Switzerland is a united nation in central Europe. Bern serves as Switzerland's administrative capital, and Lausanne is its judicial hub. Switzerland's small size (its total area is around half that of Scotland) and low population indicate little about its importance on the global stage.
Another outdated perception of Switzerland is that of a wealthy, if somewhat conservative and uninteresting, society. Switzerland is still a prosperous and orderly country, but the sounds of a local rock band are much more likely to be heard in the mountain-walled valleys than yodel or alphorn. The majority of Swiss people reside in towns and cities rather than the ideal rural settings that Johanna Spyri's Heidi (1880–81), the nation's most well-known literary work, captured for the world to adore. Cities in Switzerland are becoming major international hubs for business and industry.