Population by migration status

In international discussions on immigration and integration, the term population with a migration background is used with growing frequency. This concept is increasingly used to replace the simple distinction between citizens (or nationals) and foreign citizens (or non-nationals), which does not take into account whether individuals are themselves immigrants or have an indirect connection to migration through their parents' migration experiences.

The "population with a migration background" as defined by the FSO includes all foreign nationals, naturalised Swiss citizens, except for those born in Switzerland and whose parents were both born in Switzerland, as well as Swiss citizens at birth whose parents were both born abroad.

Typology of the population by migration status

As in many other countries and on the basis of UN international recommendations the FSO has drawn up a typology of the population by migration status for Switzerland. 

A person's migration status is defined by combining the following variables: the "country of birth", the "nationality at birth" and the "current nationality" of the reference person, as well as the variables "country of birth" of both parents.

Typology of population by migration status

Place of birth	Nationality	Place of birth of the parents
		2 in Switzerland	1 in Switzerland and 1 abroad	2 abroad
Swiss	Swiss at birth	o	o	II
	Swiss by naturalization	o	II	II
	Foreigner	o	II	II
Foreigner	Swiss at birth	o	o	I
	Swiss by naturalization	I	I	I
	Foreigner	I	I	I

I Population with a migration background, 1st generation
II Population with a migration background, 2nd generation
o Population without a migration background

Key figures on persons aged 15 and over

The Swiss Labour Force Survey (SLFS) makes it possible to identify the population with a migration background and to reconstruct the different sub-groups.

Permanent resident population aged 15 or over, by migration status, 2017

	In thousand	In %
Total	7 116	100.0
Population without a migration background	4 402	61.9
Swiss citizens	4 396	61.8
of whom naturalised (3rd generation or higher)	20	0.3
Persons with a foreign citizenship (3rd generation or higher)	6	0.1
Population with a migration background	2 647	37.2
Swiss citizens	958	13.5
of whom naturalised	863	12.1
Persons with a foreign citizenship	1 689	23.7
1st generation	2 134	30.0
Swiss citizens	612	8.6
of whom naturalised	591	8.3
Persons with a foreign citizenship	1 522	21.4
2nd generation	513	7.2
Swiss citizens	347	4.9
of whom naturalised	272	3.8
Persons with a foreign citizenship	166	2.3
Population for whom some relevant data are unavailable	67	0.9

Sources: FSO, Swiss Labour Force Survey (SLFS)

In 2017, 37.2% of the permanent resident population has a migration background (2,647,000). More than a third of this population (958,000) has Swiss nationality. Four-fifths of the persons with a migration background belong to the 1st generation (2,134,000). The remaining fifth was born in Switzerland and is thus part of the 2nd generation (513,000). These are 2nd generation foreign nationals, Swiss-born and naturalised persons.

The population without a migration background comprises mostly Swiss-born (almost 100% of this sub-group), but also naturalised persons (0.5%) and foreign nationals from the 3rd or a higher generation (0.1%).

With the exception of Swiss-born persons who have at least one parent born in Switzerland, all persons born abroad are considered as belonging to the 1st generation of persons with a migration background (more than 2.1 million in the population aged 15 and over in 2016).

This group is composed of:

• foreign nationals born abroad (comprising slightly more than 70% of the group: 1,522,000);
• Swiss-born persons born abroad and whose parents were both born abroad (21,000);
• foreign-born naturalised persons (591,000).

The 2nd generation, i.e. persons with a migration background born in Switzerland (513,000 individuals), is composed of naturalised persons (53%), foreign nationals with at least one parent born abroad (32%) and Swiss-born persons whose parents were both born abroad (15%).

Population growth over time

Permanent resident population aged 15 and over by migration status, in thousand, 2013-2017

	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017
Total	6829	6915	6995	7062	7116
Population without a migration background	4380	4395	4400	4393	4402
Population with a migration background	2390	2463	2528	2602	2647
1st generation	1921	1990	2042	2104	2134
2nd generation	469	473	486	498	513
Persons for whom some relevant data are unavailable	59	57	67	68	67

Permanent resident population aged 15 and over by migration status, in %, 2013-2017

	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017
Total	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0
Population without a migration background	64.1	63.6	62.9	62.2	61.9
Population with a migration background	35.0	35.6	36.1	36.8	37.2
1st generation	27.8	28.8	29.2	29.8	30.0
2nd generation	6.9	6.9	6.9	7.1	7.2
Persons for whom some relevant data are unavailable	0.9	0.8	1.0	1.0	0.9

Sources: FSO, Swiss Labour Force Survey (SLFS)

Using data from the Swiss Labour Force Survey (SLFS), the tables show the change in each population sub-group by migration status since 2013.

Between 2013 and 2017, the permanent resident population aged 15 and over increased in all groups. The increase was more pronounced in the population with a migration background (+10.8%) than in the population without a migration background (+0.5%).

In 2017, 61.9% of the Swiss permanent resident population aged 15 or over had no migration background. In comparison with 2016, this is a decrease of 0.3 percentage point.

An analysis of the generation status shows that the 1st generation has increased less (+ 1.4% compared with 2016) than the 2nd generation (+3.0%). The analysis of the nationality reveals that 80% of the growth in the number of persons with a migration background is attributable to citizens of EU28 and EFTA member states and to Swiss nationals (+36,000). The rise was less distinct for nationals of other European countries and elsewhere in the world (+10,000).

By nationality

A breakdown of the population with a migration background by nationality shows that the most represented nationality is Swiss, corresponding to over a third of this population. The proportion of women with Swiss nationality is greater than that of men (40% and 32% respectively). The second most represented nationality among men is Italian. The second most represented nationality among women is German. The reverse holds true for the third position, with German nationality for men and Italian nationality for women. Portuguese nationality holds the fourth place for both sexes in the population with a migration background, followed by French nationality.

In the 1st generation, slightly less than half are citizens of EU28 and EFTA member states, almost 30% are Swiss, less than 12% are citizens of other European countries and 10% are from elsewhere in the world. In the 2nd generation, more than 65% have Swiss nationality and almost 25% are from a EU28 or EFTA member state.

By age and sex

Switzerland’s age pyramid is currently fir-tree shaped. People from the 1960s baby boom are now in their 50s, which explains the size of these age groups in the pyramid. There is an ever-declining number of young people in proportion to an ever-growing number of old people.

The permanent resident population shows different age pyramids depending on whether the persons with or without a migration background are being observed. The age pyramid of the population without a migration background resembles the age pyramid of the whole population in Switzerland. In contrast, in the population with a migration background, people are younger. The age groups between 25 and 50 are over-represented in relation to the population without a migration background. The average age of the population without a migration background is close to 50, whereas in the population with a migration background the average age is 44 years.

With regard to the old age dependency ratio (ratio between persons aged 65 or over and the working-age population between 20 and 64), it is more than twice as high (36) in the population without a migration background than in the population with a migration background (15).

Overall, regardless of migration status, the population is equally divided with regard to sex, with a small majority of women (51%) in comparison with men (49%). However, in contrast to the other sub-groups, the population with a migration background from the 2nd generation tends to have more men (52%) than women (48%).

Distribution among cantons

The distribution of the population by migration status is not spread evenly among the cantons. At national level, 37.2% of the Swiss permanent resident population aged 15 or over has a migration background. This percentage is higher than 60% in the cantons of Geneva. The rates are also particularly high in the cantons of Ticino, Basel-Stadt, Vaud, Schaffhausen and Zurich (between 40 and 50%). In contrast, in comparison with the national average, the percentage of the population with a migration background is less than 20% in the cantons of Obwalden, Nidwalden, Appenzell Inerrhoden and Uri. Results from the two latter cantons, however, should be interpreted with caution as the extrapolations are based on fewer than 50 observations.

The 1st and 2nd generations are not evenly distributed between cantons. At the national level, the 1st generation represents 30.0% of the permanent resident population aged 15 and over; the 2nd generation 7.2%. The ratio is, therefore, 4:1. In certain cantons such as Uri, Obwalden, Nidwalden, Graubünden, Vaud and Jura, the ratio shows that the 2nd generation is proportionally under-represented (ratio higher than 6:1). In contrast, in comparison with the national average, the 2nd generation is over-represented in relation to the 1st generation in the cantons of Lucerne, Glarus, Solothurn, Basel-Landschaft, Schaffhausen, Appenzell Innerrhoden, Appenzell Ausserrhoden, Saint Gallen, Aargau, Thurgau and Ticino.

Education and economic sector

Level of education

In the permanent resident population, most people have completed upper secondary level education (51.9%), followed by tertiary level (33.7%) and, lastly, compulsory education level (19.5%). However, it should be taken into account the fact that many people aged between 15 and 30 are still in education and have therefore not yet reached their highest level of education.

The most wide-ranging distribution of the different education levels is to be found among person with no migration background. They are slightly more represented at the upper secondary and tertiary levels than the national average (51.9%) and less represented at the compulsory education level (14.6%). Conversely, among persons with a migration background from the 1st generation, the distribution between the three educational levels is fairly even (between 28.8% and 36.0%). In the 2nd generation population with a migration background, persons whose highest level of education is compulsory education represent a larger share than it is the case for the population with no migration background (21.4% against 14.6%). Conversely, persons with a tertiary level of education have a smaller share (28.0% against 33.5%).

At the tertiary level, persons with a migration background from the 1st generation present the highest share (36.0%), whereas the population from the 2nd generation has the smallest share (28.0%).

Economic sector

Regardless of their migration status, the majority of people in employment work in the tertiary sector (almost 50%). Among the population with no migration background and the 1st generation of the population with a migration background, almost 49% of people work in this sector; in the 2nd generation this percentage is higher than 60%.

Persons younger than 15

It is not possible to determine the migration status of children under the age of 15 with the FSO data. However, information can be obtained regarding their place of birth and nationality.

Almost three-quarters of the population aged under 15 is Swiss and was born in Switzerland. The remaining quarter was either born abroad (10%: 8% foreign nationality and 2% Swiss nationality), or born in Switzerland and of foreign nationality (18%).

Permanent resident population aged 0 to 14 by nationality and place of birth, 31.12.2017

		in %
Total	1 269 055	100.0
Swiss	929 047	73.2
Foreigners	340 008	26.8
Persons born in Switzerland	1 141 620	90.0
Swiss	905 119	71.3
Foreigners	236 501	18.6
Persons born abroad	127 435	10.0
Swiss	23 928	1.9
Foreigners	103 507	8.2

Sources: FSO, STATPOP

Top ten nationalities

Children with a foreign nationality (25% of the population aged under 15) are mainly Portuguese, German and Italian 14.4%, 12.4% and 10.2%, respectively). Children of Kosovan, French and Macedonian nationality represent each nearly 10% and are also strongly represented among foreign nationals aged 0 to 14 (7.6%, 6.2% and 4.6%).

Age pyramid and sex

Depending on their place of birth, the age pyramid for children under 15 has a different shape: it is rectangular for those born in Switzerland and an inverse pyramid for those born abroad. There are no large differences between girl and boy populations by age and country of birth.

Children according to migration status of household

Data cumulated from the years 2014 to 2016 show that half of children aged 0 to 14 were living in a household with no migration background (43.9% of 0-6 year-olds and 47.3% of 7-14 year-olds). A third of children under the age of 15 were living in a household with a migration background (35.4%). 21.0%% of children aged 0 to 6 lived in a household with a mixed migration/non-migration background (i.e. comprising persons with and without a migration background). This is a higher percentage than for children aged 7 to 14 where the figure is 16.9%. The younger the children are, the more likely they are to live in a mixed household.