Immigration from the former Yugoslavia to Switzerland

Last updated

A significant wave of immigration from the former Yugoslavia to Switzerland occurred during the 1990s and 2000s. While moderate numbers of Yugoslav citizens had residence in Switzerland during the 1980s, the bulk of immigration took place as a consequence of the Yugoslav Wars and by family reunion of those who had immigrated during this period.

Contents

About half a million immigrants from the former Yugoslavia lived in Switzerland as of 2009, corresponding to roughly 6.5% of total Swiss population.[ citation needed ] About half of this number are Albanians, while the other half is of South Slavic origin.

Taken as a single group, people from former Yugoslavia are the largest immigrant group in Switzerland, followed by the Italians at about 294,000. From the ethnic perspective, Albanians form the second largest immigrant group.

Demographics

Since the Swiss Federal Statistical Office keeps a record of the nationalities of foreign residents, their ethnicity is not recorded. In the case of former Yugoslavia, where ethnic conflict was the reason for the war and the breakup of the country, this had the consequence that there were several, sometimes mutually hostile, ethnic groups living in Switzerland, all registered under the same nationality.

History

In 1920, 1,235 citizens of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes had residence in Switzerland. This number dropped to below 700 during World War II. After the end of the war and the formation of Democratic Federal Yugoslavia, the number grew slowly, to 1,169 in 1960. During the 1960s to 1970s, immigration began to pick up noticeably with the influx of migrant workers, with 24,971 Yugoslav citizens registered in 1970 and 60,916 in 1980. With the collapse of Yugoslavia, immigration increased steeply, with 172,777 Yugoslavs registered in Switzerland by 1990. Immigration accelerated still more during the Yugoslav Wars. In 1995, there were more than 330,000 foreigners from former Yugoslavia residing in Switzerland, partly still registered with Yugoslavian nationality, partly under the nationality of Yugoslavia's successor states. [1]

Registration under the successor states of Yugoslavia began gradually after 1992, but the problem remained unresolved until the year 2000. In 1998, there were still 198,131 foreign residents registered as "Yugoslavian". This number fell to 5,507 by 2000 and to zero by 2001.[ citation needed ]

The same problem was repeated on a smaller scale with the breakaway of Montenegro from the state of Serbia and Montenegro, and Kosovo from Serbia in 2006 and 2008, respectively. The statistics for 2011 record an increase by 8,922 in the number of citizens of Kosovo, and at the same time a decrease by 10,386 in the number of citizens of Serbia. This does not reflect any real population movement, but the registrations as citizens of Kosovo by Albanians who were formerly registered as Serbian citizens. [2]

Current demographics

As of 2009, nationals of successor states of Yugoslavia are registered as follows:

By 1995, there were 40,000 Macedonian citizens in Switzerland. This number has risen further to 61,000 by 2002. This increase does not necessarily reflect immigration, but rather re-registration of formerly Yugoslav citizens as Macedonian nationals. An estimated 50,000 emigrants from North Macedonia are Albanians from North Macedonia. [3] [ unreliable source? ]

Since Kosovo began to issue passports in 2009, an increasing number of Albanians in Switzerland have since been registered as citizens of Kosovo.[ citation needed ]

The number of foreign residents from former Yugoslavia naturalized as Swiss citizens in 2009 was at 14,780 (Serbia, Montenegro and Kosovo: 8,879; Bosnia and Herzegovina: 2,408; North Macedonia: 1,831; Croatia: 1,599; Slovenia: 63). This corresponds to one third of the total number of naturalizations during this year.[ citation needed ]

In 2010, out of a total of 40,403 naturalizations, 13,440 were accounted for by citizens of successor states of Yugoslavia, again corresponding to one third of the total number (Serbia: 6,843, Bosnia and Herzegovina: 1,924; Kosovo 1,609; North Macedonia: 1,585; Croatia: 1,479).[ citation needed ]

Ethnicities

In terms of ethnicity, these populations consist mostly of Albanians, Bosniaks, Serbs, Croats and Macedonians. The size of each group is unknown and only amenable to rough estimates. An indicator of ethnicity can be taken from data on languages spoken in Switzerland. Unfortunately, the latest data on this was collected in the 2000 census. At that time, there were 103,000 native speakers of Serbo-Croatian, 95,000 speakers of Albanian and 61,300 speakers of Macedonian.

Estimates on the actual ethnic composition of former Yugoslav immigrants in Switzerland are mostly left to ethnic cultural organizations. They cannot be expected to have better than single-digit accuracy, but nevertheless give an overview of the general situation; such estimates[ clarification needed ] amount to roughly 250,000 Albanians, [4] [ unreliable source? ] [5] [ unreliable source? ] 150,000 Serbs, 80,000 Croats and 10,000 Macedonians. [6] The number of Slovenians in Switzerland is much smaller, well within the four-digit range.

The Albanians in Switzerland consist mostly of Kosovo Albanians and Albanians from North Macedonia and a smaller number of Albanians from Serbia and Albania.[ citation needed ]

Cultural organizations

Macedonians in Switzerland are organized through many associations and clubs. The first such association was formed in 1988, and by 1991 there were five Macedonian clubs, now all part of one single organization called Združenie na Makedonskite Društva (ZMD), which was formed in 1992. The main purpose of this organisation was to encourage and spread Macedonian ideals, culture, language, and tradition. [7]

Reception

The reception and integration varies. The Albanians have been singled out for their particularly poor image. [8] As the largest group, they tend to be the most visible, besides the factor of prejudice against Islam, and the perceived link between immigration and crime. In a 2010 statistic, young males of the former Serbia and Montenegro (which to a large extent corresponds to the Kosovo Albanians in Switzerland) were found to have a crime rate of 310% of the young males in Swiss population, while those from Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Macedonia had crime rates of 230%–240% of the Swiss value.[ better source needed ] It has been pointed out that the crime rates cannot be the only reason for the group's poor image, as the crime rate of the Sri Lankans in Switzerland was still higher, at 470%, while that group has a much better reputation. [9]

Notable people

Historical

Immigrants from the historical Republic of Yugoslavia prior to its disintegration (1943–1990) and its predecessor states (until 1918 part of Austria-Hungary):

Sports

More recent Swiss celebrities of Former Yugoslav origin are found mostly in sports, especially football. Examples include:

To a lesser extent, the group is represented in other sports, e.g. Goran Bezina (hockey); Petar Majstorovic, Xhavit Bajrami and Azem Maksutaj (kickboxing); Nuri Seferi (boxing).

Pop culture

Swiss singer Patrick Nuo is of mixed Albanian and Swiss descent. Nuo has created 3 albums (one with Warner Music Group). [10] [ unreliable source? ] [11] [ unreliable source? ] Edita Abdieski is a Swiss singer-songwriter of Albanian descent (born in Switzerland in 1984 to a North Macedonia Albanian father and a Montenegrin Albanian mother), known as the winner of the debut series of the German X Factor show.

Politicians and businesspeople
Notable felons

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yugoslavia</span> 1918–1992 country in Southeast Europe

Yugoslavia was a socialist federation in Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 to 1992.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Foreign relations of Serbia and Montenegro</span> Overview of Serbia and Montenegros foreign relations

Since the breakup of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in the early 1990s, the foreign policy of the newly established Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was characterized primarily by a desire to secure its political and geopolitical position and the solidarity with ethnic Serbs in other former Yugoslav republics through a strong nationalist campaign. While the country was involved in Yugoslav Wars and therefore exposed to several rounds of devastating sanctions against Yugoslavia this involvement was often denied for political or ideological reasons. In the initial period Federal Republic of Yugoslavia unsuccessfully aspired to gain international recognition as the sole legal successor state to SFR Yugoslavia, the country which was one of the most prominent foreign policy subjects during the Cold War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yugoslav Wars</span> 1991–2001 series of wars in the Balkans

The Yugoslav Wars were a series of separate but related ethnic conflicts, wars of independence, and insurgencies that took place in the SFR Yugoslavia from 1991 to 2001. The conflicts both led up to and resulted from the breakup of Yugoslavia, which began in mid-1991, into six independent countries matching the six entities known as republics that had previously constituted Yugoslavia: Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia, and Macedonia. SFR Yugoslavia's constituent republics declared independence due to unresolved tensions between ethnic minorities in the new countries, which fuelled the wars. While most of the conflicts ended through peace accords that involved full international recognition of new states, they resulted in a massive number of deaths as well as severe economic damage to the region.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Demographics of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia</span> Yugoslavia demographics for 1945 to 1991

Demographics of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, during its existence from 1945 until 1991, include population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects. During its last census in 1991, Yugoslavia enumerated 23,528,230 people. Serbs had a plurality, followed by Croats, Bosniaks, Albanians, Slovenes and Macedonians.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Breakup of Yugoslavia</span> 1991–92 Balkan political conflict

After a period of political and economic crisis in the 1980s, constituent republics of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia split apart, but the unresolved issues caused a series of inter-ethnic Yugoslav Wars. The wars primarily affected Bosnia and Herzegovina, neighbouring parts of Croatia and, some years later, Kosovo.

Serbianisation or Serbianization, also known as Serbification, and Serbisation or Serbization is the spread of Serbian culture, people, and language, either by social integration or by cultural or forced assimilation.

Languages of Yugoslavia are all languages spoken in former Yugoslavia. They are mainly Indo-European languages and dialects, namely dominant South Slavic varieties as well as Albanian, Aromanian, Czech, German, Italian, Venetian, Balkan Romani, Romanian, Pannonian Rusyn, Slovak and Ukrainian languages. There are also pockets where varieties of non-Indo-European languages, such as those of Hungarian and Turkish, are spoken.

The Yugoslav Wars were a series of armed conflicts on the territory of the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY) that took place between 1991 and 2001. This article is a timeline of relevant events preceding, during, and after the wars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bosniaks of Serbia</span> Ethnic group in southern Europe

Bosniaks of Serbia are a recognized national minority in Serbia. According to the 2022 census, the population of ethnic Bosniaks in Serbia is 153,801, constituting 2.3% of the total population, which makes them the third-largest ethnic group in the country. The vast majority of them live in the southwestern part of the country that borders Montenegro and Kosovo, called Sandžak. Their cultural center is located in Novi Pazar.

The Albanian diaspora are the ethnic Albanians and their descendants living outside of Albania, Kosovo, southeastern Montenegro, western North Macedonia, southeastern Serbia, northwestern Greece and Southern Italy.

The Albanians in Germany refers to the Albanian migrants in Germany and their descendants. They mostly trace their origins to Albania, Kosovo and to a lesser extent to North Macedonia and other Albanian-speaking territories in the Balkan Peninsula. Their exact number is difficult to determine as some ethnic Albanians hold German, Macedonian, Serbian or another Former Yugoslavian citizenship.

The Albanians in Switzerland are Albanian migrants in Switzerland and their descendants. They mostly trace their origins to Kosovo, North Macedonia and to a lesser extent to Albania and other Albanian-speaking territories in the Balkan Peninsula. Their exact number is difficult to determine as some ethnic Albanians hold citizenship of North Macedonia, Serbia or other former Yugoslav countries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anti-Albanian sentiment</span> Racism towards Albanians as an ethnic group

Anti-Albanian sentiment or Albanophobia is discrimination and prejudice towards Albanians as an ethnic group, described primarily in countries with a large Albanian population as immigrants, seen throughout Europe.

Montenegrins refers to South Slavic people associated with Montenegro.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Slobodan Milošević</span> Yugoslav–Serbian politician (1941–2006)

Slobodan Milošević was a Serbian–Yugoslav politician who was the president of Serbia from 1989 to 1997 and president of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from 1997 until his оverthrow in 2000. Formerly a high-ranking member of the League of Communists of Serbia (SKS) during the 1980s, he led the Socialist Party of Serbia from its foundation in 1990 until his death in 2006. Milošević played a major role in the Yugoslav Wars. During his reign, numerous anti-government and anti-war protests took place, and hundreds of thousands deserted the Milošević-controlled Yugoslav People's Army, leading to mass emigration from Serbia. During the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia in 1999, Milošević was charged by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) for war crimes in connection with the Bosnian War, the Croatian War of Independence, and the Kosovo War. He became the first sitting head of state to be charged with war crimes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Serbia in the Yugoslav Wars</span>

Serbia was involved in the Yugoslav Wars, which took place between 1991 and 1999—the war in Slovenia, the war in Croatia, the war in Bosnia, and Kosovo. From 1991 to 1997, Slobodan Milošević was the President of Serbia. Serbia was part of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY). The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) has established that Milošević was in control of Serb forces in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia during the wars which were fought there from 1991 to 1995.

Humanitarian Law Center (HLC) is the Serbian non-governmental organisation with offices in Belgrade, Serbia, and Pristina, Kosovo. It was founded in 1992 by Nataša Kandić to document human rights violations across the former Yugoslavia in armed conflicts in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and, later, Kosovo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">League of Communists of Kosovo</span> Political party in Kosovo

The League of Communists of Kosovo was the Kosovo branch of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia, the sole legal party of Yugoslavia from 1945 to 1990.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Demographics of Kosovo</span>

The Kosovo Agency of Statistics monitors various demographic features of the population of Kosovo, such as population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population. Censuses, normally conducted at ten-year intervals, record the demographic characteristics of the population. According to the first census conducted after the 2008 declaration of independence in 2011, the permanent population of Kosovo had reached 1,810,366.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yugoslav Canadians</span>

Yugoslav Canadians are Canadians of full or partial Yugoslav ancestry. At the 2016 Census, the total number of Canadians whose origins lie in former Yugoslavia, majority of whom indicated specific ethnic origin, was 386,340 or 1.12% of the total population.

References

  1. ↑ Wohnbevölkerung nach Geschlecht und detaillierter Staatsangehörigkeit, 1850–2009 Archived 16 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine , Swiss Federal Statistical Office.
  2. ↑ Zuwanderung: Wer woher kam, Tages-Anzeiger, 21 February 2012.
  3. ↑ The Albanian fund-raising machine (2001 estimate reported by BBC)
  4. ↑ Die Albaner in der Schweiz: Geschichtliches – Albaner in der Schweiz seit 1431 Archived 7 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ↑ Im Namen aller Albaner eine Moschee? Archived 10 December 2012 at archive.today
  6. ↑ Boskovska (2000), p. 2648.
  7. ↑ "History of ZMD". zmd.ch. Archived from the original on 7 July 2011. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
  8. ↑ Burri Shurani et al. (2010), 41-42, 67-70.
  9. ↑ Neue Statistik: Tamilen sind krimineller als Ex-Jugoslawen, Tages-Anzeiger 12 September 2010.
  10. ↑ "Patrick Nuo Lounge". Nuo Foren City. Archived from the original on 5 January 2006.
  11. ↑ "News". Archived from the original on 4 June 2007.
  12. ↑ "Institute for War and Peace Reporting". Institute for War and Peace Reporting. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
  13. ↑ Showdown im Ried, NZZ Folio 05/96. Blick, 25 March 2010.
  14. ↑ Jendreyko, Vadim (director); Kuty, Stéphane (camera); Barthelmes, Raimund (editor) (2001). Bashkim – Schlag auf Schlag. Goditje pas goditje.
  15. ↑ "14 Jahre Freiheitsstrafe für Bashkim Berisha" [14-year prison sentence for Bashkim Berisha]. Neue Zürcher Zeitung (in German). 20 August 2009. Archived from the original on 14 February 2012.
  16. ↑ Ungeklärter Tod des Lehrermörders, NZZ, 19 November 2010.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.