Turks in Switzerland

Turks in Switzerland or Swiss Turks (Turkish: İsviçre'deki Türkler) are Swiss residents of Turkish origin. The majority of Swiss Turks descend from the Republic of Turkey; however there has also been Turkish migration waves from other post-Ottoman countries including ethnic Turkish communities which have come to Switzerland from the Balkans (e.g. from Bulgaria, Greece, Kosovo, North Macedonia and Romania), the island of Cyprus, and more recently Iraq and Syria.

Turks in Switzerland
Total population
120,000[1][2] 1,5% of Swiss Population
Regions with significant populations
Languages
Religion
Predominantly Sunni Islam (including practising and non-practising)
Minority Alevism, other religions, or irreligious

Demographics

Accounting some 5% of the foreign population, the Turkish community in Switzerland, are concentrated particularly in the cities of Zurich, Basel and Lausanne.[3]

According to the Swiss Statistics, as of 2017 there were 68,000 Turkish nationals living in Switzerland, including Kurds. However, this does not include those who have been naturalised or the Swiss-born Turks.

YearTurkish citizens
200477,100
200575,900
200674,300
200773,200
200872.204
200971.584
201071.835
201171.367
201270.845
201370.440
2014 70.440
2015 69.215
2016 68.744
2017 68.172
(Source: Swiss Statistics)[4][5]

Naturalisation

Naturalisation of Turkish citizens:
YearPopulation
19971,814
19982,093
19992,260
20003,127
20013,116
20024,128
20034,216
20043,565
20053,467
20063,457
Source: OECD[6]

Culture

Religion

Mosque of the Olten Turkish cultural association, Wangen bei Olten.

The majority of the Turkish community in Switzerland adhere to Islam. However, their religious organisations differ from those of other Muslim communities in the country. The Turks are divided by ideological and political divisions of their home country. When in the 1970s the Islamic movement Millî Görüş was established in Germany for the German Turkish community, some of the Turks in Switzerland joined this organisation. But the activities of the Diyanet İşleri Türk İslam Birliği, the Turkish directorate of religious affairs that sends Imams to the Turkish diaspora, attracted other Turks to adhere to this state-controlled form of Islam. Turkish groups such as the Sufi Suleymancilar and the Nurcu confraternity also play a role in the Turkish Muslim community in Switzerland. These are exact Gulen Movement people, different from the current Turkey's Government, after the 15 July Turkey's coup d'état attempt purges.[7]

Language

Top ten languages spoken in Switzerland.

See also

References

  1. The Federal Authorities of the Swiss Confederation. "Diaspora und Migrantengemeinschaften aus der Türkei in der Schweiz" (PDF). Retrieved 16 December 2008.
  2. Türkische Gemeinschaft Schweiz. "VERANSTALTUNGEN - PROJEKTE". Retrieved 9 February 2011.
  3. Geneve. "Turks in the Swiss team" (PDF). Retrieved 9 May 2009.
  4. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 22 December 2013. Retrieved 22 December 2013.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  5. Statistik, Bundesamt für (31 August 2018). "Ständige ausländische Wohnbevölkerung nach Staatsangehörigkeit, 1980-2017 - 1980-2017 | Tabelle". Bundesamt für Statistik (in German). Retrieved 4 August 2020.
  6. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development 2008, 364.
  7. Haddad 2002, 74.

Bibliography

  • Haddad, Yvonne Yazbeck (2002). Muslims in the West: from sojourners to citizens. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-514805-3..
  • Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (2008). International Migration Outlook: SOPEMI 2008. OECD Publishing. ISBN 92-64-04565-1..
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