2007 market figures (estimated):
Total market: USD 1.78 billion
Total imports: USD 252 million
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Switzerland spends annually the equivalent of 5.8 percent of its GDP on education and related activities.
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Switzerland spends about USD 9,100 annually per student, USD 2,600 more per student than the average of the 29 OECD countries.
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Public funding amounted to an overall USD 20.8 billion for education – the cantons spent USD 18.6 billion, and the federal government spent USD 3 billion in 2003. (More current data is not available).
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American manufacturers of scientific and laboratory instruments stand a realistic chance of getting a significant portion of this procurement.
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For the past two years English has been taught as of the third grade in a growing number of Swiss Cantons (states), a development that is expected to lead to an increased demand for educational materials in English.
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Multilingual and multicultural Switzerland is an ideal test market for the many other European countries where the introduction of English classes is also under consideration.
Best prospects for U.S. suppliers include
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Scientific and laboratory instruments
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IT hardware and software for educational applications
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Scientific models and demo equipment
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Experimental and demo systems and kits for chemistry, biotechnology physics, etc.
- Textbooks and learning software