What is the capital of Switzerland?

The correct answer is Bern. Bern serves as the de facto capital of Switzerland, hosting the Federal Palace (Bundeshaus), which houses the Swiss Federal Assembly and the Federal Council, the country's executive body. Although Switzerland's constitution does not explicitly designate an official capital, Bern has functioned as the seat of the federal government since 1848, when modern Switzerland's federal constitution was adopted, and it is universally treated as the capital in practice, diplomacy, and reference sources including the CIA World Factbook. The distractor 'Zurich' is incorrect, though it is the single most common wrong answer for this question, because Zurich is Switzerland's largest city and its leading financial and banking hub, hosting major stock exchanges and multinational corporate headquarters, but it holds no special governmental status. 'Geneva' is wrong because, while Geneva hosts numerous international organisations and diplomatic missions, including UN agencies, it functions as an international diplomatic hub rather than the national capital. 'Basel' is incorrect because it is an important industrial and pharmaceutical centre near the French and German borders, but likewise carries no capital status. A common exam confusion arises precisely because Zurich's global prominence in finance leads many candidates to assume city size or fame equates to capital status; Switzerland is a notable counter-example where the largest city is not the political capital, similar to how Sydney is not Australia's capital despite its prominence. The revision takeaway: remember Bern as Switzerland's seat of federal government, and keep Zurich mentally filed separately as the country's largest city and financial hub — this size-versus-capital distinction is one of the most frequently tested traps in world geography sections.