Demographics of Switzerland
has 9 million inhabitants, as of June 2024. Its population quadrupled over the period 1800 to 1990. Population growth was steepest in the period after World War II, it slowed during the 1970s and 1980s but has since increased to 1% during the 2000s.
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.
Census
The Federal Population Census has been carried out every 10 years starting in 1850. 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. The census is now conducted by the Swiss Federal Statistical Office, which makes most results available on its .Collected data includes population data, household data, accommodation data and building data. Participation is compulsory and reached 99.87% of the population in 2000.
Since 2010, the population census has been carried out and analysed annually in a new format by the Federal Statistical Office. 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 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.
Population
Demographic statistics according to the World Population Review in 2019.- One birth every 6 minutes
- One death every 8 minutes
- One net migrant every 11 minutes
- Net gain of one person every 8 minutes
| Year | Total | Male | Female | Swiss | Foreign | ||
| 2023 | 8,962,258 | 4,451,532 | 4,510,726 | 6,544,970 | 2,417,288 | ||
| 2022 | 8,815,385 | 4,379,953 | 4,435,432 | 6,519,362 | 2,296,023 | ||
| 2021 | 8,738,791 | 4,338,203 | 4,400,588 | 6,494,610 | 2,244,181 | ||
| 2020 | 8,670,300 | 4,302,599 | 4,367,701 | 6,459,512 | 2,210,788 | ||
| 2019 | 8,606,033 | 4,268,863 | 4,337,170 | 6,430,658 | 2,175,375 | ||
| 2018 | 8,544,527 | 4,237,121 | 4,307,406 | 6,396,252 | 2,148,275 | ||
| 2017 | 8,484,130 | 4,206,434 | 4,277,696 | 6,357,738 | 2,126,392 | ||
| 2016 | 8,419,550 | 4,173,437 | 4,246,113 | 6,318,404 | 2,101,146 | ||
| 2015 | 8,327,126 | 4,121,471 | 4,205,655 | 6,278,459 | 2,048,667 | ||
| 2014 | 8,236,666 | 4,073,880 | 4,163,786 | 6,239,207 | 1,998,459 | ||
| 2013 | 8,139,631 | 4,022,091 | 4,117,540 | 6,202,184 | 1,937,447 | ||
| 2012 | 8,039,060 | 3,968,524 | 4,070,536 | 6,169,091 | 1,869,969 | ||
| 2011 | 7,954,662 | 3,922,253 | 4,032,409 | 6,138,668 | 1,815,994 | ||
| 2010 | 7,870,134 | 3,877,426 | 3,992,708 | 6,103,857 | 1,766,277 | ||
| 2009 | 7,785,800 | 3,830,600 | 3,955,200 | 6,071,800 | 1,714,000 | ||
| 2008 | 7,701,900 | 3,786,700 | 3,915,200 | 6,032,100 | 1,669,700 | ||
| 2007 | 7,593,500 | 3,727,000 | 3,866,500 | 5,991,400 | 1,602,100 | ||
| 2006 | 7,508,700 | 3,679,400 | 3,829,400 | 5,954,200 | 1,554,500 | ||
| 2005 | 7,459,100 | 3,652,500 | 3,806,600 | 5,917,200 | 1,541,900 | ||
| 2004 | 7,415,100 | 3,628,700 | 3,786,400 | 5,890,400 | 1,524,700 | ||
| 2003 | 7,364,100 | 3,601,500 | 3,762,600 | 5,863,200 | 1,500,900 | ||
| 2002 | 7,313,900 | 3,575,000 | 3,738,800 | 5,836,900 | 1,477,000 | ||
| 2001 | 7,255,700 | 3,544,300 | 3,711,300 | 5,808,100 | 1,447,600 | ||
| 2000 | 7,204,100 | 3,519,700 | 3,684,400 | 5,779,700 | 1,424,400 | ||
| 1990 | 6,750,700 | 3,298,300 | 3,452,400 | 5,623,600 | 1,127,100 | ||
| 1980 | 6,335,200 | 3,082,000 | 3,253,300 | 5,421,700 | 913,500 | ||
| 1970 | 6,193,100 | 3,025,300 | 3,167,700 | 5,191,200 | 1,001,900 | ||
| 1960–1970 | 5,429,061 | – | – | 4,500,692 | 586,338 | ||
| 1950–1960 | 4,714,992 | – | – | – | – | ||
| 1941–1950 | 4,265,703 | – | – | – | – | ||
| 1930–1941 | 4,066,400 | – | – | – | – | ||
| 1920–1930 | 3,880,320 | – | – | – | – | ||
| 1910–1920 | 3,753,293 | – | – | – | – | ||
| 1900–1910 | 3,315,443 | – | – | – | – | ||
| 1888–1900 | 2,917,754 | – | – | – | – | ||
| 1880–1888 | 2,831,787 | – | – | – | – | ||
| 1870–1880 | 2,655,001 | – | – | – | – | ||
| 1860–1870 | 2,510,494 | – | – | – | – | ||
| 1850–1860 | 2,392,740 | – | – | – | – | ||
| 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%, and in the 2000s it has risen again slightly, 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.Total fertility rate
- 1.46 children born/woman
- 1.33 children born/Swiss woman
- 1.86 children born/non-Swiss woman
Fertility
| Years | 1850 | 1851 | 1852 | 1853 | 1854 | 1855 | 1856 | 1857 | 1858 | 1859 | 1860 |
| Rate | 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 | |
| Rate | 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 | |
| Rate | 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 | |
| Rate | 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 | - | |
| Rate | 3.78 | 3.71 | 3.74 | 3.66 | 3.66 | 3.77 | 3.79 | 3.82 | 3.89 | - |
Age structure
| Age | Total | Males | Females | Swiss | Foreign | ||
| 0–10 | 902.7 | 463.7 | 439.0 | 661.8 | 240.8 | ||
| 11–20 | 854.4 | 438.3 | 416.0 | 668.5 | 185.9 | ||
| 21–30 | 1,071.5 | 542.4 | 529.1 | 754.1 | 317.4 | ||
| 31–40 | 1,149.1 | 579.5 | 569.6 | 706.6 | 442.5 | ||
| 41–50 | 1,282.3 | 647.4 | 634.8 | 916.3 | 365.9 | ||
| 51–60 | 1,146.2 | 578.5 | 567.7 | 911.2 | 235.0 | ||
| 61–70 | 876.4 | 427.0 | 449.5 | 762.2 | 114.2 | ||
| 71–80 | 593.8 | 268.6 | 325.2 | 522.1 | 71.8 | ||
| 81–90 | 308.0 | 114.3 | 193.7 | 285.7 | 22.3 | ||
| 91+ | 53.3 | 14.1 | 39.2 | 50.7 | 2.6 |
Data: Swiss Federal Statistics Office
As population growth slows, the percentage of elderly people increases. In July 2015, the Swiss Federal Office of Statistics published projections indicating that by 2045, the proportion 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 scenario. In 2015 that ratio was only 29.1 per 100 residents.
| Year | Scenario | 0–20 | Percent | 21–64 | Percent | 65+ | 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 | 1.66 | 17.7% | 5.13 | 54.9% | 2.56 | 27.4% | |
| 2045 | 1.90 | 18.6% | 5.59 | 54.9% | 2.69 | 26.4% | |
| 2045 | 2.16 | 19.6% | 6.06 | 55.0% | 2.81 | 25.5% |
Data: Swiss Federal Statistics Office