Social assistance

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The social assistance rate has not changed much in recent years. The same applies to the main groups at risk. Persons without post-compulsory education, children, foreign nationals, single-parent families and persons living alone have a higher risk of having to resort to social assistance.

In 2018, the economic social assistance rate fell from 3.3% to 3.2%.

The main indicators of social assistance statistics

Indicator		Year
Social assistance rate (economic social assistance)	3.2%	2018
Share of short-term beneficiaries of economic social assistance (up to one year, closed case)	49.5%	2018
Average duration of social assistance benefits (current cases)	42 months	2018
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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