Appenzell Innerrhoden

Appenzell Innerrhoden is Switzerland's smallest canton by population, with 16,890 residents, 9,655 jobs and 1,735 enterprises. GDP was CHF 1.2 billion in 2022, growing by 4.0% in real terms, and GDP per head was CHF 75,526. The canton has the lowest unemployment rate in Switzerland, 0.8% in August 2026, and employment rose by 7.5% between 2019 and 2024.

Few cantons have a more traditional economic structure. Food and beverages account for 7.7% of jobs, 4.8 times the Swiss share and the highest concentration in the country, after growth of 22.8% in five years; the Appenzeller Alpenbitter distillery and the Locher brewery, maker of Appenzeller Bier, are based in the canton. Agriculture (10.5%) and construction (10.4%) also have the highest job shares of any canton, and hotels and restaurants provide 9.3%, reflecting tourism in the Alpstein mountains around Ebenalp and the Seealpsee. Health, education and information technology, by contrast, have the lowest shares in Switzerland.

The canton's taxes are among the lowest in Switzerland. KPMG ranks its top income tax rate of 23.66% third-lowest for 2026 and puts the maximum effective corporate tax rate at 12.66%, below the Swiss average of 14.43%. Appenzell Innerrhoden is also one of two cantons, with Glarus, that still hold an open-air Landsgemeinde.