Swiss voters will take up an unprecedented proposal on Sunday: whether to limit Switzerland's population at 10 million. Since Switzerland and the EU eased restrictions on citizens living and working across their borders in 2002, the Swiss population has grown by 23%, to 9.1 million as of the end of last year. Economic output has also increased, up 24% over the same period, government data show.
A "yes" vote would require the Swiss government to take action to cap the population at 10 million by 2050. If the population reaches 9.5 million before then, it would have to enact restrictions on asylum, family reunification, and residency permits, and could be forced to scrap Switzerland's EU deal on the free movement of people altogether, reports the AP. Standout details:
- Supporters of the initiative dislike an influx of expatriates from the EU, and say Swiss infrastructure, housing, social programs, natural resources, and way of life have been strained under demographic growth.
- Critics say passage would amount to a self-inflicted wound, arguing that Switzerland benefits from closer EU ties, and gets needed labor, expertise and skills from foreigners in sectors like healthcare, finance, pharmaceuticals, and technology.
- The 38-country Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development has reported that Switzerland had a foreign-born population of 32% as of 2024. It trails only Luxembourg, where more than half of residents were foreign-born, and Australia.
- No country has ever voted to limit its population, said Philippe Wanner, an expert in demography at the University of Geneva, though countries like China have had policies to curb population growth.
- The proposal is backed by the populist Swiss People's Party, which has the most seats in parliament and has for years thrived off and fomented an isolationist streak in Switzerland. The federal government and Parliament oppose the idea.
- Recent polling from the gfs.bern agency suggested that it could be a close contest.
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