Swiss perspectives in 10 languages

Rise in ‘silver surfers’ in Switzerland

Old people learn to use the internet in Switzerland.
The over-65s made a significant contribution to the recent growth in internet use: this year 77.6% regularly use the internet, up from 72.5% two years ago. © Keystone / Christian Beutler

Internet use among the over-65s in Switzerland rose sharply over the past two years, according to a national survey of online media behaviour.

The number of people who regularly use the internet in Switzerland continues to grow steadily. The latest study by WEMF AG found that 93.9% of the population aged 14 and over are now online. This is seven percentage points more than ten years ago.

+ The generational digital divide climbs to age 80

The over-65s made a significant contribution to this growth: this year 77.6% regularly use the internet and online applications, researchers found. Two years ago, the figure stood at 72.5%.

In general, most people access the internet via a smartphone (93.6%). This is followed by the laptop (75.4%) and tablet/iPad (50.2%).

A breakdown by gender reveals that more men use the internet than women. But the percentage of women online continues to rise: from 90.4% in 2021 to 92% this year.               

Popular Stories

Most Discussed

News

Federal Council opposes neutrality initiative

More

Swiss government rejects neutrality initiative

This content was published on It is not necessary to define Swiss neutrality more strictly, according to the Swiss government. The Federal Council has rejected the so-called “neutrality initiative”.

Read more: Swiss government rejects neutrality initiative
TPF acquits UBS in Bulgarian mafia case

More

Swiss court acquits UBS in Bulgarian mafia case

This content was published on The Federal Criminal Court has acquitted UBS following appeal proceedings in connection with money laundering charges linked to the Bulgarian mafia. The bank inherited the case from Credit Suisse.

Read more: Swiss court acquits UBS in Bulgarian mafia case
Timetable change brings more trains during the day and at night

More

New Swiss train schedule offers more night trains

This content was published on The Swiss Federal Railways (SBB/CFF) timetable change on December 15 will bring improvements for commuters. It will also have new night-time connections on long-distance and regional services.

Read more: New Swiss train schedule offers more night trains
Wage gap between women and men is narrowing

More

Gender wage gap is shrinking in Switzerland – slowly

This content was published on The gender wage gap is narrowing in Switzerland, although it remains sizeable and partly unexplained: in 2022 women earned on average 16.2% less than their male counterparts.

Read more: Gender wage gap is shrinking in Switzerland – slowly

In compliance with the JTI standards

More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative

You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!

If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR