The Swiss say they feel healthier than their European neighbors. Considering their impressive longevity and high quality of life, the report should come as no surprise.

Across all European populations, the Swiss say they feel the healthiest, according to a new Europe-wide report by the Federal Statistical Office (FSO).

The report is based on a coordinated survey that is carried out annually in more than 30 countries. In Switzerland, the survey is based on interviews with 8,500 households and more than 18,000 residents.

Only 3.9% of Swiss say their state of health is “rather bad or bad,” according to the report. Meanwhile, nearly 9% of the rest of Europe says their health is “rather bad or bad.” In addition, nearly 75% of the Swiss population say they feel happy “most or all of the time” with only 5.9% of the population reporting feeling happy rarely.

Many factors could contribute to Switzerland’s good outcomes such as education and economic stability, according to researchers. Let’s review the most-compelling reasons why Switzerland is consistently considered one of the healthiest nations in the world.

Economic stability

FSO researchers say that income and economic stability is one of the greatest predictors of health across Europe.

Among Swiss in the lowest income bracket, about 8.4% reported that their health was poor – a dramatic increase over the 3.9% average. Moreover, only 1.2% of Swiss in the highest income bracket reported that their health was “rather bad or bad,” according to the report.

According to Credit Suisse’s 2022 Global Wealth Report, the country is currently the seventh wealthiest nation in the world. And Switzerland has consistently been at the top of those rankings, as its economy has been one of the most stable in the world with little fluctuation, comparatively.  

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The average Swiss resident has about $700,000 to their name, and nearly 20% of Swiss adults are worth more than one million U.S. dollars. Switzerland is also home to the most millionaires per capita in the world, according to the wealth report.

Longevity

Switzerland has the best longevity rate in Europe; and for men, Switzerland has the best longevity rate in the world.

Earlier this year, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) announced that boys born in Switzerland in 2021 have the highest life expectancy rate among all men.

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“A boy born in our country in 2021 will have the highest possible life expectancy at 81.9 years, just ahead of Icelanders, Norwegians and Japanese,” University of Fribourg sociologist Stéphane Cullati said. While baby girls born in Switzerland in 2021 are expected to live more than 85 years, they stand in fourth place behind Japan, South Korea and Spain.

The Alpine nation is also known as the “land of centenarians” among longevity researchers – and the number of 100-year-olds only increases exponentially every year. In 1990, there were close to 400 centenarians in Switzerland; in 2000, there were nearly 800. Today, close to 2,000 100-year-olds live in Switzerland, with about 75% of them being women (for reference, Switzerland’s population is 8.7 million.).

“According to some demographic estimates, one out of every two children born in Switzerland after the year 2000 will become a centenarian,” SWISS100 researcher Daniela Jopp said.

Education

According to the FSO report, Switzerland’s exemplary education system is also a major factor in perceived health.

To illustrate, Swiss residents with only compulsory education certificates (about 12% of those surveyed) were twice as likely to report their health as “rather bad or bad” compared to Swiss with the highest level of education possible (about 6% of those surveyed).

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SWISS100 researchers believe that college-educated Swiss may have more access to medical literature and advice, as they “are more aware of prevention campaigns, are more concerned about their health and consult doctors more regularly.”

Swiss university graduates live longer and healthier lives compared to their counterparts who only finish compulsory education, according to SWISS100 researcher Cullati.

“The difference is significant, especially for men,” Cullati said, adding that in 1994 “the gap between the two was 7.6 years. Now, graduates will live for 8.8 years longer and in good health.”

Unsurprisingly, Switzerland is considered the #1 nation for educated populations on U.S. News & World Report‘s most recent Best Countries Ranking (Switzerland also took home the #1 overall ranking on that report).

Obesity

Thanks to one of the healthiest diets in the world and a culture that embraces exercise, Switzerland has historically ranked among the lowest obesity rates in Europe. And Swiss women have the lowest obesity rates among all European women.

Unfortunately, the Swiss have not been immune to the trend of growing waistlines.

In a report published this month, the World Obesity Federation forecasted that 37% of Switzerland’s adult population could be obese by 2035. Men are expected to be hardest hit, with their obesity rate set to rise to 45% by 2035, while the rate among women is expected to rise to 30%.

Despite the alarming Swiss trend, more than half of all EU residents are already considered overweight. Moreover, at least 16% of Europe is considered obese.

Among Swiss children, 7% of boys and 4.6% of girls are obese. In Germany, those figures are 11% and 7%, and in the U.S., an astonishing 23.3% of boys and 19.5% of girls are obese, according to a 2017 report.

“Countless factors have an influence on being overweight or obese,” Adrien Kay, spokesman for the Federal Health Office, told Swissinfo.ch. “We can influence some of them, for example, a lack of exercise or not eating a balanced diet. Then there are factors connected to one’s environment, such as where you work, infrastructure, mobility, and the food industry.”

While genetics certainly play a role in determining one’s BMI, experts say eating a nutritious diet and exercising like walking are essential to battling obesity — Swiss people walk an average of 10,000 steps a day.

Zoltan Pataky, an obesity specialist at Geneva’s HUG hospital, told RTS that the population is becoming more aware of the problem. He said his profession is seeing a growing number of people with weight problems approaching them for help. People are starting to understand that obesity excess weight is a real health issue.

Reports from the Swiss Obesity Alliance are also positive. They report that cantons’ obesity prevention programs, which have been in place over the past ten years, are showing good results. Campaigns promoting healthier diets and physical activity are reaching more children, and eating behaviors have improved.

Swiss health officials say they are committed to reversing this trend and maintaining Switzerland’s longstanding commitment to health for years to come.

This article contains original reporting by Catherine Ebneter. It may be freely shared and re-printed, provided that it prominently links back to the original article.