The three sectors:
The economy in Switzerland is divided into three sectors:
1."Landwirtschaft" (agriculture)
2."Industrie" (industry)
3."Dienstleistungen" (services)
Less than 10% of the population is employed in the "Landwirtschaft" (agriculture), also considered the primary sector. This sector is strongly supported by the government.
About 40% of the population is employed in the "Industrie, Gewerbe und Handwerk" (industry, trade and handicraft), also considered the secondary sector. This sector includes the "Maschinen- und Metallindustrie" (machine and metal industry), "Uhrenindustrie" (watch industry) and the "Textilindustrie" (textile industry). All of them export much of their products to foreign countries and suffer a lot because of the expensive Swiss Franc. The fact that Switzerland does not belong to the European Union additionally slows down the Swiss exports.
More than 50% of the population is employed in the "Dienstleistungssektor" (services), also considered the tertiary sector. This sector includes banking, assurances, tourism and so on. Banking is one of the most important businesses in Switzerland. Many of the banks have started to use the Internet for business purposes. For more information, see the directory of Swiss banks.