Social assistance

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While the economic social assistance rate has not hardly changed in recent years, the number of social assistance beneficiaries has risen. The reason for this apparently contradictory trend is that over the same period the resident population has also increased.

The main indicators of social assistance statistics

Indicator		Year
Social assistance rate (financial social assistance)	3.3%	2017
Share of short-term beneficiaries of financial social assistance (up to one year, closed case)	51.0%	2017
Average duration of social assistance benefits (current cases)	41 months	2017
Net expenditure on social assistance in a broader sense	CHF 8 285m	2017
Net expenditure on financial social assistance	CHF 2 816m	2017
Annual net expenditure on financial social assistance per beneficiary	CHF 10 116	2017
Social assistance rate in a broader sense	9.5%	2017

Sources: Statistics on social assistance recipients, finance statistics of social assistance in a broader sense, inventory of social assistance in a broader sense

Scheme social assistance statistics

The statistical components of social assistance statistics

The Swiss social assistance statistics comprises three coordinated statistical components:

• The inventory of social assistance in a broader sense catalogues all social assistance benefits in a broader sense
• The financial statistics of social assistance in a broader sense records expenditure on these social benefits.
• The statistics on social assistance recipients records all beneficiaries.
   

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