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Cantons of Switzerland

The 26 cantonss of Switzerland are the statess of the federal state.

Each canton has its own constitution, legislature, government and courts. Most of the cantons' legislatures are unicameral parliaments. Their size varies between 58 and 200 seats. A few legislatures are general assemblies (Landsgemeinden). The cantonal governments consist of either 5, 7 or 9 members, depending on the canton. All tasks that do not explicitly fall within the Confederation according to the Swiss Constitution are matters of the cantons. The cantons determine the degree of autonomy of the municipalities, thus this varies greatly.

In cantonal matters, direct democracy in the form of general assemblies (Landsgemeinde) is now confined to the cantons of Appenzell Innerrhoden and Glarus. In all other cantons democratic rights are expressed using the ballot box.

Since the creation of the Canton of Jura in 1978 there have been no new cantons. Sometimes the number of cantons is given as 23. In this case the cantons of Unterwalden, Appenzell and Basel are counted as two half-cantons each. Unterwalden is divided into Obwalden and Nidwalden, Appenzell into Innerrhoden and Ausserrhoden, while Basel is divided into Basel-Stadt and Basel-Landschaft. These divisions exist for historical reasons and still only affect the number of seats in the Council of States and voting in federal initiatives. The new constitution of 1999 now enumerates each of the 26 cantons separately.

List and map

The table below lists the cantons in the order of the constitution.

Abbr Canton Since Capital Population1 Area2 Density3 Nr. of mun.s1 Official languages

ZHZürich (Zurich)1351Zürich1,228,6001,729701171German
BEBern (Berne)1353Bern947,1005,959158399German, French
LULucerne1332Lucerne350,6001,493233107German
URUri1291Altdorf35,0001,0773320German
SZSchwyz1291Schwyz131,40090814330German
OWObwalden (Obwald)1291Sarnen32,700491667German
NWNidwalden (Nidwald)1291Stans38,60027613811German
GLGlarus1352Glarus38,3006855128German
ZGZug1352Zug100,90023941611German
FRFribourg1481Fribourg239,1001,671141242French, German
SOSolothurn1481Solothurn245,500791308126German
BSBasel-Stadt (Basle-City)1501Basel186,700375,0723German
BLBasel-Landschaft (Basle-Country)1501Liestal261,40051850286German
SHSchaffhausen1501Schaffhausen73,40029824634German
ARAppenzell Ausserrhoden (Outer Rhodes)1513Herisau453,20024322020German
AIAppenzell Innerrhoden (Inner Rhodes)1513Appenzell15,000173876German
SGSt. Gallen (St. Gall)1803St. Gallen452,6002,02622290German
GRGraubünden (Grisons)1803Chur185,7007,10526211German, Romansh, Italian
AGAargau (Argovia)1803Aarau550,9001,404388232German
TGThurgau (Thurgovia)1803Frauenfeld228,20099122980German
TITicino1803Bellinzona311,9002,812110244Italian
VDVaud1803Lausanne626,2003,212188382French
VSValais1815Sion278,2005,22453160French, German
NENeuchâtel1815Neuchâtel166,50080320662French
GEGeneva1815Geneva414,3002821,44244French
JUJura1979Delémont69,1008388283French

CH Switzerland   Bern 7,261,20041,285 174 2,889 German, French, Italian, Romansh

Notes: 1 on 31 December 2001, National Statistics, 2 km², 3 per km², based on 2000 population 4 seat of government and parliament, the seat of the judicial authorities is Trogen.

The two letter abbreviations for Swiss cantons are widely used, e.g. on car license plates and in the ISO 3166-2 codes (with the prefix "CH-", i.e. CH-SZ for the canton of Schwyz).

Names in other languages

Abbr English French Italian German Romansh Spanish Esperanto¹

AGAargauArgovieArgoviaAargauArgoviaArgovia 
AIAppenzell InnerrhodenAppenzell Rhodes-IntérieuresAppenzello InternoAppenzell InnerhodenAppenzell dadensAppenzell Rodas Interiores 
ARAppenzell AusserrhodenAppenzell Rhodes-ExtérieuresAppenzello EsternoAppenzell AusserrhodenAppenzell dadorAppenzell Rodas Exteriores 
BSBasel-StadtBâle-VilleBasilea CittàBasel-StadtBasilea-CitadBasilea-CiudadBazelo-Urbo
BLBasel-LandschaftBâle-CampagneBasilea CampagnaBasel-LandschaftBasilea-ChampagnaBasilea-CampañaBazelo-Kamparo
BEBernBernBernaBerneBernaBernaBerno
FRFribourgFribourgFriburgoFreiburg or FribourgFriburgFriburgoFriburgo
GEGenevaGenèveGinevraGenfGenevraGinebraĜenevo
GLGlarusGlarisGlaronaGlarusGlarunaGlaris 
GRGraubündenGrisonsGrigioniGraubündenGrischunGrisonesGrizono
JUJuraJuraGiuraJuraGiuraJura 
LULucerneLucerneLucernaLuzernLucernaLucernaLucerno
NENeuchâtelNeuchâtelNeuchâtelNeuenburgNeuchâtelNeuchatelNeuchâtel
NWNidwaldenNidwaldNidvaldoNidwaldenSutsilvaniaUnterwalden bajo 
OWObwaldenObwaldObvaldoObwaldenSursilvaniaUnterwalden alto 
SHSchaffhausenSchaffhouseSciaffusaSchaffhausenSchaffusaSchaffhausenŜafhaŭzo
SZSchwyzSchwyz (or Schwytz)SvittoSchwyzSvizSchwyz 
SOSolothurnSoleureSolettaSolothurnSoloturnSoleura 
SGSt. GallenSaint-GallSan GalloSt. GallenSon GaglSankt Gallen 
TGThurgauThurgovieTurgoviaThurgauTurgoviaTurgovia 
TITicinoTessinTicinoTessinTessinTesinoTiĉino
URUriUriUriUriUriUri 
VSValaisValaisValleseWallisVallaisValaisValezo
VDVaudVaudVaudWaadtVadVaudVaud
ZGZugZougZugoZugZugZug 
ZHZürichZurichZurigoZürichTuritgZürichZuriko
Notes: ¹where a version differing from German is available.

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