Zug
- Overview:
Zug is situated near the Zuger See (Lake Zug), approximately 22 kilometres
north west of Lucerne and 23 kilometres south of Zurich, and has a
multinational population that has doubled in the last 40 years to
around 22,000 people. The city is also capital of the canton of the
same name, which is one of the smallest cantons in the country, covering
an area of just 240 square kilometres and having about 93,000 inhabitants.
The canton of Zug is comprised of 11 communities. Oberägeri,
Unterägeri, Menzingen and Neuheim are located in the mountainous
regions to the south and west of the canton, while Zug, Baar, Steinhausen,
Cham, Huenenberg and Walchwil are situated in the valley region
around Lake Zug, which together with the Lake of Ägeri makes
up a considerable part of the cantons area. German is the official
language of the area, but English is also widely spoken, especially
among the business community.
According to the Swiss Federal Statistics Office, there are just
over 66,000 (2001) fully and partly employed persons working in
the canton of Zug, while the unemployment rate for 2002 stood at
3.2 per cent. The economy is quite diverse with both the industrial
and service sectors well represented by leading companies. Figures
from the canton of Zug administration show that trade and services
are responsible for well over half of the region's economy, while
industry accounts for just over 40 per cent and agriculture makes
up the rest. The canton is particularly well known as an important
trading centre, while companies operating in the fields of electronics
and electro technology play a significant role in its industrial
sector. The success of Zug's economy is largely based on its low
taxes, which are less many of the other Swiss cantons and have attracted
significant numbers of multinational companies to establish offices
in the city.
Zug benefits from a strategic position in the centre of the country
and is well connected to Switzerland's other main cities. Motorways
link the canton's roads with other areas, while Lucerne and Zurich
can both be reached in less than half an hour from the city of Zug
via rail. There are also railway lines which run along the shores
of Lake Zug to Arth-Goldau station, from where trains go to Austria,
Italy, Germany and west to the French part of Switzerland. Two inter-regional
trains operate every hour and provide a direct service between Zug
and Zurich airport, which offers flights to and from approximately
180 destinations in 83 countries located in Europe, Africa, Asia
and the Americas.
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