According to the life quality index, Switzerland is an ideal place for living, and birthing children, and for studying, of course. This index includes a variety of indicators: the level of crime, the feeling of life satisfaction, employment indicators, health care system and, of course, the quality of education.
Everything is more or less clear with crimes: "there are almost no" crimes in Switzerland, if compared with other states. For comparison, a percentage component of serious crimes per 100,000 people in Switzerland is 0.7%; in the EU the average figure is 4%, in Belgium - 6.8, in Russia - 10.2%. 77% of the Swiss are not afraid of walking around the city alone at night, there can be found about 67% of such "fearless" in EU-countries on the average.
Stronger sex representatives often become victims of crimes in Switzerland rather than women: the ratio is one to two. Endless flows of "not poor" tourists determine the relative growth of crime, while offenders are often foreigners residing in the country (with residence permits and without), a large percentage of those "offended against the law" includes refugees, constantly flashing in the crime chronicle. With regard to the indigenous population, the decrease in the level of crime is being observed both among young people and adults. The figures published by the Federal Bureau of Statistics, witness of a general decline in crime rates among the "real" Swiss by 11%.
In general, Swiss crimes are, first of all, large-scale crimes, associated with corruption and financial activities of the many "Mavrodi" from Switzerland. Minor offenses in the country аre a rare phenomenon.
The city of Geneva is considered to be the most "criminal", which attracts criminals from all over the world. Divorce "in Swiss" is not a new phenomenon here and can no longer surprise anybody. Card sharks, perps, pickpockets, fans of "jokes" with a criminal flavor are habitues of the capital of French-speaking Switzerland and its surroundings. Here there is the greatest humbler of policemen per capita.
Often in the media, and not only, Switzerland is called a police state, and this dubious cliche is not quite connected with the principles of the relationship between the government and the society - for many people the country is a model of democracy without the quotes. Here there are indeed a lot of policemen, to be more precise, a lot of various police units to suit all tastes. Lakeside police (something like a water police), police units specializing in the fight against improper disposal of animals, or non-compliance with the rules of trash disposal. Such feature of the Swiss mentality, as the desire for order in everything has its impact. The Swiss, for example, deeply and sincerely believe that everyone should mind its own business, and do it professionally. An average Swissman will never understand how you can personally repaint the walls in your house or repair a tap - cause there are professionals specially trained for that!
"Conscious" citizens actively assist the system of law enforcement agencies, and there is almost a million army of them here. In general, the Swiss are too fanatical in terms of manifestations of their civic duty. Nevertheless, many crimes were revealed with the assistance of volunteers from among the people.
The Swiss are specific people and their domestic problems they also solve specifically. For example, the resolution of global problem №1 – drug addiction – was not long in coming. The Swiss solved it in their own way: in some cantons at certain hour addicts can get a free "all you need" from the state. It’s not us who can judge if it is right or wrong. Our competence is to evaluate the results. And the results are: people can walk much safer on the so quiet Swiss streets.
Another extraordinary decision of those adopted "at the top" is the law on weapons, which liberality allows every second Swiss feeling "guarded" by own firearm. Many people associate the low crime rate (particularly those offenses that are considered to be minor), with this law.
The index of employment has a little bit "failed" Switzerland this year – the Swiss labor market can not boast defying forecasts for 2017. Economic statistics say that in 2016, the unemployment rate rose by 0.7%, and it is unconceivable for the confederation - such indicators have not been observed in Switzerland for the last 12 years. In the first place, unemployment has touched young people (15-24 years) and foreigners.
As a whole, the unemployment rate remains low in Switzerland – a percentage is lower than the average for OECD countries. And compared to other optimistic forecasts of Swiss experts (GDP growth by 1.5% is expected, including national export growth, positive trends in the stock market) this unprecedented incident can not be called a minus.
As for the feeling of satisfaction and complacency, there is no need to say a lot about it. It is enough to go there and take a closer look to those around you – perhaps, there is no such serenity, self-esteem understanding, awareness of the feasibility of one’s existence and of all that is happening around, on faces of passers-by in any country. Particularly with regard to retirees, which is important.
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