of 184 · 2025 |
| GDP growthSwitzerland: 0.5 points higher | +0.8%#160 of 187 · 2025 | +1.3%#148 of 187 · 2025 |
| InflationFrance: 0.7 points higher | +0.9%#144 of 176 · 2025 | +0.2%#160 of 176 · 2025 |
| UnemploymentFrance: 1.53× the unemployment | 7.5%#53 of 178 · 2025 | 4.9%#96 of 178 · 2025 |
| Extreme povertyAbout the same share in extreme poverty | 0.1%#126 of 149 · 2023 | 0.1%#126 of 149 · 2023 |
| Income inequality (Gini)Switzerland: 1.7 higher | 31.8#104 of 149 · 2023 | 33.5#87 of 149 · 2023 |
| Jobs in agricultureFrance: 0.1 points higher | 2.3% of jobs#154 of 178 · 2025 | 2.2% of jobs#155 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in industrySwitzerland: 0.3 points higher | 19.3% of jobs#85 of 178 · 2025 | 19.6% of jobs#83 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in servicesFrance: 0.1 points higher | 78.3% of jobs#20 of 178 · 2025 | 78.2% of jobs#21 of 178 · 2025 |
| Foreign investmentFrance: 1.8 points higher | 1.8% of GDP#100 of 184 · 2025 | 0.0% of GDP#162 of 184 · 2025 |
| ExportsSwitzerland: 44.7 points higher | 33.4% of GDP#89 of 168 · 2025 | 78.1% of GDP#17 of 168 · 2025 |
| Military spendingFrance: 2.67× the military spending | 2.0% of GDP#59 of 155 · 2025 | 0.8% of GDP#131 of 155 · 2025 |
| Internet usersSwitzerland: 1.1× the share online | 89%#64 of 184 · 2024 | 97%#15 of 184 · 2025 |
| Mobile subscriptionsSwitzerland: 1.1× the mobile subscriptions | 117 per 100#91 of 191 · 2023 | 129 per 100#54 of 191 · 2024 |
| Energy & environment | ||
| Forest areaAbout the same forest share | 33% of land#96 of 192 · 2024 | 32% of land#98 of 192 · 2024 |
| CO₂ per personFrance: 1.07× the CO₂ per person | 4.00 t a year#61 of 185 · 2024 | 3.75 t a year#68 of 185 · 2024 |
| Renewable energySwitzerland: 11.5 points higher | 16.2%#118 of 190 · 2021 | 27.7%#86 of 190 · 2021 |
| Access to electricityThe same | 100.0%#1 of 192 · 2024 | 100.0%#1 of 192 · 2024 |
| Air pollution (PM2.5)About the same air pollution | 8.2 µg/m³#168 of 191 · 2023 | 8.3 µg/m³#167 of 191 · 2023 |
| Protected landFrance: 16.3 points higher | 28.8% of land#40 of 191 · 2025 | 12.5% of land#135 of 191 · 2025 |
| Arable landFrance: 21.2 points higher | 31.3% of land#26 of 190 · 2024 | 10.1% of land#101 of 190 · 2024 |
| Water stressFrance: 3.29× the water stress | 21.4%#66 of 176 · 2022 | 6.5%#108 of 176 · 2022 |
| PrecipitationSwitzerland: 1.77× the rain and snow | 867 mm#99 of 180 · 2022 | 1,537 mm#55 of 180 · 2022 |
| Governance & safety | ||
| Political stabilitySwitzerland: 1.21 higher | −0.09#110 of 193 · 2025 | +1.12#28 of 193 · 2025 |
| Control of corruptionSwitzerland: 0.74 higher | +1.24#23 of 193 · 2025 | +1.98#3 of 193 · 2025 |
| Homicide rateFrance: 2.17× the homicide rate | 1.3 per 100,000#92 of 146 · 2023 | 0.6 per 100,000#132 of 146 · 2023 |
| State | ||
| Status | Independent state | Independent state |
| Government | Semi-presidential republic | Parliamentary republicfederal republic (formally a confederation) |
| Member of | EU, NATO, Euro area, Schengen Area, OECD, G7, G20 | Schengen Area, OECD |
| Capital | Paris | Bern |
| Currency | Euro (EUR), CFP Franc (XPF) | Swiss franc (CHF) |
| Official languages | French | German, French, Italian, Romansh |
| Traffic drives | On the right | On the right |
| Time zone | UTC+1, summer time UTC+2 | UTC+1, summer time UTC+2 |
| Calling code | +33 | +41 |
| Region | Western Europe, Europe | Western Europe, Europe |
Area: Wikidata. Population, income, health, economy, environment and governance: World Bank. Human Development Index: UNDP. Government: CIA World Factbook. Ranks among the 194 independent states. All sources
Why the map you grew up with disagrees
On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. France sits at about 43° N and is stretched to 1.87× its true area; Switzerland at 47° N is stretched to 2.13×. Here the two are distorted about the same amount, so Mercator gets this pair roughly right. The figure above uses the Equal Earth projection, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
Questions about this pair
- Is France bigger than Switzerland?
- Yes. France is 15.6 times larger than Switzerland. France covers 643,801 km² and Switzerland covers 41,291 km².
- How many times does Switzerland fit into France?
- About 16 times: France has 15.6× the area of Switzerland.
- Why do France and Switzerland look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. France is drawn about 1.87× its true area there and Switzerland about 2.13×. For this pair the distortion is similar, so Mercator gets the comparison roughly right. Kartavera uses Equal Earth, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
- Which has more people, France or Switzerland?
- France: 68,720,337 people against 9,092,436. Density: France 107 per km², Switzerland 220 per km².
- Which is richer, France or Switzerland?
- By gross national income per person, Switzerland: $110,330 against $48,630 (World Bank, Atlas method, 2025) — 2.27× as much.
- Where do people live longer, France or Switzerland?
- In Switzerland: life expectancy at birth is 84.4 years, against 83.0 — 1.4 years longer (World Bank, 2024).
- What kind of government do France and Switzerland have?
- By constitution, as the CIA World Factbook describes them — France: semi-presidential republic; Switzerland: parliamentary republic.