Switzerland

DEMOGRAPHICS

Total Asylum Applicants

In 2019, 2,722,000 people, or just under 38%, of the permanent resident population aged 15 and over had a migration background.

*Data source: State Secretariat for Migration Overview (Staatssejretaruat für Migration SEM)

Total Settlements

Switzerland ranks between the UK and Canada for the number of refugees granted legal asylum.

*Data source: State Secretariat for Migration Overview (Staatssejretaruat für Migration SEM)

DIVERSITY CONTRIBUTIONS

Numbers from Asylum applicants and temporary admission granted.

*Data source: European Council on Refugee & Exiles

Languages Spoken

English
Spanish
Portuguese
Bosnian
Pashto & Dari
Turkish

40.8% of the incoming populations speak English and 70% speak one of the three languages spoken in Switzerland (German, French, or Italian.

*Data source: Federal Statistics Office

70%

Speak Host Country's Language

40.8% of refugees speak English.

ECONOMIC CONTRIBUTIONS

Top 4 Fields of Labor*

Academic Professions

26%

Service Occupations or Sales

16%

Equipment and Machinery Operations

12%

Auxiliary Workers

10%

*Shown as a % of immigrants in the field of labor.

**Data source: Swiss Labor Statistics

1st Generation Immigrant Unemployment

2nd Generation Immigrant Unemployment

SOCIO-FAMILIAL CONTRIBUTION

Unaccompanied Children Released to Sponsors

*Data source: Stastik - Switzerland

45%

Asylum Applications submitted by Minors

*Data source: Save the Children

93%

Children Accompanied by Family

Hamed, an Afghan currently living in Switzerland — After fleeing Afghanistan. spending years in refugee camps, and being separated for periods of time, Hamed and his family were finally able to restart a new life together in Switzerland. "I didn’t come to Switzerland in order to just eat or sleep or be dependent on charity organizations or on the government. No. I’m educated. I can learn the language quickly. I can find a job, and I will pay my taxes and make a real life and a real contribution here."

January 9, 2021

Breaking Down Walls

“You don’t know, what you don’t know, ... If you never get in touch with someone new, you don’t learn anything. Every culture has developed really beautiful parts. Hopefully, by coming to a safe place, people can let the wall down and share their beautiful parts with the rest of us.”

More blog posts

Partners

Gemeinde Bonstetten

Volunteers

Darien Laird

Community Programs Coordinator, Switzerland

Darien is passionate about storytelling and made it her career. She has a BA in Broadcast Journalism and an MA in International Affairs. Her opportunities to report and tell stories have taken her from Cape Verde, Guatemala, Mexico, Spain, across the United States from Washington D.C. to Seattle, and now Switzerland. Darien is a mother of four children, all of whom are deeply rooted in the Swiss way of life and love it! When she is not telling stories to the world or her children, she is busy teaching dance classes or hiking in the Swiss Alps.