The Swiss abroad live mainly in Europe
Published: Thursday, Mar 28th 2024, 11:10
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Switzerland is a nation of emigrants. This is the conclusion drawn by the statistics on the Swiss abroad. The Swiss community abroad grew by 1.7 percent in 2023. Almost two thirds of them lived in Europe.
On December 31, 2023, 813,400 Swiss nationals were registered with a representation abroad, as reported by the Federal Statistical Office (FSO) on Thursday. In 2022, the Swiss population abroad had still grown by 1.5 percent.
The emigrant community grew most strongly in Asia at 3.1 percent, followed by Europe (1.9 percent), Oceania (1.2 percent), North America (1 percent) and Latin America and the Caribbean (0.4 percent). Only in Africa did it fall by 0.2 percent.
The FSO attributes this development only partly to migration movements. The difference between births and deaths and naturalizations also contributed. Three quarters of Swiss nationals abroad have multiple citizenships.
Portugal with strongest growth
520,700 of the Swiss abroad, or 64 percent, lived in Europe and around a quarter (209,300) in France. This was followed by Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom and Spain. Compared to 2022, the expatriate community grew in these five countries, with the strongest growth of 2.7% in Spain.
At 6900, comparatively few Swiss nationals were living in Portugal. However, their number rose by 13.9 percent year-on-year, the highest increase in Europe.
There were 292,700 Swiss nationals living on other continents. 16 percent of them were resident in North America, 7 percent in Latin America and the Caribbean, 7 percent in Asia, 4 percent in Oceania and 1 percent in Africa.
One tenth of all Swiss nationals living abroad lived in the USA alone. 58 percent of them were of working age. In Latin America, most Swiss nationals are to be found in Argentina.
Israel number one in Asia
In Asia, the largest Swiss diaspora lived in Israel, accounting for 3% of all Swiss abroad. This was followed by Thailand and the Philippines. The highest proportion of Swiss nationals under the age of 18 was in Israel at 46% (21% overall).
In Oceania, the expatriate community is concentrated in Australia. In Africa, the majority live in South Africa. There, the proportion of over-65s (32%) is significantly higher than for all Swiss living abroad (23%).
The proportion of pensioners was even higher in Thailand (41%) and Portugal (34%). Spain drew level at 32%. Thailand recorded growth of 8.2 percent. Among all Swiss nationals living abroad, the ratio of men to women was 86 to 100.
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