Permanent resident population by canton, 2019
| At year-end | Total in ’000 |
Foreigners in % |
Urban in % |
Density km2 |
Population growth 2010 – 2019 in % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Switzerland | 8 606.0 | 25.3 | 84.8 | 215.2 | 9.4 |
| Zurich (ZH) | 1 539.3 | 27.1 | 99.3 | 926.8 | 12.1 |
| Bern (BE) | 1 039.5 | 16.6 | 74.7 | 178.0 | 6.1 |
| Lucerne (LU) | 413.1 | 18.8 | 63.9 | 289.1 | 9.4 |
| Uri (UR) | 36.7 | 12.6 | 88.6 | 34.7 | 3.6 |
| Schwyz (SZ) | 160.5 | 21.9 | 82.1 | 188.5 | 9.4 |
| Obwalden (OW) | 37.9 | 14.7 | 27.6 | 78.9 | 6.6 |
| Nidwalden (NW) | 43.1 | 14.8 | 50.5 | 178.5 | 5.0 |
| Glarus (GL) | 40.6 | 24.2 | 76.7 | 59.6 | 5.1 |
| Zug (ZG) | 127.6 | 28.3 | 100.0 | 616.2 | 12.9 |
| Fribourg (FR) | 321.8 | 22.8 | 74.8 | 202.0 | 15.5 |
| Solothurn (SO) | 275.2 | 22.9 | 85.9 | 348.2 | 7.8 |
| Basel-Stadt (BS) | 195.8 | 36.6 | 100.0 | 5 300.2 | 5.9 |
| Basel-Landschaft (BL) | 289.5 | 23.1 | 97.6 | 559.2 | 5.5 |
| Schaffhausen (SH) | 82.3 | 26.1 | 89.7 | 276.2 | 7.8 |
| Appenzell A. Rh. (AR) | 55.4 | 16.5 | 76.6 | 228.3 | 4.6 |
| Appenzell I. Rh. (AI) | 16.1 | 11.3 | 0.0 | 93.5 | 2.8 |
| St. Gallen (SG) | 510.7 | 24.4 | 82.4 | 261.8 | 6.6 |
| Graubünden (GR) | 199.0 | 18.8 | 44.9 | 28.0 | 3.3 |
| Aargau (AG) | 685.8 | 25.3 | 85.0 | 491.6 | 12.2 |
| Thurgau (TG) | 279.5 | 25.2 | 67.0 | 323.9 | 12.5 |
| Ticino (TI) | 351.5 | 27.6 | 92.8 | 128.2 | 5.3 |
| Vaud (VD) | 805.1 | 33.0 | 89.6 | 285.4 | 12.9 |
| Valais (VS) | 345.5 | 22.6 | 78.9 | 66.3 | 10.5 |
| Neuchâtel (NE) | 176.5 | 25.3 | 87.8 | 246.3 | 2.6 |
| Geneva (GE) | 504.1 | 40.0 | 100.0 | 2 050.8 | 10.1 |
| Jura (JU) | 73.6 | 14.7 | 53.7 | 87.8 | 5.1 |
Permanent resident population in the largest cities, 2019
| City | Urban agglomeration | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| in ’000 | Population growth 2010 – 2019 in % |
in ’000 | Population growth 2010 – 2019 in % |
|
| Zurich | 420.2 | 12.7 | 1 401.8 | 12.2 |
| Geneva | 204.0 | 8.8 | 603.2 | 10.7 |
| Basel | 173.2 | 6.1 | 552.9 | 6.1 |
| Lausanne | 139.4 | 9.1 | 427.9 | 12.8 |
| Bern | 134.6 | 8.2 | 422.1 | 7.6 |
| Winterthur | 113.2 | 11.7 | 145.1 | 11.2 |
| Lucerne | 82.3 | 6.2 | 233.5 | 8.2 |
| St. Gallen | 76.1 | 4.3 | 167.6 | 4.4 |
| Lugano | 62.6 | 3.9 | 150.2 | 6.3 |
| Biel | 55.6 | 8.6 | 107.8 | 8.4 |
The population is mostly urban
Today (2019) 84.8% of the population live in areas with an urban character (urban cores and areas under the influence of urban centres). Nearly half of the population live in one of Switzerland›s five largest agglomerations (Zurich. Basel. Geneva. Bern and Lausanne).
In 2019 population growth in areas with an urban character was more marked than that in areas beyond the influence of urban centres (2019: +0.8% compared with +0.5%).
Ageing society
During the course of the 20th century. the proportion of elderly people (aged 65 and over) increased. while that of young people (under age 20) and people of working age (aged 20-64) declined. As a result of this process. the shape of the «age pyramid» has been transformed into one of a fir tree (2019). in which the baby boom generation (born between 1940 and 1971) predominates. Younger generations. in contrast. are smaller. The proportion of persons aged 65 and over is expected to rise from 18.7% (2019) to 25.6% in 2050.
Chidren born alive, 2019
| Total | 86 172 |
| Boys for every 100 girls | 104.9 |
| Proportion of children out of wedlock in % | 26.5 |
| Children per woman 1 | 1.5 |
1 Average number of children that would be born to a woman over her lifetime given the age-specific fertility rates in the year of observation
Deaths, 2019
| Total | 67 780 |
| Age at death (years) | |
| 0 – 19 | 459 |
| 20 – 39 | 784 |
| 40 – 64 | 7 146 |
| 65 – 79 | 17 245 |
| ≥ 80 | 42 146 |
International migration, 2019
| Immigration | 169 573 |
| of which foreigners | 145 608 |
| Emigration | 126 221 |
| of which foreigners | 94 859 |
| Net migration | 43 352 |
| Swiss | −7 397 |
| Foreigners | 50 749 |
Internal migration 2, 2019
| Total movements | 517 734 |
2 Movements between communes. excl. movements within a given commune
Marriages, 2019
| Total | 38 974 |
| Swiss/Swiss | 18 769 |
| Swiss husband/Foreign wife | 7 831 |
| Foreign husband/Swiss wife | 6 160 |
| Foreign/Foreign | 6 214 |
| Average age at first marriage (years) | |
| Single men | 32.3 |
| Single women | 30.1 |
Divorces, 2019
| Total | 16 885 |
| with minors involved in % | 46.6 |
| Duration of marriage | |
| 0 – 4 years | 1 973 |
| 5 – 9 years | 3 924 |
| 10 – 14 years | 3 291 |
| 15 or more years | 7 697 |
| Total divorce rate 3 | 41.1 |
3 Proportion of marriages. ending in divorce sooner or later. based on the divorce rates of the year of observation
Multiple births 4, 2019
| Total | 1 448 |
| of which twin births | 1 426 |
4 Incl. children born alive and stillborn children
Foreign permanent and non permanent resident population by residence permit, 2019in ’000
| Total | 2 251.3 |
| Resident – B permit | 710.9 |
| Permanent resident – C permit | 1 356.7 |
| International officials and diplomats | 30.2 |
|
Temporary resident (L permit) |
81.6 |
| Asylum seekers – N permit | 11.7 |
| Provisionally accepted – F permit | 48.0 |
| Non-attributable | 12.1 |
Foreign population: more than half were born in Switzerland or have been resident for more than 10 years
Foreigners account for 25.3% of the permanent resident population. More than half of the residents without a Swiss passport (56.47%) have been living in Switzerland for more than 10 years or were born here. In 2019, 41 127 people (2.0% of the foreign permanent resident population) obtained Swiss citizenship. The foreign population is young: for every 100 foreigners of working age (aged 20-64) there are only 11 aged 65 and over (compared with 38 among the Swiss). 29.4% of children born in Switzerland in 2019 had foreign citizenship. In 2019 the number of immigrations fell by 0.3% compared with the previous year. 59.5% of immigrants came from EU/EFTA countries.
Diversity of household types
In 2019 only 25% of private households belonged to the household type «Couple with child(ren) under age of 25. 16% of households with at least one child under the age of 25 were one-parent families. and 6% patchwork families. These high figures are the result of a great number of divorces (16 885 in 2019). Furthermore. the proportion of non-marital births more than doubled between 2000 and 2019. from 11% to 26%.
The decision to get married and start a family is being made increasingly late in life: The age at first marriage among women rose from 24.1 (1970) to 30.1 (2019) and among men from 26.5 to 32.3 years. The average age of mothers at first birth rose from 27.8 to 32.1 years (2019).
In 2019 roughly eight in ten mothers were working - however mostly only part-time. Fathers still mainly work full-time.
Private households, 2019in ’000
| Total | 3 804.8 |
| One person household | 1 371.3 |
| Couples without children | 1 034.5 |
| Couples without child(ren) under 25 years | 932.6 |
| Lone parents with child(ren) under 25 years | 180.4 |
| Other households with several persons | 285.9 |
Main languages, 2019 1 in %
| German | 62.7 |
| French | 22.8 |
| Italian | 8.3 |
| Romansh | 0.5 |
| English | 6.5 |
| Portuguese | 3.5 |
| Albanian | 2.8 |
| Serbo-Croatian | 2.3 |
| Spanish | 2.4 |
| Turkish | 1.1 |
| Other languages | 6.3 |
1 Resident permanent population aged 15 or more and living in a private household. Several languages possible
Religious affiliation, 2019 2 in %
| Protestant | 22.5 |
| Roman Catholic | 34.4 |
| Other Christian communities | 5.7 |
| Jewish religious community | 0.2 |
| Islamic religious communities | 5.5 |
| Other churches and religious communities | 1.3 |
| No religious affiliation | 29.5 |
| Unknown | 0.8 |
2 Resident permanent population aged 15 or more and living in a private household
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