In 2017, the population increased by 45 948 persons as a result of migration. This net migration covers both the immigration and emigration of Swiss and foreign nationals. Compared with previous year, it fell by about 35%.
International migrations
When comparing immigration and emigration, major differences can be seen between the nationality groups. For Swiss nationals, an emigration surplus of 8037 was observed, whereas for foreign nationals there was an immigration surplus of 53 985.
International migrationT10
| 1981 | 1990 | 2000 | 2010 | 2017 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Immigration1 | 121 420 | 154 244 | 110 302 | 161 778 | 170 945 |
| Swiss | 28 483 | 31 465 | 26 102 | 22 283 | 23 803 |
| Foreigners | 92 937 | 122 779 | 84 200 | 139 495 | 147 142 |
| Emigration | 97 743 | 97 601 | 90 078 | 96 839 | 124 997 |
| Swiss | 27 796 | 31 888 | 30 776 | 26 311 | 31 840 |
| Foreigners | 69 947 | 65 713 | 59 302 | 70 528 | 93 157 |
| Net migration 1 | 23 677 | 56 643 | 20 224 | 64 939 | 45 948 |
| Swiss | 687 | –423 | –4 674 | –4 028 | –8 037 |
| Foreigners | 22 990 | 57 066 | 24 898 | 68 967 | 53 985 |
1 Until 2010 incl. change of status and transfers from the asylum process, from 2011 incl. conversions from non permanent residence status.
Sources: FSO – ESPOP, STATPOP
© FSO 2018
In 2017, more then half of permanent foreign residents who emigrated or immigrated came from Europe. Above all, people were migrating to and from Germany, France, Italy and Portugal.
Population by migration status
In 2017, 2.6 million people aged 15 or over with a migration background lived in Switzerland (37.2%). The population without a migration background in the same year stood at around 4.4 million people (61.9%).
With few exceptions, the population with a migration background includes all persons born abroad, all persons with foreign nationality and all naturalised Swiss citizens.
Acquisition of Swiss citizenship (naturalisations)
In 1990, 8658 foreign nationals acquired Swiss citizenship, in 2000 this number was 28 700 and in 2017, 44 949 people obtained the Swiss passport. 43% of these were aged below 30. Most naturalised citizens came from European countries (35 702).
Acquisition of Swiss citizenshipT12
| 1990 | 2000 | 2010 | 2017 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 8 658 | 28 700 | 39 314 | 44 949 |
| Men | 3 228 | 13 314 | 18 553 | 21 519 |
| Women | 5 430 | 15 386 | 20 761 | 23 430 |
| From | ||||
| Europe | 6 970 | 21 975 | 30 458 | 35 702 |
| EU28/EFTA | 6 198 | 13 386 | 15 673 | 25 189 |
| Africa | 273 | 1 824 | 2 499 | 2 935 |
| America | 600 | 1 875 | 2 015 | 2 569 |
| Asia | 796 | 2 981 | 4 261 | 3 590 |
|
Oceania/stateless/ no indication |
19 | 45 | 81 | 153 |
Sources: FSO – PETRA, STATPOP
© FSO 2018
Dual citizens
17.3% of the permanent resident population aged 15 or over were dual citizens (916 200 people). 64.4% of these acquired Swiss nationality through naturalisation, the remaining 35.6% obtained it at birth.
In combination with Swiss nationality, Italian nationality is most common (24.7%), followed by French (11.2%) and German nationality (7.8%).
