The early years of the century were dominated by a rapid growth in the economy.

Textiles - both cloth and garment production - continued to be the mainstay of Swiss industry, employing nearly half of the country's industrial workforce in 1900.

On the eve of the war, Switzerland was among the most highly industrialised countries in Europe in terms of per capita production. With one per cent of the continent's population, it was responsible for three per cent of the continent's exports.

Nevertheless, much of the industrial work was done by outworkers at home or in very small units. It was not until 1910 that the number of factory workers overtook the number of outworkers.

The Swiss continued to emigrate. Between 1900 and 1910 about 50,000 left the country.

At the same time, many foreigners were employed in Switzerland, particularly in the building industry. They accounted for about 12% of the population.