In 2012, Switzerland’s current account surplus
increased by CHF 14 billion to CHF 66 billion, or
11% of GDP (2011: 9%). A major determining
factor in this result was the receipts surplus for
investment income, which rose by CHF 17 billion to
CHF 40 billion. This was largely due to higher
receipts from Swiss direct investment abroad. In
foreign trade in goods and services, a receipts
surplus of CHF 57 billion was recorded, compared
with CHF 59 billion one year earlier. The slight
decline in the surplus stems from the fact that the
growth in receipts from exports of goods and
services (2%) was lower than that in expenses for
imports of goods and services (3%).