Age-specific fertility rate

The fertility rates of women by age are compared in order to observe differences and similarities. It is less an indicator of integration than of assimilation, the measure of which shows the demographic context and the different challenges that the population groups are confronted with in organising their family life. For example, in the political and social climate of Switzerland today, a woman who has her children when she is young will encounter more obstacles in training and education and in building up a career.

In 2019, fertility rates before the age of 30 were higher among mothers born abroad than among those born in Switzerland. Between the ages of 15 and 19, it was almost five times higher (around 1‰ compared with more than 4‰). The trend was reversed between the ages of 30 and 44, but only for Swiss mothers. Foreign-born foreign mothers aged between 30-44-year old always had higher fertility rates than Swiss-born foreign mothers.

Overall, the differences in female fertility rates between foreign nationals and Swiss nationals born in Switzerland accounted for fewer than 35 children per 1000 women in Switzerland. The fertility rates of foreign nationals aged 20 and 29 were higher than those of Swiss nationals. This trend is reversed among mothers aged 30 to 39. The same trends could be observed in most cantons with larger or smaller differences. The largest differences were to be found in the canton of Glarus in the age group 30-34, with almost 107 more children born to Swiss nationals than to foreign nationals born in Switzerland.