Demographics of Switzerland

Demographics of Switzerland
	Population of Switzerland, 1970–2005
Population	8,570,146 (30 June 2019 est.)[1]
Density	208/km2 (48th); 539/sq mi
Growth rate	0.75% (2019 est.)
Birth rate	10.5 births/1,000 population (2015 est.)
Death rate	8.13 deaths/1,000 population (2015 est.)
Life expectancy	83.8 years
• male	81.9 years
• female	85.6 years [2]
Fertility rate	1.53 children born/woman (2019 est.)
Infant mortality rate	3.67 deaths/1,000 live births
Net migration rate	4.74 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2015 est.)[3]
Age structure
0–14 years	15.23% (male 650,151 /female 612,479)
15–64 years	66.43% (male 2,769,885/ female 2,739,679)
65 and over	18.34% (male 672,024 /female 848,591) (2018 est.)
Sex ratio
Total	0.97 male(s)/female (2015 est.)
At birth	1.06 male(s)/female
Under 15	1.05 male(s)/female
15–64 years	1.02 male(s)/female
65 and over	0.78 male(s)/female
Nationality
Nationality	Swiss
Language
Official	German, French, Italian, Romansh
Spoken	English, Portuguese, Albanian, Serbian Croatian, Spanish, other

This article about the demographics of Switzerland features the population of the Swiss Confederation, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.

Population density in Switzerland, by district.

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 to 1980s and has since again picked up 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 2019, foreign residents in the country make up 25.2% of the population.[1]

Census

Historical population
Year	Pop.	±%
1861	2,515,396	—
1871	2,673,468	+6.3%
1881	2,840,501	+6.2%
1891	2,972,041	+4.6%
1901	3,318,985	+11.7%
1911	3,756,842	+13.2%
1921	3,883,360	+3.4%
1931	4,070,042	+4.8%
1941	4,268,964	+4.9%
1951	4,717,200	+10.5%
1961	5,360,153	+13.6%
1971	6,193,064	+15.5%
1981	6,335,243	+2.3%
1991	6,757,188	+6.7%
2001	7,197,638	+6.5%
2011	7,870,134	+9.3%
2019	8,555,541	+8.7%
Source: Federal Statistical Office, 2019:[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.[5] 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.[6] The census is now being 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.[7]

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.

Population

Total of registered residents (numbers relate to 31 December):[8]

year	total	male	female	Swiss	foreign
2015	8,327,126	4,121,471 (49.5%)	4,205,655 (50.5%)	6,278,459 (75.4%)	2,048,667 (24.6%)
2014	8,236,666	4,073,880 (49.5%)	4,163,786 (50.5%)	6,239,207 (75.7%)	1,998,459 (24.3%)
2009	7,785,800	3,830,600 (49.2%)	3,955,200 (50.8%)	6,071,800 (78.0%)	1,714,000 (22.0%)
2008	7,701,900	3,786,700 (49.2%)	3,915,200 (50.8%)	6,032,100 (78.3%)	1,669,700 (21.7%)
2007	7,593,500	3,727,000 (49.1%)	3,866,500 (50.9%)	5,991,400 (78.9%)	1,602,100 (21.1%)
2006	7,508,700	3,679,400 (49.0%)	3,829,400 (51.0%)	5,954,200 (79.3% )	1,554,500 (20.7%)
2005	7,459,100	3,652,500 (49.0%)	3,806,600 (51.0%)	5,917,200 (79.3%)	1,541,900 (20.7%)
2004	7,415,100	3,628,700 (48.9%)	3,786,400 (51.1%)	5,890,400 (79.4%)	1,524,700 (20.6%)
2003	7,364,100	3,601,500 (48.9%)	3,762,600 (51.1%)	5,863,200 (79.6%)	1,500,900 (20.4%)
2002	7,313,900	3,575,000 (48.9%)	3,738,800 (51.1%)	5,836,900 (79.8%)	1,477,000 (20.2%)
2001	7,255,700	3,544,300 (48.8%)	3,711,300 (51.2%)	5,808,100 (80.0%)	1,447,600 (20.0%)
2000	7,204,100	3,519,700 (48.9%)	3,684,400 (51.1%)	5,779,700 (80.2%)	1,424,400 (19.8%)
1990	6,750,700	3,298,300 (48.9%)	3,452,400 (51.1%)	5,623,600 (83.3%)	1,127,100 (16.7%)
1980	6,335,200	3,082,000 (48.6%)	3,253,300 (51.4%)	5,421,700 (85.6%)	913,500 (14.4%)
1970	6,193,100	3,025,300 (48.8%)	3,167,700 (51.1%)	5,191,200 (83.8%)	1,001,900 (16.2%)
1960–1970	5,429,061	-	-	4,500,692 (89.2%)	586,338 (10.8%)
1950–1960	4,714,992	-	-	- (93.9%)	- (6.1%)
1941–1950	4,265,703	-	-	- (94.8%)	- (5.2%)
1930–1941	4,066,400	-	-	- (91.3%)	- (8.7%)
1920–1930	3,880,320	-	-	- (89.6%)	- (10.4%)
1910–1920	3,753,293	-	-	- (85.3%)	- (14.7%)
1900–1910	3,315,443	-	-	- (88.4%)	- (11.6%)
1888–1900	2,917,754	-	-	- (92.2%)	- (7.8%)
1880–1888	2,831,787	-	-	- (92.6%)	- (7.4%)
1870–1880	2,655,001	-	-	- (94.3%)	- (5.7%)
1860–1870	2,510,494	-	-	- (95.4%)	- (4.6%)
1850–1860	2,392,740	-	-	- (97.1%)	- (2.9%)
1837–1850	2,190,258	-	-	-	-
1798–1837	1,664,832	-	-	-	-

Growth rate

During the 19th and 20th centuries, population growth rate has been at 0.7% to 0.8%, with a doubling time of ca. 90 years. In the later 20th century, the growth rate has fallen below 0.7% (1980s: 0.64%; 1990s: 0.65%), and in the 2000s it has risen again slightly (2000–2006: 0.69%), mostly due to immigration. In 2007 the population grew at a much higher 1.1% rate, again mostly due to immigration. For 2008, the population grew 1.6%, a level not seen since the early 1960s.[9]

Total fertility rate[10]

1.46 children born/woman (total)
1.33 children born/Swiss woman
1.86 children born/non-Swiss woman

Total Fertility Rate from 1850 to 1899

The total fertility rate is the number of children born per woman. It is based on fairly good data for the entire period. Sources: Our World In Data and Gapminder Foundation.[11]

Years	1850	1851	1852	1853	1854	1855	1856	1857	1858	1859	1860[11]
Total Fertility Rate in Switzerland	4.14	4.02	3.89	3.74	3.65	3.44	3.82	3.85	4.05	4.27	4.19

Years	1861	1862	1863	1864	1865	1866	1867	1868	1869	1870[11]
Total Fertility Rate in Switzerland	4.14	4.18	4.32	4.32	4.26	4.33	4.16	4.04	4.14	3.99

Years	1871	1872	1873	1874	1875	1876	1877	1878	1879	1880[11]
Total Fertility Rate in Switzerland	3.99	3.99	3.98	4.07	4.26	4.4	4.29	4.19	4.09	3.97

Years	1881	1882	1883	1884	1885	1886	1887	1888	1889	1890[11]
Total Fertility Rate in Switzerland	3.99	3.87	3.82	3.79	3.71	3.73	3.74	3.71	3.7	3.56

Years	1891	1892	1893	1894	1895	1896	1897	1898	1899[11]
Total Fertility Rate in Switzerland	3.78	3.71	3.74	3.66	3.66	3.77	3.79	3.82	3.89

Vital statistics since 1900

Data according to Statistik Schweiz, United Nations, Our World In Data and Gapminder Foundation.[12][13][11]

	Average population	Live births	Deaths	Natural change	Crude birth rate (per 1000)	Crude death rate (per 1000)	Natural change (per 1000)	Total fertility rates
1900	3,300,000	94,316	63,606	30,710	28.6	19.3	9.3	3.83
1901	3,341,000	97,028	60,018	37,010	29.0	18.0	11.1	3.89
1902	3,384,000	96,480	57,702	38,778	28.5	17.1	11.5	3.82
1903	3,428,000	93,824	59,626	34,198	27.4	17.4	10.0	3.67
1904	3,472,000	94,867	60,857	34,010	27.3	17.5	9.8	3.66
1905	3,516,000	94,653	61,800	32,853	26.9	17.6	9.3	3.6
1906	3,560,000	95,595	59,204	36,391	26.9	16.6	10.2	3.6
1907	3,604,000	94,508	59,252	35,256	26.2	16.4	9.8	3.51
1908	3,647,000	96,245	57,697	38,548	26.4	15.8	10.6	3.54
1909	3,691,000	94,112	59,416	34,696	25.5	16.1	9.4	3.42
1910	3,735,000	93,514	56,498	37,016	25.0	15.1	9.9	3.1
1911	3,776,000	91,320	59,619	31,701	24.2	15.8	8.4	3.07
1912	3,819,000	92,196	54,102	38,094	24.1	14.2	10.0	3.04
1913	3,864,000	89,757	55,427	34,330	23.2	14.3	8.9	3.01
1914	3,897,000	87,330	53,629	33,701	22.4	13.8	8.6	3
1915	3,883,000	75,545	51,524	24,021	19.5	13.3	6.2	2.61
1916	3,883,000	73,660	50,623	23,037	19.0	13.0	5.9	2.53
1917	3,888,000	72,065	53,306	18,759	18.5	13.7	4.8	2.48
1918	3,880,000	72,658	75,034	-2,376	18.7	19.3	-0.6	2.47
1919	3,869,000	72,125	54,932	17,193	18.6	14.2	4.4	2.49
1920	3,877,000	81,190	55,992	25,198	20.9	14.4	6.5	2.34
1921	3,876,000	80,808	49,518	31,290	20.8	12.8	8.1	2.37
1922	3,874,000	76,290	50,292	25,998	19.7	13.0	6.7	2.4
1923	3,883,000	75,551	45,983	29,568	19.5	11.8	7.6	2.43
1924	3,896,000	73,508	48,988	24,520	18.9	12.6	6.3	2.36
1925	3,910,000	72,570	47,877	24,693	18.6	12.2	6.3	2.3
1926	3,932,000	72,118	46,452	25,666	18.3	11.8	6.5	2.23
1927	3,956,000	69,533	49,202	20,331	17.6	12.4	5.1	2.17
1928	3,988,000	69,594	48,063	21,531	17.4	12.1	5.4	2.1
1929	4,022,000	69,006	50,438	18,568	17.2	12.5	4.6	2.05
1930	4,051,000	69,855	46,939	22,916	17.2	11.6	5.7	1.99
1931	4,080,000	68,249	49,414	18,835	16.7	12.1	4.6	1.97
1932	4,102,000	68,650	49,911	18,739	16.7	12.2	4.6	1.96
1933	4,122,000	67,509	47,181	20,328	16.4	11.4	4.9	1.91
1934	4,140,000	67,277	46,806	20,471	16.3	11.3	4.9	1.89
1935	4,155,000	66,378	50,233	16,145	16.0	12.1	3.9	1.86
1936	4,168,000	64,966	47,650	17,316	15.6	11.4	4.2	1.82
1937	4,180,000	62,480	47,274	15,206	14.9	11.3	3.6	1.76
1938	4,192,000	63,790	48,576	15,214	15.2	11.6	3.6	1.80
1939	4,206,000	63,837	49,484	14,353	15.2	11.8	3.4	1.81
1940	4,226,000	64,115	50,759	13,356	15.2	12.0	3.2	1.83
1941	4,254,000	71,926	47,336	24,590	16.9	11.1	5.8	2.06
1942	4,286,000	78,875	46,928	31,947	18.4	10.9	7.5	2.28
1943	4,323,000	83,049	47,409	35,640	19.2	11.0	8.2	2.42
1944	4,364,000	85,627	52,336	33,291	19.6	12.0	7.6	2.51
1945	4,412,000	88,522	51,086	37,436	20.1	11.6	8.5	2.61
1946	4,467,000	89,126	50,276	38,850	20.0	11.3	8.7	2.62
1947	4,524,000	87,724	51,384	36,340	19.4	11.4	8.0	2.56
1948	4,582,000	87,763	49,679	38,084	19.2	10.8	8.3	2.54
1949	4,639,000	85,308	49,497	35,811	18.4	10.7	7.7	2.45
1950	4,694,000	84,776	47,372	37,404	18.1	10.1	8.0	2.40
1951	4,749,000	81,903	49,952	31,951	17.2	10.5	6.7	2.30
1952	4,815,000	83,549	47,624	35,925	17.4	9.9	7.5	2.32
1953	4,878,000	83,029	49,684	33,345	17.0	10.2	6.8	2.29
1954	4,929,000	83,741	49,113	34,628	17.0	10.0	7.0	2.28
1955	4,980,000	85,331	50,366	34,965	17.1	10.1	7.0	2.30
1956	5,045,000	87,912	51,573	36,339	17.4	10.2	7.2	2.35
1957	5,126,000	90,823	51,066	39,757	17.7	10.0	7.8	2.41
1958	5,199,000	91,421	49,281	42,140	17.6	9.5	8.1	2.40
1959	5,259,000	92,973	50,077	42,896	17.7	9.5	8.2	2.42
1960	5,362,000	94,372	52,094	42,278	17.6	9.7	7.9	2.34
1961	5,434,000	99,238	51,004	48,234	18.3	9.4	8.9	2.48
1962	5,574,000	104,322	55,125	49,197	18.7	9.9	8.8	2.46
1963	5,694,000	109,993	56,989	53,004	19.3	10.0	9.3	2.68
1964	5,789,000	112,890	53,609	59,281	19.5	9.3	10.2	2.85
1965	5,856,000	111,835	55,547	56,288	19.1	9.5	9.6	2.57
1966	5,918,000	109,738	55,804	53,934	18.5	9.4	9.1	2.47
1967	5,992,000	107,417	55,142	52,275	17.9	9.2	8.7	2.37
1968	6,068,000	105,130	57,342	47,788	17.3	9.4	7.9	2.28
1969	6,136,000	102,520	58,002	44,518	16.7	9.5	7.3	2.12
1970	6,181,000	99,216	57,091	42,125	16.1	9.2	6.8	2.11
1971	6,213,000	96,261	57,856	38,405	15.5	9.3	6.2	2.06
1972	6,261,000	91,342	56,489	34,853	14.6	9.0	5.6	1.95
1973	6,307,000	87,518	56,990	30,528	13.9	9.0	4.8	1.85
1974	6,341,000	84,507	56,403	28,104	13.3	8.9	4.4	1.73
1975	6,339,000	78,464	55,924	22,540	12.4	8.8	3.6	1.63
1976	6,303,000	74,199	57,095	17,104	11.8	9.1	2.7	1.55
1977	6,281,000	72,829	55,658	17,171	11.6	8.9	2.7	1.53
1978	6,281,000	71,375	57,718	13,657	11.4	9.2	2.2	1.53
1979	6,294,000	71,986	57,454	14,532	11.4	9.1	2.3	1.52
1980	6,319,000	73,661	59,097	14,564	11.7	9.4	2.3	1.57
1981	6,354,000	73,747	59,763	13,984	11.6	9.4	2.2	1.59
1982	6,391,000	74,916	59,204	15,712	11.7	9.3	2.5	1.60
1983	6,419,000	73,659	60,756	12,903	11.5	9.5	2.0	1.52
1984	6,442,000	74,710	58,602	16,108	11.6	9.1	2.5	1.52
1985	6,470,000	74,684	59,583	15,101	11.5	9.2	2.3	1.51
1986	6,504,000	76,320	60,105	16,215	11.7	9.2	2.5	1.52
1987	6,545,000	76,505	59,511	16,994	11.7	9.1	2.6	1.56
1988	6,593,000	80,345	60,648	19,697	12.2	9.2	3.0	1.59
1989	6,647,000	81,180	60,882	20,298	12.2	9.2	3.1	1.62
1990	6,712,000	83,939	63,739	20,200	12.5	9.5	3.0	1.63
1991	6,800,000	86,200	62,634	23,566	12.7	9.2	3.5	1.68
1992	6,875,000	86,910	62,302	24,608	12.6	9.1	3.6	1.62
1993	6,938,000	83,762	62,512	21,250	12.1	9.0	3.1	1.53
1994	6,994,000	82,980	61,987	20,993	11.9	8.9	3.0	1.49
1995	7,041,000	82,203	63,387	18,816	11.7	9.0	2.7	1.46
1996	7,072,000	83,007	62,637	20,370	11.7	8.9	2.9	1.53
1997	7,089,000	79,485	59,967	19,518	11.2	8.5	2.8	1.45
1998	7,110,000	78,949	62,569	16,380	11.1	8.8	2.3	1.48
1999	7,144,000	78,408	62,503	15,905	11.0	8.7	2.2	1.47
2000	7,184,000	78,458	62,528	15,930	10.9	8.7	2.2	1.50
2001	7,230,000	73,509	61,287	12,222	10.2	8.5	1.7	1.41
2002	7,285,000	72,372	61,768	10,604	9.9	8.5	1.5	1.39
2003	7,339,000	71,848	63,070	8,778	9.8	8.6	1.2	1.39
2004	7,390,000	73,082	60,180	12,902	9.9	8.1	1.7	1.42
2005	7,437,000	72,903	61,124	11,779	9.8	8.2	1.6	1.43
2006	7,484,000	73,371	60,283	13,088	9.8	8.1	1.7	1.44
2007	7,551,000	74,494	61,089	13,405	9.9	8.1	1.8	1.46
2008	7,648,000	76,691	61,233	15,458	10.0	8.0	2.0	1.48
2009	7,742,000	78,286	62,476	15,810	10.1	8.1	2.0	1.50
2010	7,858,000	80,290	62,553	17,737	10.3	8.0	2.3	1.54
2011	7,952,000	80,808	62,091	18,717	10.2	7.8	2.3	1.52
2012	8,003,000	82,164	64,173	17,991	10.3	8.0	2.2	1.53
2013	8,021,000	82,731	64,961	17,770	10.3	8.0	2.3	1.52
2014	8,220,000	85,287	63,938	21,349	10.4	7.8	2.6	1.54
2015	8,325,000	86,559	67,606	18,953	10.4	8.1	2.3	1.54
2016	8,417,000	87,883	64,964	22,919	10.4	7.7	2.7	1.55
2017	8,482,000	87,381	66,971	20,410	10.3	7.9	2.4	1.52
2018	8,542,300	87,851	67,088	20,763	10.3	7.9	2.4	1.52
2019	8,603,900	86,172	67,780	18,392	10.0	7.9	2.1	1.48

Current vital statistics

[14][15]

Births for January–November 2019 = 79,369
Births for January–November 2020 = 73,533

Deaths for January–November 2019 = 61,859
Deaths for January–November 2020 = 64,885

Natural population growth for January–November 2019 = 17,510
Natural population growth for January–November 2020 = 8,648

Age structure

Population distribution of Switzerland by age, gender and nationality (2016)

Age structure (2014)
Age	Total / 1000 (% of total)	Male / 1000	Female / 1000	Swiss / 1000	Foreign / 1000 (% of total for age bracket)
0-10	902.7 (11.0%)	463.7	439.0	661.8	240.8 (26.7%)
11-20	854.4 (10.4%)	438.3	416.0	668.5	185.9 (21.8%)
21-30	1,071.5 (13.0%)	542.4	529.1	754.1	317.4 (29.6%)
31-40	1,149.1 (13.9%)	579.5	569.6	706.6	442.5 (38.5%)
41-50	1,282.3 (15.6%)	647.4	634.8	916.3	365.9 (28.5%)
51-60	1,146.2 (13.9%)	578.5	567.7	911.2	235.0 (20.5%)
61-70	876.4 (10.6%)	427.0	449.5	762.2	114.2 (13.0%)
71-80	593.8 (7.2%)	268.6	325.2	522.1	71.8 (12.1%)
81-90	308.0 (3.7%)	114.3	193.7	285.7	22.3 (7.2%)
91+	53.3 (0.6%)	14.1	39.2	50.7	2.6 (4.8%)

Data: Swiss Federal Statistics Office[16]

As population growth curbs, the percentage of elderly people increases. In July 2015, the Swiss Federal Office of Statistics published a projection estimating that by 2045, the ratio of residents over the retirement age of 65 would climb to 48.1 per 100 residents between 20 and 64 years old, and possibly as high as 50.0 in the highest case. In 2015 that ratio was only 29.1 per 100 residents.[17]

Projected age structure
	0-20 (in millions)	Percent	21-64 (in millions)	Percent	65+ (in millions)	Percent
2015	1.67	20.0%	5.17	61.9%	1.5	18.0%
2030	1.88	19.7%	5.49	57.5%	2.17	22.8%
2045 (low)	1.66	17.7%	5.13	54.9%	2.56	27.4%
2045 (avg)	1.90	18.6%	5.59	54.9%	2.69	26.4%
2045 (high)	2.16	19.6%	6.06	55.0%	2.81	25.5%

Data: Swiss Federal Statistics Office[17]

Sex ratio

age	males (in thousands)	females (in thousands)	ratio (male/female)
at birth	38.1	36.2	1.05
0-15	651.8	615.6	1.06
16-64	2,551.0	2,530.0	1.01
65+	524.3	720.9	0.73
total	3,727.0	3,866.5	0.96

Data: Swiss Federal Statistics Office[16] 2007

Life expectancy at birth

According to statistics released by the federal government in 2019, life expectancy stands at 81.9 years for men and 85.6 years for women, for an overall average of 83.8 years for the populace as a whole.[18]

Life expectancy from 1850 to 1950

Sources: Our World In Data

1850-1950

Years	1876	1877	1878	1879	1880	1881	1882	1883	1884	1885	1886	1887	1888	1889	1890[19]
Life expectancy in Switzerland	40.1	40.0	40.5	41.8	42.8	41.9	43.0	45.0	45.0	43.9	44.7	45.4	46.0	45.1	45.0

Years	1891	1892	1893	1894	1895	1896	1897	1898	1899	1900[19]
Life expectancy in Switzerland	44.7	47.2	46.1	45.8	46.9	48.9	49.1	48.2	49.3	47.5

Years	1901	1902	1903	1904	1905	1906	1907	1908	1909	1910[19]
Life expectancy in Switzerland	48.9	50.4	50.1	49.2	49.7	50.7	51.2	52.3	51.6	52.9

Years	1911	1912	1913	1914	1915	1916	1917	1918	1919	1920[19]
Life expectancy in Switzerland	51.7	54.4	54.2	55.1	55.9	56.5	55.8	46.3	54.9	54.3

Years	1921	1922	1923	1924	1925	1926	1927	1928	1929	1930[19]
Life expectancy in Switzerland	57.8	58.5	60.0	59.5	59.9	60.6	60.1	60.4	60.2	61.4

Years	1931	1932	1933	1934	1935	1936	1937	1938	1939	1940[19]
Life expectancy in Switzerland	61.2	61.2	62.4	62.9	62.1	63.2	63.5	63.8	64.0	63.5

Years	1941	1942	1943	1944	1945	1946	1947	1948	1949	1950[19]
Life expectancy in Switzerland	65.0	65.6	65.8	64.8	65.4	66.0	66.2	67.3	67.9	68.9

1950 to 2015

Period	Life expectancy in Years	Period	Life expectancy in Years
1950–1955	69.3	1985–1990	77.2
1955–1960	70.7	1990–1995	77.9
1960–1965	71.6	1995–2000	79.2
1965–1970	72.6	2000–2005	80.5
1970–1975	73.7	2005–2010	81.8
1975–1980	75.2	2010–2015	82.7
1980–1985	76.1

Source: UN World Population Prospects[20]

Nationality

The population of Switzerland 1970–2005. Data from Swiss Federal Statistical Office 2005; number of inhabitants in thousands.

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.

Permanent residents by nationality

The number of registered resident foreigners was 1,001,887 (16.17%) in 1970. This amount decreased to 904,337 (14.34%) in 1979, and has increased steadily since that time, passing the 20% mark during 2001 and rising to 1,524,663 (20.56%) in 2004. The number of Swiss citizens thus numbered about 5.9 million in that year.

In 2013 there were a total of 1,937,447 permanent residents (23.8% of the total population of 8.14 million) in Switzerland. Of these, 1.65 million resident foreigners (85.0%, or 20.2% of the 8.14 Million total population[21][22]), had European citizenship (Italian: 298,875; German: 292,291; Portuguese: 253,227; French: 110,103; Serbian: 90,704; Kosovan: 86,976; Spanish: 75,333, Macedonian: 62,633; British: 40,898; Austrian: 39,494; Bosnian and Herzegovinian: 33,002; Croatian: 30,471). From other continents; 122,941 residents were from Asia; 83,873 from Africa; 78,433 from the Americas; and 4,145 from Oceania.[22]

The following chart shows permanent resident numbers from selected regions and countries every 5 years.

Nation	1980	1985	1990	1995	2000	2005	2010	2015
Total	913,497	960,674	1,127,109	1,363,590	1,424,370	1,541,912	1,766,277	2,048,667
Europe	859,054	892,748	1,036,760	1,238,937	1,261,975	1,334,590	1,504,943	1,733,255
Africa	10,539	13,130	20,291	28,800	37,618	48,081	71,527	93,814
Americas	20,838	23,438	29,149	38,585	49,687	61,732	74,511	78,773
North America	12,182	12,394	13,775	16,140	18,952	21,004	25,590	26,271
Latin America and Caribbean	8,656	11,044	15,374	22,445	30,735	40,728	48,921	52,502
Asia	21,569	29,772	38,921	54,914	72,002	94,009	110,549	136,789
Oceania	1,260	1,326	1,728	1,999	2,829	3,242	3,990	4,230

Germany	87,389	82,143	84,485	91,976	109,785	158,651	263,271	300,691
Spain	98,098	109,232	116,987	102,320	84,266	72,167	64,126	82,334
France	48,002	48,948	51,729	55,407	61,688	70,901	95,643	122,970
Italy	423,008	394,812	381,493	361,892	321,795	297,917	287,130	311,742
Austria	31,986	29,417	29,123	28,454	29,191	33,069	37,013	41,145
Portugal	10,863	31,029	86,035	135,646	135,449	167,857	212,586	267,474
United Kingdom	16,050	17,482	18,269	20,030	22,309	26,425	37,273	41,766
Croatia	-	-	-	42,582	43,876	40,709	33,507	29,355
Serbia and Montenegro	-	-	-	-	190,940	196,833	-	-
Serbia	-	-	-	-	-	-	121,908	71,260
Montenegro	-	-	-	-	-	-	2,022	2,536
Kosovo	-	-	-	-	-	-	58,755	106,879
Bosnia and Herzegovina	-	-	-	24,748	45,111	43,354	35,513	31,905
North Macedonia	-	-	-	39,540	56,092	60,898	60,116	64,448
Albania	15	17	29	576	1,093	1,218	1,308	1,590
Sri Lanka	373	808	2,840	9,841	20,215	31,865	28,963	27,667
Iraq	352	378	454	771	2,046	3,257	7,553	7,092
Turkey	38,353	51,206	64,899	79,372	80,165	75,903	71,835	69,215

Source:[22]

Tamil refugees fleeing from war in Sri Lanka are the largest number of Asians, while Albanians and former Yugoslavians continue to grow in number. Switzerland is also the second largest European country in number of acceptance of Iraqi refugees fleeing from the violence in Iraq since 2003, but behind Great Britain, Germany and Sweden in the number of Iraqis taken residence for a European country.

Naturalization

In 2004, 35,700 people acquired Swiss citizenship according to Swiss nationality law, a figure slightly larger than that of the previous year (35,424), and four times larger than the 1990 figure (8,658). About a third of those naturalized are from a successor state of Former Yugoslavia: 7,900 Serbia-Montenegro, 2,400 Bosnia-Herzegovina, 2,000 North Macedonia, 1,600 Croatia. 4,200 were from Italy, 3,600 from Turkey, 1,600 from Sri Lanka, 1,200 from Portugal, and 1,200 from France.[23]

The yearly rate of naturalization has quintupled over the 1990s and 2000s, from roughly 9,000 to 45,000. Relative to the population of resident foreigners, this amounts to an increase from 8% in 1990 to 27% in 2007, or relative to the number of Swiss citizens from 1.6% in 1990 to 7.3% in 2007.

The following table shows the historical development of naturalization from selected countries.[24]

Origin	1981	1985	1990	1995	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013
Total	14,299	14,393	8,658	16,790	28,700	27,583	36,515	35,424	35,685	38,437	46,711	43,889	44,365	43,440	39,314	36,012	33,500	34,061
Europe	12,978	12,349	6,970	12,592	21,975	20,969	28,102	27,558	27,728	30,109	36,087	33,771	34,879	33,795	30,458	27,769	25,778	26,457
Africa	283	341	273	919	1,824	1,900	2,163	1,954	1,848	2,064	2,619	2,883	2,599	2,627	2,499	2,337	2,417	2,363
North America	171	277	139	230	321	316	376	367	333	336	407	451	371	427	428	410	443	499
South America and Caribbean	245	442	461	777	1,554	1,528	1,790	1,749	1,626	1,478	1,859	1,921	1,675	1,802	1,587	1,613	1,407	1,609
Asia	590	928	796	2,226	2,981	2,830	4,033	3,717	4,065	4,382	5,666	4,787	4,771	4,710	4,261	3,788	3,349	3,038
Oceania	30	52	12	24	29	27	35	67	73	59	62	61	56	55	58	62	64	66

Italy	4,665	3,259	1,995	4,376	6,652	5,386	6,633	5,085	4,196	4,032	4,502	4,629	4,921	4,804	4,111	4,033	3,998	4,379
Germany	2,650	2,839	1,144	703	646	585	817	670	639	773	1,144	1,361	3,022	4,035	3,617	3,516	3,357	3,804
Kosovo															1,611	2,518	2,556	2,640
Serbia															6,859	4,261	3,362	2,529
Portugal	86	127	170	175	765	779	920	1,165	1,199	1,505	2,383	2,201	1,761	2,336	2,217	2,211	2,071	2,184
Turkey	150	189	211	1,205	3,127	3,116	4,128	4,216	3,565	3,467	3,457	3,044	2,866	2,593	2,091	1,852	1,638	1,622
France	1,262	1,228	684	871	1,360	1,306	1,367	1,215	1,181	1,021	1,260	1,218	1,110	1,314	1,084	1,272	1,197	1,558
North Macedonia				76	857	1,022	1,639	1,802	1,981	2,171	2,596	2,210	2,287	1,831	1,586	1,322	1,212	1,270
Bosnia and Herzegovina				112	999	1,128	1,865	2,268	2,371	2,790	3,149	3,016	2,855	2,408	1,924	1,610	1,145	1,156
Croatia				577	970	1,045	1,638	1,565	1,616	1,681	1,837	1,660	2,046	1,599	1,483	1,268	1,195	1,118
Spain	567	643	401	431	851	699	691	800	823	975	1,283	1,246	1,096	1,245	1,120	1,044	1,033	1,047
Sri Lanka	7	104	30	42	375	446	1,124	1,139	1,565	1,996	2,941	2,206	2,348	2,158	1,783	1,467	1,170	890
Iraq	2	8	3	15	40	42	33	54	67	80	139	142	163	190	240	266	399	355

Immigration

Foreign population by country of citizenship as of 2019:[25]

Rank	Nationality	Population
1	Italy	321,309
2	Germany	307,387
3	Portugal	260,100
4	France	138,947
5	Kosovo	112,780
6	Spain	84,362
7	Turkey	67,711
8	North Macedonia	67,108
9	Serbia	63,238
10	Austria	43,650
11	United Kingdom	41,734
12	Eritrea	39,689
13	Poland	33,957
14	Bosnia and Herzegovina	29,291
15	Sri Lanka	28,838
16	Croatia	28,020
17	Hungary	23,921
18	Syria	22,014
19	Brazil	21,789
20	Netherlands	21,158
21	Romania	20,114
22	China	19,712
23	United States	19,310
24	Slovakia	17,914
25	Afghanistan	17,712
26	Russia	16,099
27	Greece	15,520
28	India	15,424
29	Belgium	13,699
30	Bulgaria	11,831

Emigration

In 2004, 623,100 Swiss citizens (8.9%) lived abroad, the largest group in France (166,200), followed by the USA (71,400) and Germany (70,500). (see Swiss diaspora).

Demographic statistics

Demographic chart showing age distribution in Switzerland. Blue diamonds represent total population in thousands, green triangles represent Swiss Citizens only (in thousands) and red circles represent foreign population in thousands. Source for data Swiss Federal Statistical Office, 2007

Birth and death rates between 1950 and 2008

Demographic statistics according to the World Population Review in 2019.[26]

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

Demographic statistics according to the CIA World Factbook, unless otherwise indicated.[27]

Population: 8,292,809 (July 2018 est.)

Age structure

Population pyramid of Switzerland in 2017

0-14 years: 15.23% (male 650,151 /female 612,479)

15-24 years: 10.69% (male 453,003 /female 433,101)

25-54 years: 42.88% (male 1,781,425 /female 1,774,124)

55-64 years: 12.88% (male 535,457 /female 532,454)

65 years and over: 18.34% (male 672,024 /female 848,591) (2018 est.)

Median age: total: 42.5 years Country comparison to the world: 30th; male: 41.5 years; female: 43.5 years (2018 est.)

Birth rate: 10.5 births/1,000 population (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 187th

Death rate: 8.4 deaths/1,000 population (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 81st

Total fertility rate: 1.56 children born/woman (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 189th

Net migration rate: 4.6 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 28th; 4.7 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2017 est.)

Mother's mean age at first birth: 30.7 years (2014 est.)

Population growth rate: 0.68% (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 144th

Life expectancy at birth: total population: 82.7 years (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 12th; male: 80.4 years (2018 est.); female: 85.2 years (2018 est.)

Ethnic groups: Swiss 69.5%, German 4.2%, Italian 3.2%, Portuguese 2.6%, French 2%, Kosovar 1.1%, other 17.3%, unspecified .1% (2018 est.); note: data represent permanent resident population by country of birth

Languages: German (or Swiss German) (official) 62.8%, French (official) 22.9%, Italian (official) 8.2%, English 5.1%, Portuguese 3.7%, Albanian 3.1%, Serbo-Croatian 2.4%, Spanish 2.3%, Romansh (official) 0.5%, other 7.5% (2016 est.); note: German, French, Italian, and Romansh are all national and official languages; shares sum to more than 100% because some respondents gave more than one answer

Urbanization: urban population: 73.8% of total population (2018); rate of urbanization: 0.88% annual rate of change (2015-20 est.)

Dependency ratios: total dependency ratio: 48.8 (2015 est.); youth dependency ratio: 22 (2015 est.); elderly dependency ratio: 26.8 (2015 est.); potential support ratio: 3.7 (2015 est.)

Sex ratio: at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female (2017 est.); 0-14 years: 1.06 male(s)/female (2017 est.); 15-24 years: 1.04 male(s)/female (2017 est.); 25-54 years: 1.01 male(s)/female (2017 est.); 55-64 years: 1 male(s)/female (2017 est.); 65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female (2017 est.); total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education): total: 16 years (2014); male: 16 years (2014); female: 16 years (2014)

Unemployment, youth ages 15–24: total: 8.1%. Country comparison to the world: 138th; male: 8.1%; female: 8% (2017 est.)

Religions

Religion in Switzerland (population age 15+, 2016)[28]

Roman Catholic (36.5%)

Swiss Reformed Church (24.5%)

Other Christian churches (5.9%)

Unaffiliated (24.9%)

Islam (5.2%)

Other religions (1.7%)

Undetermined (1.3%)

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.[29]

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[30] 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.[28]

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).[28] 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.[28]

Languages

Main languages in Switzerland:[31]

German

French

Italian

Romansh

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, mostly Swiss Italian, but including Insubric dialects) for Italian and less than 0.5% (44,000) for Romansh.[32]

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.[32]

Education

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.[33]

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.[34]

Regional disparities

Cantons	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 and 50,000CHF in income 2006	Tax rate (% of total income) for a married couple with two children and 150,000CHF in income 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
Switzerland	100	2.36	11.56	34.59	54,031	5.3
ZH Zurich	82.9	2.16	8.65	31.12	68,803	4.6
BE Berne	123.1	2.14	13.91	33.05	45,643	5
LU Lucerne	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 Obwald	146.5	4.14	11.53	40.88	39,645	4.7
NW Nidwald	79.1	2.31	9.41	34.55	73,285	15.6
GL Glaris	134.8	4.62	12.56	36.85	73,236	10.9
ZG Zoug	50.3	0.47	5.5	35.45	93,752	5.4
FR Friburg	126.4	2.33	12.74	40.2	39,559	2.6
SO Soleure	116.9	2.36	12.95	34.34	46,844	4.9
BS Basle-City	113.1	1.01	14.3	26.6	115,178	15.9
BL Basle-Country	92.5	2.12	12.4	33	53,501	3.9
SH Schaffhouse	114.6	2.94	11.62	32.92	55,125	5.4
AR Appenzell Outer-Rhodes	121.7	3.8	12.06	37.6	44,215	4.7
AI Appenzell Inner-Rhodes	105.6	3.18	9.88	44.46	45,936	7.4
SG St Gall	115.5	2.53	12.68	37.66	44,866	4
GR Grisons	112.2	2.99	11.51	33.97	49,355	11.7
AG Argovia	87.4	1.52	10.4	34.9	49,209	2.5
TG Thurgovia	86.6	0.34	11.48	37.52	44,918	3.2
TI Tessin	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 Geneva	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

Source:[35]

Crime

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.[36]

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.[37]

The number of convicted persons is given in the following tables.[38] 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).

Year	Total Convicted Adults	Homicide (Art. 111,112,113,116 StGB)	Serious Bodily Injury (Art. 122 StGB)	Minor Bodily Injury (Art. 123 StGB)	Sexual Contact with Children (Art. 187 StGB)	Rape (Art. 190 StGB)	Theft (Art. 139 StGB)	Robbery (Art. 140 StGB)	Receiving Stolen Goods (Art. 160 StGB)	Embezzlement (Art. 138 StGB)	Fraud (Art. 146 StGB)	Narcotics Possession	Major Violation of Traffic Laws (Art. 90 Abs. 1&2 SVG)	Impaired Driving (Art. 91 SVG)
2005	26,199	105	95	2,439	416	110	5,967	497	1,249	906	1,469	5,510	22,015	16,466
2006	26,583	116	105	2,537	388	135	5,933	565	1,186	876	1,516	5,403	21,535	21,058
2007	24,265	105	94	2,262	386	139	5,502	524	930	805	1,597	5,090	21,294	20,108
2008	26,327	107	134	2,632	412	135	5,756	525	909	854	1,660	5,387	25,265	20,600
2009	27,727	103	129	2,655	388	129	6,449	533	941	859	1,566	5,533	25,557	19,711
2010	28,691	94	149	2,677	334	128	6,659	593	905	784	1,750	6,125	25,983	20,591
2011	29,128	82	127	2,721	274	86	6,950	442	1,007	716	1,767	4,710	23,590	18,882
2012	33,925	116	179	2,845	293	108	8,936	511	1,332	745	1,971	5,734	22,906	18,396
2013	35,325	114	178	2,843	317	98	9,491	654	1,433	670	2,307	6,070	22,277	17,465
2014^a	32,911	99	197	2,617	288	77	8,335	520	1,112	646	2,153	6,164	24,263	17,041

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

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

Year	Total Convicted Minors	Homicide (Art. 111,112,113,116 StGB)	Serious Bodily Injury (Art. 122 StGB)	Minor Bodily Injury (Art. 123 StGB)	Sexual Contact with Children (Art. 187 StGB)	Rape (Art. 190 StGB)	Theft (Art. 139 StGB)	Robbery (Art. 140 StGB)	Receiving Stolen Goods (Art. 160 StGB)	Embezzlement (Art. 138 StGB)	Fraud (Art. 146 StGB)	Narcotics Possession	Major Violation of Traffic Laws (Art. 90 Abs. 1&2 SVG)	Impaired Driving (Art. 91 SVG)
2005	7,580	7	10	634	73	14	3,528	375	400	34	65	918	124	180
2006	7,769	7	22	644	118	19	3,418	330	390	35	51	1,019	126	189
2007	6,910	6	21	699	101	19	2,189	285	285	21	47	680	116	141
2008	6,975	4	24	688	80	17	1,998	334	272	17	57	560	101	125
2009	6,931	6	24	665	73	5	2,033	365	311	19	57	600	142	105
2010	7,613	13	36	770	71	17	2,410	413	242	19	51	565	119	141
2011	5,427	2	31	553	65	5	1,585	256	153	10	49	507	138	152
2012	5,070	2	34	476	71	8	1,620	303	164	25	56	554	74	124
2013	5,199	3	32	407	75	21	1,666	325	166	27	90	690	72	95
2014	4,849^a	1	33	380	63	8	1,375	231	159	24	70	817	86	124