Expat Swiss community continues to grow
Bern, 29.01.2015 - More and more Swiss nationals are choosing to live abroad. In 2014, the number increased by 14,726 on the previous year to a total of 746,885 people, an increase of around 2%. These are the most recent statistics from the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) on the expatriate Swiss community. The figures – published annually – include all Swiss nationals registered at an embassy or consulate general. There are Swiss expats living in 200 different countries and regions around the world.
The increase in their number reflects a trend that the FDFA's Relations with the Swiss Abroad Division has observed for many years. Last year, the highest increases were recorded in countries that are already known to be popular destinations for Swiss nationals: France with +3,112 people, Germany with +2,045 and the United States with +1,176. Further down the list are Israel with +1,045 people, the United Kingdom with +1,028, Australia with +577 and Thailand with +568.
In 2014, six out of ten Swiss nationals abroad were living in the European Union with around three-quarters of them based in countries directly neighbouring Switzerland: 194,474 in France, 84,671 in Germany, 51,353 in Italy and 15,542 in Austria.
The largest expatriate Swiss communities outside Europe are in the United States, with 78,696 Swiss passport holders, Canada with 39,618, Australia with 24,584 and Israel with 17,958. Bottom of the list are São Tomé and Principe, Kiribati and Turkmenistan with one Swiss national apiece.
There are about 12% more women than men in the expat Swiss community. Of the 583,150 Swiss nationals abroad eligible to vote, 142,651 were enrolled on a Swiss electoral register at the time of the popular vote of 30 November 2014. This is the equivalent of around 24.5% and signifies an increase of around 1.5% in comparison with the National Council elections in 2011.
Address for enquiries
FDFA Communication
Federal Palace West Wing
CH-3003 Bern, Switzerland
Tel. Press service: +41 58 460 55 55
E-mail: kommunikation@eda.admin.ch
Twitter: @SwissMFA
Publisher
Federal Department of Foreign Affairs
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