Council of States (Switzerland)
The Council of States of Switzerland (German: Ständerat, French Conseil des Etats, Italian Consiglio degli Stati) is the upper house of the parliament (Senate) and has 46 seats.
20 cantons send two members, whereas the cantons of Obwalden, Nidwalden, Basel-Stadt, Basel-Landschaft, Appenzell Ausserrhoden and Appenzell Innerrhoden only one.
41 member of the Council of States are elected at the same time. The representatives of the cantons of Zug and Graubünden are elected one year early. In the canton of Appenzell Innerrhoden the representatives are elected by the general assembly (Landsgemeinde). With the exception of the Canton of Jura, the representatives are elected by majority vote. In the canton of Jura, a proportional representation election system is used.
There are currently (2002) 9 women in the Council of States (19.5%).
The Swiss Council of States, is elected by the Swiss citizens as is the National Council.
Number of seats and population
| Abbr | Canton | Seats | Population ¹ | per seat | ²
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| ZH | Zurich | 2 | 1,228,600 | 614,300 | 1.0
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| BE | Bern | 2 | 947,100 | 473,550 | 1.3
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| VD | Vaud | 2 | 626,200 | 313,100 | 2.0
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| AG | Aargau | 2 | 550,900 | 275,450 | 2.2
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| BL | Basel-Landschaft | 1 | 261,400 | 261,400 | 2.4
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| SG | St. Gallen | 2 | 452,600 | 226,300 | 2.7
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| GE | Geneva | 2 | 414,300 | 207,150 | 3.0
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| BS | Basel-Stadt | 1 | 186,700 | 186,700 | 3.3
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| LU | Lucerne | 2 | 350,600 | 175,300 | 3.5
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| TI | Ticino | 2 | 311,900 | 155,950 | 3.9
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| VS | Valais | 2 | 278,200 | 139,100 | 4.4
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| SO | Solothurn | 2 | 245,500 | 122,750 | 5.0
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| FR | Fribourg | 2 | 239,100 | 119,550 | 5.1
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| TG | Thurgau | 2 | 228,200 | 114,100 | 5.4
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| GR | Graubünden | 2 | 185,700 | 92,850 | 6.6
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| NE | Neuchâtel | 2 | 166,500 | 83,250 | 7.4
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| SZ | Schwyz | 2 | 131,400 | 65,700 | 9.4
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| AR | Appenzell Ausserrhoden | 1 | 53,200 | 53,200 | 11.5
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| ZG | Zug | 2 | 100,900 | 50,450 | 12.2
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| NW | Nidwalden | 1 | 38,600 | 38,600 | 15.9
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| SH | Schaffhausen | 2 | 73,400 | 36,700 | 16.7
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| JU | Jura | 2 | 69,100 | 34,550 | 17.8
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| OW | Obwalden | 1 | 32700 | 32700 | 18.8
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| GL | Glarus | 2 | 38,300 | 19,150 | 32.1
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| UR | Uri | 2 | 35,000 | 17,500 | 35.1
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| AI | Appenzell Innerrhoden | 1 | 15,000 | 15,000 | 41.0
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| Overall | 46 | 7,261,200 | 157,852 | 3.9
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Notes: ¹ Population data from Cantons of Switzerland (2001). ² Relative representation compared to Zürich.
External link
- http://www.parliament.ch/e/homepage.htm
See also: Presidents of the Council of States
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