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New data reveals interesting facts and figures about people in Switzerland
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New data reveals interesting facts and figures about people in Switzerland

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© 2025 IamExpat Media B.V.
© 2025 IamExpat Media B.V.
Oct 16, 2021
Jan de Boer

Editor at IamExpat Media

Jan studied History at the University of York and Broadcast Journalism at the University of Sheffield. Though born in York, Jan has lived most of his life in Zurich and has worked as a journalist, writer and editor since 2016. While he has plunged head-first back into life in Switzerland since returning to the country in 2020, he still enjoys a taste of home at pub quizzes and karaoke nights.Read more

New data for 2020 released by the Federal Statistical Office (FSO) has given a new insight into what makes Switzerland what it is today. The data shows how society, economy, space and the environment shape how people in Switzerland live, work and raise families.

New data a compilation of all data studies done in Switzerland

Watson reported that the new infographics sought to “break Switzerland down into its individual parts.” The study is done every year and is designed to showcase how culture and working in Switzerland changes year on year.

The new statistics are a compilation of all data processed by the FSO during 2020, including data on immigration, salaries, taxation, education and transportation.

Interesting facts about Switzerland and Swiss people

Over the last year, the report found that 163.180 people gained a Swiss residence permit, making Switzerland their new home. Alongside 85.000 births, this meant the population grew to 8.670.300 people. Marriages outpaced divorces by 46 percent over the last year, with over 35.000 couples tying the knot.

On average, a person in Switzerland in 2020 spent 17 minutes a day commuting to work on public transport. Arriving at a job that has a median salary of 78.456 Swiss francs a year at one of the over 39.000 domestic and international companies in Switzerland. That person then returned to a rented house or apartment that is around 46,3 metres squared in size to watch television for 127 minutes a day.

Other fun facts about Switzerland

There are a lot of different facts about Switzerland that the report reveals; here are some of the most interesting:

  • 90 burglaries are reported to the emergency services every day.
  • 31 percent of Switzerland is covered by forests.
  • 52 percent of the population have a job in Switzerland. The rest are at school, higher education or have claimed a pension.
  • Every person has a carbon footprint of 13 tonnes of CO2 a year.
  • Over 11.000 new homes have been built since 2019.

Find out more statistics about Switzerland

These are just a selection of the many different statistics compiled by the FSO, to find out more, you can check out their official website.

By Jan de Boer