Record number of people emigrating from Switzerland in 2025
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The number of people emigrating from Switzerland has reached a 10-year high, according to Zuricher Kantonalbank (ZKB). Combined with a decline in immigration, major Swiss cities could see some relief from housing shortages.
Number of people leaving Switzerland reaches 10-year high
Over 68.000 people have decided to leave Switzerland to live or work in another country, based on figures from January to August 2025. This means that emigration has reached its highest level in 10 years, according to a blog by ZKB. People from Switzerland, Germany, Italy, Portugal and France were the largest groups to emigrate.
Net immigration to Switzerland in 2025 so far has also been lower than in 2024. 41.400 people immigrated to the country between January and August 2025, which is 17 percent lower than the same period in 2024. This combination of increasing emigration and declining immigration means that the population is “growing somewhat less rapidly than last year”, reports Blick.
Slowing population growth could help Swiss housing shortage
ZKB reported that a slowdown in Swiss population growth should help to “prevent the housing shortage from worsening” in some major Swiss cities, such as Zurich and Geneva. However, this demographic shift will not be felt in the short term, and while there may be fewer people looking for a home, asking rents are still expected to grow in 2026.
Combined with a declining birth rate, increasing emigration rates could make Switzerland more reliant on international workers in the future. The number of non-Swiss doctors working in Switzerland may have doubled in the last 20 years, but the alpine nation has difficulty encouraging workers to stay longer-term.
Figures from earlier this year revealed that 60 percent of immigrants leave Switzerland after an average of 11 years, with reasons for leaving including unemployment, retirement, or difficulty obtaining Swiss citizenship. Meanwhile, Canton Zurich is predicted to be short of 83.000 workers by 2050.
Editor at IamExpat Media