Extending across the north and south side of the Alps in west-central Europe, Switzerland encompasses a great diversity of landscapes and climates on a limited area of . The population is about 8.7 million (2020 est.). The average population density in 2019 was . In the largest canton by area, Graubünden, lying entirely in the Alps, population density falls to . In the canton of Zürich, with its large urban capital, the density is .