Switzerland had a population of 8.57 million as of mid-2019.^[1] Its population quadrupled over the period 1800 to 1990 (average doubling time 95 years). Population growth was steepest in the period after World War II (1.4% per annum during 1950–1970, doubling time 50 years), it slowed during the 1970s and 1980s but has since increased to 1% during the 2000s (doubling time 70 years).

More than 75% of the population live in the central plain, which stretches between the Alps and the Jura Mountains and from Geneva in the southwest to the High Rhine and Lake Constance in the northeast.

As of 2023, 40% of the population has a migrant background and 31% are foreign residents.^[4]

The Federal Population Census (German: Eidgenössische Volkszählung, French: Recensement fédéral de la population, Italian: Censimento federale della popolazione, Romansh: Dumbraziun federala dal pievel) has been carried out every 10 years starting in 1850.^[7] The census was initiated by Federal Councillor Stefano Franscini, who evaluated the data of the first census all by himself after Parliament failed to provide the necessary funds.^[8] The census is now conducted by the Swiss Federal Statistical Office, which makes most results available on its website.

Collected data includes population data (citizenship, place of residence, place of birth, position in household, number of children, religion, languages, education, profession, place of work, etc.), household data (number of individuals living in the household, etc.), accommodation data (surface area, amount of rent paid, etc.) and building data (geocoordinates, time of construction, number of floors, etc.). Participation is compulsory and reached 99.87% of the population in 2000.^[9]

Since 2010, the population census has been carried out and analysed annually in a new format by the Federal Statistical Office (FSO). In order to ease the burden on the population, the information is primarily drawn from population registers and supplemented by sample surveys. Only a small proportion of the population (about 5%) are surveyed in writing or by telephone. The first reference day for the new census was 31 December 2010.

At the end of 2022, there were about four million private households in Switzerland, of which more than a third are inhabited by only one person. Since 1970, this number has more than tripled.^[10]

Demographic statistics according to the World Population Review in 2019.^[11]

• One birth every 6 minutes
• One death every 8 minutes
• One net migrant every 11 minutes
• Net gain of one person every 8 minutes

Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. There is more info on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org.

Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. There is more info on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org.

Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. There is more info on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org.

Data according to Statistik Schweiz, United Nations, Our World in Data and Gapminder Foundation.^[20][21][16]

Current vital statistics

^[23][24]

More information Period, Live births ...

Period	Live births	Deaths	Natural increase
January - February 2023	11,498	12,048	-550
January - February 2024	11,621	12,399	-778
Difference	+123 (+1.07%)	+351 (+2.91%)	-228

Close

Unlike many other OECD countries, the Swiss Federal Statistical Office does not collect any data on racial identity or ethnic identity.^[26] Data is collected on country of birth, but as the OECD write "In general, collecting migration-related information on the foreign-born population and their children is a crude method for capturing diversity."

Encompassing the Central Alps, Switzerland sits at the crossroads of several major European cultures. Its population includes a two-thirds majority of Alemannic German speakers and a one-quarter Latin minority (French, Italian and Romansh), see linguistic geography of Switzerland. 10% of the population natively speak an immigrant language.

Switzerland consistently ranks high on quality of life indices, including per capita income, concentration of computer and internet usage per capita, insurance coverage per individual, and health care rates. For these and many other reasons, such as the four languages, it serves as an excellent test market for businesses hoping to introduce new products into Europe.

Immigration

See also: Immigration to Switzerland

Foreign population by country of citizenship as of 2023:^[31]

More information Rank, Nationality ...

Rank	Nationality	Population
1	Italy	337 772
2	Germany	320 411
3	Portugal	258 953
4	Kosovo	156 235
5	Spain	139 594
6	France	81 559
7	Turkey	69 361
8	North Macedonia	68 581
9	Serbia	58,459
10	Austria	45,464
11	United Kingdom	41,121
12	Poland	39,304
13	Eritrea	33,032
14	Croatia	28,880
15	Bosnia and Herzegovina	27,920
16	Romania	27,299
17	Sri Lanka	26,788
18	Hungary	26,673
19	Brazil	22,723
20	Netherlands	22,044
21	Slovakia	19,824
22	China	18,486
23	United States	18,273
24	Greece	17,986
25	Syria	17,031
26	India	16,239
27	Russia	15,141
28	Bulgaria	14,922
29	Belgium	14,486
30	Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan	10,710

Close

Unemployment, youth ages 15–24

total: 8.1%. Country comparison to the world: 138th

male: 8.1%

female: 8% (2017 est.)

Average hourly income

23.14 CHF

Switzerland as a federal state has no state religion, though most of the cantons (except for Geneva and Neuchâtel) recognize official churches (Landeskirchen), in all cases including the Roman Catholic Church and the Swiss Reformed Church. These churches, and in some cantons also the Old Catholic Church and Jewish congregations, are financed by official taxation of adherents.^[33]

In 2000, 5.78 million residents (79.2%, compared to 93.8% in 1980) were Christian (Roman Catholic 41.8%, Protestant 35.3%, Orthodox 1.8%). 809,800 (11.1%, compared to 3.8% in 1980) were without any religious affiliation. 310,800 (4.3%) were Muslim (compared to 0.9% in 1980), 17,900 (0.2%) were Jewish. The 2005 Eurobarometer poll^[34] found 48% of Swiss residents to be theist, 39% expressing belief in "some sort of spirit or life force", 9% atheist and 4% said that they "don't know".

Adherence to Christian churches has declined considerably since the late 20th century, from close to 94% in 1980 to about 67% as of 2016. Furthermore, notable is the significant difference in church adherence between Swiss citizens (72%) and foreign nationals (51%) in 2016.^[32]

The Federal Statistical Office reported the religious demographics as of 2016 as follows (based on the resident population age 15 years and older): 66.9% Christian (including 36.5% Roman Catholic, 24.5% Reformed, 5.9% other), 24.9% unaffiliated, 5.2% Muslim, 0.3% Jewish, 1.4% other religions. (100%: 6,981,381, registered resident population age 15 years and older).^[32] From the same 2016 survey, of 15 to 24 year olds 65.4% were Christian (36.3% Roman Catholic, 22.6% Reformed, 6.6% other), 23.0% unaffiliated, 0.3% Jewish, 8.3% Muslim, 1.7% other religions. Those aged 25 to 44 were 58.4% Christian (33.1% Roman Catholic, 18.7% Reformed, 6.7% other), 31.0% unaffiliated, 0.2% Jewish, 7.5% Muslim, 1.7% other religions. Older adults (45 to 64 years old) were 67.0% Christian (37.7% Roman Catholic, 23.9% Reformed, 5.5% other), 25.9% unaffiliated, 0.2% Jewish, 4.2% Muslim, 1.5% other religions. Senior citizens (over 65) were 81.3% Christian (40.3% Roman Catholic, 36.2% Reformed, 4.8% other), 14.9% unaffiliated, 0.3% Jewish, 1.1% Muslim, 0.5% other religions.^[32]

The four national languages of Switzerland are German, French, Italian and Romansh. In 2017, permanent residents who spoke German (mostly Swiss German dialects) as their main language or co-main language numbered about 63% (5.2 million), followed by 22.9% (1.9 million) for French (mostly Swiss French, but including some Franco-Provençal dialects), 8.2% (678,000) for Italian (mostly Swiss Italian, but including Insubric dialects) and less than 0.5% (44,000) for Romansh.^[36]

The non-official language with the largest group of main or co-main language speakers (in 2017) is English with 448,000 speakers, followed by Portuguese with 303,000, Albanian with 262,000, followed by Serbo-Croatian with 205,000 speakers and Spanish with 197,000. All other languages totaled 640,000.^[36]

Almost all Swiss are literate. Switzerland's 13 institutes of higher learning enrolled 99,600 students in the academic year of 2001–02. About 25% of the adult population hold a diploma of higher learning. According to the CIA World Factbook data for 2003, 99% of the Swiss population aged 15 and over could read and write, with the rate being identical for both sexes.^[37]

During the 2008/09 school year there were 1,502,257 students in the entire Swiss educational system. In kindergarten or pre-school, there were 152,919 students (48.6% female). These students were taught by 13,592 teachers (96.0% female) in 4,949 schools, of which 301 were private schools. There were 777,394 students (48.6% female) in the obligatory schools, which include primary and lower secondary schools. These students were taught by 74,501 teachers (66.3% female) in 6,083 schools, of which 614 were private. The upper secondary school system had 337,145 students (46.9% female). They were taught by 13,900 teachers (42.3% female) in 730 schools, of which 240 were private. The tertiary education system had 234,799 students (49.7% female). They were taught by 37,546 teachers (32.8% female) in 367 schools.^[38]

More information Canton, Tax index for all Federal, Cantonal and Church Taxes (Switzerland = 100.0) 2006 ...

Canton	Tax index for all Federal, Cantonal and Church Taxes (Switzerland = 100.0) 2006	Tax rate (% of total income) for a married couple with two children 2006		Population under 20 as a percentage of total population aged 20–64 2007	National Income per person in CHF 2005	Change in National Income per person 2003-2005
		Income 50,000 CHF	Income 150,000 CHF
Switzerland	100	2.36	11.56	34.59	54,031	5.3
ZH Zürich	82.9	2.16	8.65	31.12	68,803	4.6
BE Bern	123.1	2.14	13.91	33.05	45,643	5
LU Luzern	119	3.47	12.56	37.19	43,910	5.3
UR Uri	144.2	4.54	12.42	37.06	45,711	5.3
SZ Schwyz	66.5	2.26	6.98	36.95	50,170	6.3
OW Obwalden	146.5	4.14	11.53	40.88	39,645	4.7
NW Nidwalden	79.1	2.31	9.41	34.55	73,285	15.6
GL Glarus	134.8	4.62	12.56	36.85	73,236	10.9
ZG Zug	50.3	0.47	5.5	35.45	93,752	5.4
FR Fribourg	126.4	2.33	12.74	40.2	39,559	2.6
SO Solothurn	116.9	2.36	12.95	34.34	46,844	4.9
BS Basel-Stadt	113.1	1.01	14.3	26.6	115,178	15.9
BL Basel-Landschaft	92.5	2.12	12.4	33	53,501	3.9
SH Schaffhausen	114.6	2.94	11.62	32.92	55,125	5.4
AR Appenzell Ausserrhoden	121.7	3.8	12.06	37.6	44,215	4.7
AI Appenzell Innerrhoden	105.6	3.18	9.88	44.46	45,936	7.4
SG St. Gallen	115.5	2.53	12.68	37.66	44,866	4
GR Graubünden	112.2	2.99	11.51	33.97	49,355	11.7
AG Aargau	87.4	1.52	10.4	34.9	49,209	2.5
TG Thurgau	86.6	0.34	11.48	37.52	44,918	3.2
TI Ticino	64.6	0.24	9.04	31.14	41,335	3.4
VD Vaud	106.2	0.42	12.2	37.87	52,901	3.4
VS Valais	121.3	2.72	10.68	35.18	38,385	6
NE Neuchâtel	137.1	3.8	15.96	38.06	49,775	6.6
GE Genève	89.8	0.05	11.81	35.4	62,839	5.1
JU Jura	126.6	2.87	15.26	40.09	38,069	6.4

Close

Source:^[39]

The police registered a total of 553,421 criminal offences in 2009, including 51 killings and 185 attempted murders. There were 616 cases of rape. In the same year, 94,574 adults (85% of them male, 47.4% of them Swiss citizens) were convicted under criminal law. 57.3% of convictions were for traffic offences.^[40]

In the same year, 15,064 minors (78.3% of them male, 68.2% of them of Swiss nationality, 76.3% aged between 15 and 18) were convicted.^[41]

The number of convicted persons is given in the following tables.^[42] Each class of crime references the relevant section of the Strafgesetzbuch (Criminal Code, abbreviated as StGB in German), or Betäubungsmittelgesetz (abbr. BetmG, Narcotics Act), or the Strassenverkehrsgesetz (abbr. SVG, Swiss Traffic Regulations).

^a 2014 conviction numbers may not include convictions overturned on appeal.

^ Due to privacy protection laws some convictions are not included.

^a 2014 conviction numbers may not include convictions overturned on appeal.

^ Due to privacy protection laws some convictions are not included.

• List of Swiss people
• Switzerland
• Immigration to Europe
• List of countries by immigrant population
• Politics of Switzerland
• Poverty in Switzerland
• Metropolitan areas in Switzerland
• Albanians in Switzerland
• Italian immigration to Switzerland