The largest immigrant groups in Switzerland are those from Germany, Italy, France, the former Yugoslavia, Albania, Portugal and Turkey, including Turks and Kurds. Between them, these six groups account for about 1.5 million people, 60% of the Swiss population with immigrant background, or close to 20% of total Swiss population.[citation needed]
The current federal law of 16 December 2005, on foreigners (the Foreign Nationals and Integration Act) came into force on January 1, 2008, replacing the Federal Act on the Residence and Establishment of Foreigners of 1934.[1]
Switzerland and Australia, with about a quarter of their population born outside the country, are the two countries with the highest proportion of immigrants in the western world, although who counts as an immigrant varies from country to country, and even between agencies within countries. Some countries naturalise immigrants easily, while others make it much more difficult, which means that such comparisons ought to be treated with caution.[2][3][4]
Switzerland also has the highest Potential Net Migration Index of any European country by a large margin, at +150% (followed by Sweden at +78%) according to a 2010 Gallup study; this means that out of an estimated 700 million potential migrants worldwide, about 12 million (150% of Swiss resident population) would name Switzerland as their most desired country of residence.[5] Residents with migration background are twice as likely to be unemployed.[6]
In the 2000s, domestic and international institutions expressed concern about what was perceived as an increase in xenophobia, particularly in some political campaigns. In reply to one critical report, the Federal Council noted that "racism unfortunately is present in Switzerland", but stated that the high proportion of foreign citizens in the country, as well as the generally unproblematic integration of foreigners, underlined Switzerland's openness.[7] Follow-up study conducted in 2018 found that 59% considered racism a serious problem in Switzerland. [8] The proportion of the population that has reported being targeted by racial discrimination has increased in recent years, from 10% in 2014 to almost 17% in 2018, according to the Federal Statistical Office.[9] More recent studies shows that full integration is "out of reach for non-European migrants" while they represent only 20% of the foreigners living in Switzerland.[10] Most affected areas are discrimination in employment, housing, education and social activities. Places where racism most often occurs are the work place, local administration, the neighborhood and district as well as the private sector.[11] In Switzerland, the Network of Counselling Centres for Victims of Racism is in charge for recording such incidents. Many racist incidents are said to go unreported.[12]
Permanent foreign residents as a percentage of the total population, 1900–2011
Industrialization and banking made Switzerland prosperous by the late 19th century and began to attract significant numbers of migrant workers. Free movement of population was established with neighbouring countries in the late 19th century, and as a consequence, there was an increase from 211,000 resident foreigners in 1880 (7.5% of total population) to 552,000 in 1910 (14.7% of total population).
There was net emigration of foreign residents during the World Wars era. The fraction of foreign residents fell to 10.4% by 1920, and to 5.1% by 1941. Immigration has picked up again after 1945. Beginning in the mid-1950s, immigration increased steeply, and the historical record of close to 15% foreigners prior to World War I was surpassed at some time during the 1960s.
Until the 1960s, the immigration policy remained largely liberal. In the 1960s, rapid economic growth in Switzerland led to a large increase in the number of foreign residents. Because of this, the Federal Council enacted a regulation to limit the number of foreigners in each company.[1][16]
In 1970, this per-company limit was replaced with a general limit for all recently arrived foreigners who were gainfully employed. In the 1970s, the number of foreigners decreased because of a period of recession. The proportion of foreigners to the total population, after growing steadily until 1974 and peaking at 16.8%, went down to 14.1% in 1979.[1]
The favorable economic climate of the 1980s brought a renewed demand for labour, which was filled by foreign workers. This led to an increase in the proportion of foreign permanent residents, from 14.8% in 1980 to 18.1% in 1990.[1] Between 1991 and 1998, the Federal Council replaced the previous system of admission with a binary system that distinguished between member states of the EU/EFTA and all other countries, which largely remains in force. With this reform, the possibility of recruiting unskilled workers from non-EU/EFTA countries was abolished, with the exception of family reunification and asylum applications.[1]
In 1996, the Federal Council established a commission on immigration (the Hug Commission) to establish a new policy on immigration. Based on its work, a second commission was established to draft a new law on immigration. In the 1990s, the proportion of foreigners continued to rise, from 18.1% to 20.9%.[1]
An agreement on the free movement of people, part of a series of bilateral agreements with the European Union, was signed on 21 June 1999 and approved on 21 May 2000 with 67.2% of the vote. The agreement on free movement entered into force on 1 June 2002. On 24 September 2006, the new law on foreigners was approved with 68% of votes in favor. The law came into force on 1 January 2008.[1] Switzerland is also a party to the Schengen and Dublin agreements. They were signed on 26 October 2004 and the collaboration actually began on 12 December 2008.[1]
In 2000, foreign permanent residents accounted for 20.9% of the population. In 2011, the percentage rose to 22.8%. In 2011, 22,551 people filed an application for asylum in Switzerland.[1] There was a net immigration of foreigners taking permanent residence in Switzerland of 83,200 in 2007, and of 103,400 in 2008. Net immigration fell moderately in 2009, to 79,000, and continued to fall to 51,190 in 2012.[17]
The admission of people from non-EU/EFTA countries is regulated by the Foreign Nationals Act, and is limited to skilled workers who are urgently required and are likely to integrate successfully in the long term. There are quotas established yearly: in 2012 it was 3,500 residency permits and 5,000 short-term permits.[18]
In 2017, 1039 deportations were issued by courts. A third (348) of the deportees were of Balkan origins, 157 were North African and 93 were from West Africa. Of the remainder, 279 were EU citizens of which 138 were Romanians, 33 were French, 32 were Italian and a dozen Germans.[19]
There have been a number of ballot proposals to restrict immigration to Switzerland, starting already in the 20th century. Many of these were either rejected by popular vote, or not implemented (e.g. the people's initiative "against foreign infiltration and overpopulation of Switzerland" or the people's initiative "for a regulation of immigration").[20] Between 1993 and 2010, 18 referendums were held on topics related to the foreign population. These were approved in eleven cases, and rejected in seven.[21] These included:
24 November 2002, the People's initiative on asylum was rejected by 50.1% of voters. The proposal asked the federal government to apply new elements of procedural law, criminal and welfare sector asylum, to make the Switzerland less attractive as a country of asylum, while respecting the obligations of international law.[20]
13 September 2004, the initiative "limitation of immigration from non-EU countries" failed because of insufficient number of signatures.[23] The initiative provided that the number of immigrants and asylum seekers in a year could not exceed the number of people emigrated the previous year.[20]
28 November 2010, the people's initiative for the deportation of criminal foreigners was accepted with 52.3% of the vote. Following the approval of the proposal, foreigners convicted of certain offenses or who were paid illegally social insurance benefits or social assistance lose the right of residence and are expelled from Switzerland.[20]
30 November 2014, Ecopop popular initiative "stop overpopulation", aiming at a cap on population growth of 0.2% p.a. This was defeated by 74% of votes.
27 September 2020, For moderate immigration popular initiative aiming to end free movement with people in the EU, which would lead to the termination of the AFMP a bilateral agreement between Switzerland and the European Union was rejected by 62%.
Demographics
In 2009, a total number of 160,600 people immigrated to Switzerland, while a total number of 86,000 people left the country, leaving a net immigration of 74,600 people. This number consists of a net number of 79,000 foreigners immigrating to Switzerland, and 4,500 Swiss citizens emigrating from Switzerland.
Net migration for the period 2005 to 2010:
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
36,200
39,400
75,500
98,200
74,600
64,900
Population growth in Switzerland is mostly due to immigration: in 2009, there have been 78,286 live births recorded (74% Swiss, 26% foreign nationalities), contrasting with 62,476 deaths (92% Swiss, 8% foreigners). Thus, of the population growth rate of 1.1% during 2009, about 0.2% are due to births, and 0.9% due to immigration.
As of 2009, a total number of 1,714,000 foreign nationals were registered as residing in Switzerland, accounting for 22.0% of total population. Of these, 1,680,000 had permanent residence (excluding exchange students, seasonal workers and asylum seekers). Of these, 354,000 were born in Switzerland. Another 522,000 had resided in Switzerland for more than 15 years. Swiss nationality law permits naturalization after a period of twelve years. 43,440 people were naturalized as Swiss citizens in 2009.
Permanent residents by nationality
In 2013 there were a total of 1,937,447 permanent residents (23.8% of the total population of 8.14 million) in Switzerland.[24][25] The majority (1.65 million, 85% of the total immigrants and 20.2% of the total population) came from Europe. The following chart shows permanent resident numbers from selected regions and countries every 5 years.
Swiss and foreign born population pyramid of Switzerland in 2021
The definition of population of immigrant background includes all persons, regardless of their nationality, whose parents were born abroad. This definition includes first- and second-generation immigrants.[26] In 2011, people of non-Swiss background made up 37.2% of the total resident population of Switzerland, with large differences between cantons.[27]
↑ Blinder, Scott (2013-06-17). "Imagined Immigration: The Impact of Different Meanings of 'Immigrants' in Public Opinion and Policy Debates in Britain". Political Studies. 63 (1): 80–100. doi:10.1111/1467-9248.12053. ISSN0032-3217. S2CID142307449.
↑ Neli Esipova, Julie Ray, and Rajesh Srinivasan, The World's Potential Migrants, Gallup, 2010. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2014-09-10. Retrieved 2014-09-10.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) Based on a poll of close to 350,000 adults in 148 countries answering the question Ideally, if you had the opportunity, would you like to move permanently to another country, or would you prefer to continue living in this country?, if answered in the affirmative followed by To which country would you like to move? [Open-ended, one response allowed.]
Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located at the confluence of Western, Central and Southern Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland is geographically divided among the Swiss Plateau, the Alps and the Jura; the Alps occupy the greater part of the territory, whereas most of the country's population of 9 million are concentrated on the plateau, which hosts the largest cities and economic centres, including Zürich, Geneva and Basel.
Switzerland had a population of 8.57 million as of mid-2019. 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.
The Australian continent was first settled when ancestors of Indigenous Australians arrived via the islands of Maritime Southeast Asia and New Guinea over 50,000 years ago.
The Federal Assembly, also known as the Swiss parliament, is Switzerland's federal legislature. It meets in Bern in the Federal Palace.
Immigration to Germany, both in the country's modern borders and the many political entities that preceded it, has occurred throughout the country's history. Today, Germany is one of the most popular destinations for immigrants in the world, with well over 1 million people moving there each year since 2013. As of 2019, around 13.7 million people living in Germany, or about 17% of the population, are first-generation immigrants.
According to the French National Institute of Statistics INSEE, the 2021 census counted nearly 7 million immigrants in France, representing 10.3% of the total population. This is a decrease from INSEE statistics in 2018 in which there were 9 million immigrants in France, which at the time represented 14% of the country's total population.
Immigration to Europe has a long history, but increased substantially after World War II. Western European countries, especially, saw high growth in immigration post 1945, and many European nations today have sizeable immigrant populations, both of European and non-European origin. In contemporary globalization, migrations to Europe have accelerated in speed and scale. Over the last decades, there has been an increase in negative attitudes towards immigration, and many studies have emphasized marked differences in the strength of anti-immigrant attitudes among European countries.
The Southern Africa region experiences a relatively high influx of immigration into South Africa. As of 2019, the immigration rate is continuing to increase, and the role of the female population of migrants is significantly growing in this movement and settlement. The majority of immigrants are working residents and influence the presence of several sectors in South Africa. The demographic background of this group is diverse, and the countries of origin mainly belong to Sub-Saharan Africa and push migration south. A portion have qualified as refugees since the 1990s.
In 2017, Norway's immigrant population consisted of 883,751 people, making up 16.8% of the country's total population. Of this number, 724,987 are foreign-born, while 158,764 are Norwegian-born with foreign-born parents. The ten most common countries of origin of immigrants residing in Norway are Poland (97,197), Lithuania (37,638), Sweden (36,315), Somalia (28,696), Germany (24,601), Iraq (22,493), Syria (20,823), Philippines (20,537), Pakistan (19,973) and Eritrea (19,957). The immigrant population comprises people from a total of 221 countries and autonomous regions, but 25% of the immigrants are from one of four migrant groups: Polish, Lithuanians, Swedes and Somalis.
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.
African immigrants to Switzerland include Swiss residents, both Swiss citizens and foreign nationals, who have migrated to Switzerland from Africa. The number has quintupled over the period of 1980 to 2007, with an average growth rate of 6% per annum. According to official Swiss population statistics, 73,553 foreigners with African nationality lived in Switzerland as of 2009. Since the census records nationality, not ethnic origin, there is no official estimate of the number of naturalized Swiss citizens from Africa.
Twelve national referendums were held in Switzerland during 2014.
In Switzerland, the federal popular initiative "against mass immigration" was a referendum that aimed to limit immigration through quotas, as it had been prior to the bilateral treaties between Switzerland and the European Union (EU) launched in 2002.
According to the Japanese Ministry of Justice, the number of foreign residents in Japan has steadily increased in the post Second World War period, and the number of foreign residents was more than 2.76 million at the end of 2022. Being a country with a total estimated population of 125.57 million in 2020, the resident foreign population in Japan amounts to approximately 2.29% of the total population.
This article delineates the issue of immigration in different countries.
Denmark has seen an increase in immigration over the past 30 years, with a large part of the immigrants originating from non-Western countries. As of 2014, more than 8 percent of the population of Denmark consists of immigrants. As of Q2 of 2022, the population of immigrants is 652,495, excluding Danish born descendants of immigrants to Denmark. This shift in demographics has posed challenges to the nation as it attempts to address cultural and religious differences, labour shortages, employment gaps, education of immigrants and their descendants, spatial segregation, crime rates and language abilities.
The environmental movement in Switzerland is represented by a wide range of associations.
Several federal referendums were held in Switzerland in 2019, with votes taking place on 10 February and 19 May. Federal parliamentary elections were held on 20 October, which led the Swiss Federal Council to postpone the November round of voting until 2020.
The Federal Act on Foreign Nationals and Integration (FNIA) (German: Ausländer- und Integrationsgesetz (AIG), French: Loi fédérale sur les étrangers et l’intégration (LEI), Italian: Legge federale sugli stranieri e la loro integrazione (LStrI)), previously known as Foreign Nationals Act (FNA) until 1 January 2019, is a Swiss federal law that regulates the immigration, residence and integration of foreign nationals in Switzerland. It was adopted on 16 December 2005 by the Federal Assembly and came into force on 1 January 2008. It replaces the Federal Act on the Residence and Settlement of Foreigners from 1934.
Switzerland employs mandatory referendums as a tool of direct democracy.
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