<Tr> <Th> Foreign reserves </Th> <Td> $731 billion (31 March 2017) </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td_colspan="2"> Main data source: CIA World Fact Book All values, unless otherwise stated, are in US dollars . </Td> </Tr> <P> The economy of Switzerland is one of the world's most stable economies . The service sector has also come to play a significant economic role, particularly the Swiss banking industry and tourism . The economy of Switzerland ranks first in the world in the 2015 Global Innovation Index and the 2017 Global Competitiveness Report . According to United Nations data for 2016, Switzerland is the third richest landlocked country in the world after Liechtenstein and Luxembourg, and together with Norway the only two countries in the world with a GDP per capita above US $70,000 that are neither island nations nor ministates . </P> <P> Switzerland as a federal state was established in 1848 . Before that time, the city - cantons of Zurich and Basel in particular began to develop economically based on industry and trade, while the rural regions of Switzerland remained poor and under - developed . While a workshop system had been in existence throughout the early modern period, the production of machines began in 1801 in St. Gallen, with the third generation of machines imported from Great Britain . But in Switzerland, hydraulic power was often used instead of steam - engines because of the country's topography while there are no significant deposits of coal . By 1814, hand weaving had been mostly replaced by the power loom . Both tourism and banking began to develop as an economic factor from about the same time . While Switzerland was primarily rural, the cities experienced an industrial revolution in the late 19th century, focused especially on textiles . In Basel, for example, textiles, including silk, were the leading industry . In 1888 women made up 44% of the wage earners . Nearly half the women worked in the textile mills, with household servants the second largest job category . The share of women in the workforce was higher between 1890 and 1910 than it was in the late 1960s and 1970s . </P>

What service industry is an important part of the swiss economy