Almost 716,000 Swiss nationals living abroad
Bern, 18.01.2013 - The number of Swiss citizens living abroad continues to grow. The increase last year is in line with a now decades-old trend. According to statistics on the Swiss Abroad in 2012, currently 715,710 Swiss nationals are living abroad – approximately 12,000 more than one year ago and twice as many as in 1980.
On a year-on-year comparison, the number of the Swiss Abroad grew by 1.72%, from 703,640 (2011) to 715,710 (2012). The largest Swiss communities abroad are in Europe (442,620, of which 96.54% are in EU countries), America (175,954) and Asia (45,793). In the last five years, the number of Swiss citizens who have registered at a Swiss embassy or general-consulate in Europe has increased by 6.59%, in America by 3.91%, and in Asia by 28.11%.
About 47% (335,810) of all the Swiss Abroad are living one of Switzerland’s five neighbouring countries, an increase of 5.84% since 2007. Specifically, there are 186,615 in France, 80,715 in Germany, 50,091 in Italy, 14,795 in Austria, and 3,594 in the Principality of Liechtenstein (about 10% of the population of the Principality).
The largest Swiss communities outside Europe are in the USA (76,330, + 3.2% since 2007), Canada (38,959, + 3.4 %), Australia (23,633, + 7%) and Israel (15’970, + 21,44%). Of the 20,696 Swiss nationals living on the African continent, 9,284 are in South Africa. At the other end of the distribution, São Tomé and Principe, Micronesia and Kiribati are home to one Swiss citizen each.
The proportion of the Swiss Abroad registered on a Swiss electoral roll has levelled off at around one quarter. In Europe, the figure of 31.25% is clearly above the global average.
Since 2011, the statistics on the Swiss Abroad have been compiled centrally by the Consular Directorate of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, which records all Swiss citizens registered at a Swiss representation abroad. Because Switzerland does not have an embassy in Vaduz, the Statistics Office of the Principality of Liechtenstein provides the numbers on the local Swiss community for the previous year (2011).
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