The 26 Cantons of Switzerland: The Complete List

Switzerland is a federation of 26 cantons (member states), each with its own constitution, legislature, government, and courts. They are the sovereign building blocks of the Swiss Confederation. Here is the full roster, grouped by language region for context.

German-Speaking (17)

• Aargau (AG)
• Appenzell Ausserrhoden (AR)
• Appenzell Innerrhoden (AI)
• Basel-Landschaft (BL)
• Basel-Stadt (BS)
• Bern (BE) – *De facto capital (Bundesstadt)
• Glarus (GL)
• Graubünden / Grisons (GR) – *Trilingual (German, Romansh, Italian)
• Lucerne / Luzern (LU)
• Nidwalden (NW)
• Obwalden (OW)
• Schaffhausen (SH)
• Schwyz (SZ)
• Solothurn (SO)
• St. Gallen (SG)
• Thurgau (TG)
• Uri (UR)
• Zug (ZG)
• Zürich (ZH)

French-Speaking (4)

• Fribourg / Freiburg (FR) – *Bilingual
• Geneva / Genève (GE)
• Jura (JU) – *Youngest (1979)
• Vaud (VD)
• Neuchâtel / Neuenburg (NE)
• Valais / Wallis (VS) – *Bilingual (French/German)

Italian-Speaking (1)

• Ticino (TI)

Romansh-Speaking (in Graubünden)

Romansh is a national language but not a cantonal majority language; it has official status in Graubünden and federally.

Total: 26. Each canton sets its own tax rates, education, healthcare, and police—making Switzerland a laboratory of subnational policy variation.