In Switzerland four out of ten people have a migrant background – who are they?

Migration is increasingly shaping Swiss society. The proportion of the country's population with an immigrant background is one of the highest in the world. Almost 2.5 million people do not have Swiss nationality, and even more have foreign origins. Where do they come from, and what are their profiles and career paths? An exploration in graphics. Why we are writing this article This article is part of our “In Data” series devoted to immigration, a hot topic in Switzerland, as in most developed countries. An analysis of the figures can help provide a clearer understanding and deconstruct certain preconceived notions. To give one example, in a previous article in this series we discussed the tens of thousands of foreign nationals who leave Switzerland every year. A total of 1.8 million foreign nationals moved to Switzerland between 2014 and 2023. Although many of them leave after a few years (see the article below), cumulative net immigration at the end of this period still amounted ...