In a recent data released by Switzerland’s Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, shows the number of Swiss nationals living abroad increased in 2021 by 1.5 per cent compared to the previous year.
According to Schengenvisainfo News, the Department in a press release announced that about 788,000 Swiss citizens were registered with a Swiss diplomatic representation outside the country, the majority of them in Europe.
“Regardless of the continent in which they lived, the majority were aged between 18 and 64. Reflecting Switzerland’s multicultural nature, many of them also had more than one nationality, according to the results of the statistics on the Swiss abroad from the Federal Statistical Office (FSO),” the press release reveals.
It also points out that the year-on-year increase recorded from 2020 to 2021 was similar to the increase marked from 2019 to 2020, which was 1.4 per cent.
In 2021, the highest increase of Swiss citizens living abroad was marked in Europe by 2.2 per cent, followed by Asia with 0.7 per cent, Oceania with 0.6 per cent, and the Americas with 0.2 per cent.
The number of Swiss nationals living in Africa dropped by 0.6 per cent.
Whereas the number of citizens living in the continent of Europe was distributed as follows:
France – 203,900
Germany – 96,600
Italy – 50,500, marking an increase of 0.8 per cent compared to 2020
the United Kingdom – 38,900, marking an increase of three per cent compared to 2020
Spain – 25,100
Portugal – 5,400, marking an increase of 14.1 per cent compared to 2020
In spite of marking a low increase from 2020 to 2021, the Americas lead the remaining continents when it comes to the number of Swiss citizens living in their territory.
Data show that out of the remaining 286,300 Swiss citizens living abroad, 23 per cent lived in the Americas, 6.8 per cent in Asia, 4,2 per cent in Oceania and another 2.4 per cent in Asia.
“The largest communities outside Europe were in the United States, which registered 81,800 people, ahead of Canada (40,800), Australia (25,800) and Israel (22,100).
An increase was seen in all of these countries, but the greatest was observed in Israel with three per cent more than in 2020,” the Swiss Department of Foreign Affairs reveals.
Since 2017, the number of Swiss citizens holding more than one nationality has increased by 5.3 per cent, with the highest growth recorded in Asia, 6.7 per cent, followed by Europe with 6.5 per cent.
In 2021 alone, 590,500 Swiss citizens living outside the country had at least one other nationality, which accounts for 75 per cent of the total number of Swiss nationals living abroad.
“The highest percentage of Swiss citizens with more than one nationality was found on the American continent (80 per cent). In over half of the American countries in which they lived, the percentage was 75 per cent or more.
The highest percentages were seen in South America, particularly in Chile and Argentina, where they were 91.3 per cent and 94.2 per cent respectively,” the Department note, adding that on the contrary, the lowest share of Swiss citizens abroad with more than one nationality was recorded in Asia.
The Department further notes that in 2021, 28,700 persons left Switzerland, and 22,300 arrived, which means that net migration was –6,431 persons.
According to the Swiss Federal Statistical Office, Switzerland has a permanent resident population of 8,670,300.
