Swiss population to hit 8.5 million by 2019
The population in Switzerland is growing faster than expected: latest predictions put it at more than 8.5 million by 2019 – four years earlier than previous estimates.
The Federal Statistics Office said on Thursday that there would be 8.524 million residents in five years. According to the mid-term predictions of 2010, this figure would have only been reached by 2023.
At the end of 2013, Switzerland’s permanent resident population was 8,136,700.
Overall the population should rise by 6.7% between 2014 and 2023, the statistics office added. The main reason for this remains migration.
The strongest population growth is expected in the cantons of French-speaking Vaud and Italian-speaking Ticino, at 10.1% and 9.5% respectively. The German-speaking central canton of Uri is the canton with the lowest expected increase at 0.4%.
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