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Immigration has become the major driver of population growth and change in Western European societies, including Switzerland.

In the 157 Swiss municipalities with more than 10,000 inhabitants, international migration accounted for two thirds (63%) of all entry or exit flows in population registers (including births and deaths) in 2017.

This means that without international migration, the population in major Swiss municipalities would have declined: The population grew by almost 250,000 people or by 6.3% between 2011 and 2017 in these 157 communes, whereby 8 out of 10 of the new residents in 2017 were international migrants. However, without the positive international migration balance (258,312 people), these municipalities would have lost 17,875 inhabitants which, in relative terms, would have meant a decrease of the population by 0.47% in 2017 compared to 2011.

This applies particularly to the Swiss municipalities with more than 35,000 inhabitants, which (with the exceptions of Thun, Bellinzona, Zurich and Köniz), would have faced a population decrease. Without the contribution of international migration, Montreux would have reported a population decline by 15%, followed by Geneva (-9%), Neuchâtel (-8.4%) and Lugano (-6.6%) between 2011 and 2017.

How many migrants settle in Switzerland?

Where in Switzerland do newcomers settle?

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Definitions

Population growth: Outcome of the natural balance (births and deaths among the population) plus the migratory balance (people moving to or out of the municipalities).

Migratory balance: Divided here into international migration balance (international migration to and from the municipalities) and internal migration balance (movements from one Swiss municipality to another).

Altogether, population growth in each municipality consists of the sum of the natural balance + international migration balance + internal migration balance.

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Source: Swiss Federal Statistical Office STATPOP (2011-2017)

Note on the methodology: This indicator evaluates population growth between 2011 and 2017 in Swiss municipalities with more than 10,000 inhabitants in 2017 (157 communes). The population living in these municipalities (around 4 million people) represents almost half (47%) of the total population (8.5 million people) living in Switzerland.

Terms of use: The Migration-Mobility Indicators are made available free of charge for non-commercial use. We ask the users to acknowledge the source.

Suggested citation: nccr – on the move, Migration-Mobility Indicators. Neuchâtel: nccr – on the move, 2019.

For more information about the data sets used, please click here.

Last update: 5 September 2019