Its location in the heart of Europe and its decentralized governmental structure have enabled the country to become a meeting point of cultures and languages. Besides its four national languages, German, French, Italian, and Romansh, English is widely spoken and increasingly used as the lingua franca in business and research. Swiss society is ethnically very mixed and over 20% of its population are foreigners. Although Switzerland is not a member of the European Union, it is well integrated into the EU market, but has chosen to retain its political independence. Nevertheless, the nationals of EU countries who are currently working in Switzerland make up over one fifth of its workforce. In addition, Switzerland has a high proportion of foreigners from outside the EU, including from the USA, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East.