Canton of Basel-Stadt or Basel-City ( ; ; ; ) is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of three municipalities with

Basel Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High Rhine, High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's List of cities in Switzerland, third-most-populo ...

as the capital. It is traditionally considered a " half-canton", the other half being Basel-Landschaft, its rural counterpart. Basel-Stadt is one of the northernmost and lowest cantons of Switzerland, and the smallest by area. The canton lies on both sides of the

Rhine The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...

and is very densely populated. The largest municipality is

, followed by Riehen and Bettingen. The only canton sharing borders with Basel-Stadt is Basel-Landschaft to the south. To the north of Basel-Stadt are

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, with the tripoint being in the middle of the Rhine. Together with Basel-Landschaft, Basel-Stadt was part of the Canton of Basel, which joined the

Old Swiss Confederacy The Old Swiss Confederacy, also known as Switzerland or the Swiss Confederacy, was a loose confederation of independent small states (, German or ), initially within the Holy Roman Empire. It is the precursor of the modern state of Switzerlan ...

in 1501. Political quarrels and armed conflict led to the partition of the canton in 1833. Basel-Stadt is Switzerland's seventh-largest economic centre and has the highest

GDP per capita This is a list of countries by nominal GDP per capita. GDP per capita is the total value of a country's finished goods and services (gross domestic product) divided by its total population (per capita). Gross domestic product (GDP) per capita is ...

in the country, ahead of the cantons of Zug and

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

(in 2018). In terms of value, over 94% of Basel City's goods exports are in the chemical and pharmaceutical sectors. With production facilities located in the neighbouring Schweizerhalle, Basel accounts for 20% of Swiss exports.

History

The canton of Basel-Stadt was created when the historic canton of Basel was divided in 1833, following political quarrels and armed conflict in the canton. Some of these were concerned with the rights of the population in the agricultural areas. They ultimately led to the separation of the canton of Basel-Landschaft from the city of Basel on 26 August 1833. Since then, there has been a movement for reunification. This movement gained momentum after 1900 when many parts of Basel-Landschaft became industrialized. The two half-cantons agreed in principle to reunite, but in 1969, and again in September 2014, the people of Basel-Landschaft voted against this proposal in favour of retaining their independence.

Geography

The canton of Basel-Stadt is located in the north of Switzerland. Basel is located at the so-called '

knee In humans and other primates, the knee joins the thigh with the leg and consists of two joints: one between the femur and tibia (tibiofemoral joint), and one between the femur and patella (patellofemoral joint). It is the largest joint in the hu ...

' of the

, at the point where from the west the little Birsig joins the Rhine from the left, and where the Rhine itself switches from flowing in a westerly direction to a northerly flow. It is the second flattest canton, with a height difference of only 277 metres between the Rhine and St. Chrischona. Bettingen, Riehen and a part of Basel city lie on the east bank of the Rhine, bordered on three sides by the German state of Baden-Württemberg. The rest of the canton lies on the west bank of the Rhine. The area of the canton is , making Basel-Stadt the smallest canton in Switzerland. It is sometimes likened to a

city-state A city-state is an independent sovereign city which serves as the center of political, economic, and cultural life over its contiguous territory. They have existed in many parts of the world throughout history, including cities such as Rome, ...

. Basel-Stadt borders Basel-Landschaft to the south, the only adjacent canton. To the north, it borders

(

Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg ( ; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a states of Germany, German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million i ...

) and

(

Grand Est Grand Est (; ) is an Regions of France, administrative region in northeastern France. It superseded three former administrative regions, Alsace, Champagne-Ardenne and Lorraine, on 1 January 2016 under the provisional name of Alsace-Champagne-A ...

). The three countries meet in the middle of the Rhine, about 150 metres north of the Dreiländereck monument.

Municipalities

There are three municipalities:

Politics

The canton of Basel-Stadt shares its political structure and administration with the municipality of

. is a half-canton. This means that the canton only sends one representative to the Council of States. The capital of the canton is the city of Basel. The present constitution of the canton dates from 1889. In 1966 Basel-Stadt became the first German-speaking canton to allow women to vote, five years before the right to vote was extended to all Swiss women in 1971. The parliament of the canton is the Grand Council, which has 100 members, who are elected for four years at a time. There are eight different political parties represented in the parliament; the largest party is the Social Democratic Party, with 32 seats. The executive of the canton (') is made up of seven members. The canton has a sister state status with

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

Federal election results

: FDP before 2009, FDP.The Liberals after 2009 : "*" indicates that the party was not on the ballot in this canton. : Part of the FGA : Part of the POCH : Part of the GPS

Demographics

Historical population

The historical population is given in the following table: The population of the canton (as of ) is . , the population included 56,106 foreigners, or about 30.29% of the total population. The population () is nearly evenly split between

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

s (25%) and

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

s (27%). About 10% of the population was classed as adhering to another religion, while 36% did not belong to an organized religion.

Economy

The economic area of Basel is considered to be the second largest economic centre in Switzerland, after Zurich. The chemical industry and the pharmaceutical industry are of greatest significance in the canton. There are a number of multinationals in the city of Basel, attracting workers from both cantons of Basel and the areas across the border in France and Germany. Banking and finance are important as is the service sector in general. Small and middle-sized businesses employ a significant number of people, both in the city as the two municipalities. The canton is also known for its banking sector, and for being the worldwide seat of the Bank for International Settlements. Economically, the neighbouring lands in Germany and France are not separated from the area of the canton of Basel-Stadt. Good transport links across the border, as well as supportive local governments, facilitate this link. The fact that three nation-states come together in one spot near Basel (') helps attract tourists. The site is clearly identified and a popular destination for primary school classes. The carnival attracts a large number of people from across Switzerland and the neighbouring countries. In 2014, there were 104 workers in Basel-Stadt who worked in the primary sector (the total for all of Switzerland is 3.3%). In the same year the secondary sector employed 36,441 or about 19.0% of the total workforce. Of those in the secondary sector, nearly half of the workers were involved in the production of pharmaceutical products. The tertiary sector employed 154,896 or about 80.9% of the total, which is slightly higher than 74.9% nationwide. Of those in the tertiary sector, health care, education and retail sales made up about a quarter. Some of the other major tertiary fields included job placement (5.1%), management and business consulting (4.1%), public administration (3.9%), architectural and engineering offices (3.7%) and financial services (3.5%).

Transport

There is an international airport at Basel-Mulhouse, actually located inside French territory but with customs-free access from the city. The canton is well connected by both trains and motorways to the rest of Switzerland and the neighbouring areas in France and Germany.

is a major railway station of Switzerland, connected to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

and

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

with direct fast trains. There is a port at Basel for ships on the Rhine. This port is of great significance to landlocked Switzerland, as it offers the country's only direct connection to the sea. The port benefits from good connections to both rail and road.

Culture

The Carnival of Basel (') is a major cultural event in the year. The carnival is one of the biggest in Switzerland and attracts large crowds, despite the fact that many of its central traditions are played out in the early morning starting at 4am (') and followed by a continuous run of festivities for 72 hours. The Autumn Fair in Basel (') is the biggest in Switzerland. The canton of Basel is renowned for two of its biscuits. The Basler Läckerli is a hard biscuit made of honey, almonds, candied peel and Kirsch, and is enjoyed as a speciality all year round. The Basler Brunsli is made of almonds and generally enjoyed at

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...

all around Switzerland. The Basel Messe convention center is the location of several international events. The largest are Art Basel, an art show for modern and contemporary works, and BaselWorld, a major watch and jewellery show. Famous cultural ambassadors of Basel are the Top Secret Drum Corps and the Basel Boys Choir.

Notes and references

External links

*
Official statistics
(archived) * {{Authority control Cantons of Switzerland 1833 establishments in Switzerland