West-central Europe is home to the landlocked nation of Switzerland, formerly known as the Swiss Confederation. Its borders are as follows: Austria and Liechtenstein to the east, Germany to the north, France to the west, and Italy to the south. Geographically, Switzerland is made up of the Swiss Plateau, the Alps, and the Jura; the Alps make up the majority of the country’s land area, while the Swiss Plateau, home to Basel, Zurich, and Geneva, is home to the majority of the nation’s 9 million inhabitants.