Switzerland will hold an interesting vote this Sunday. People will decide whether the country’s population should be kept below 10 million until 2050.
Switzerland has about 9 million people today. Births are only slightly higher than deaths, so the population is not growing much on its own. At the current rate, it would take a very long time to reach 10 million people.
But many people move to Switzerland from other countries. Around 2 million immigrants have settled there in the past 25 years. Today, more than one in four people living in Switzerland were born elsewhere. This is the main reason for the vote. Supporters, mostly on the political right, say they want to protect Swiss culture and reduce pressure on housing and public services.
Critics disagree. Opinion polls suggest the proposal could pass. They argue that Switzerland needs immigrants because its population is getting older. Fewer immigrants, they say, could slow down the country’s economy.
This is not the first time Switzerland has argued about immigration. In the 1960s, many trade unions on the political left were worried that too many immigrants were arriving. Their pressure led the government to place limits on immigration.
To people in other countries, Swiss worries about housing and public services may seem surprising. The average Swiss home has plenty of space, and public transport is rarely overcrowded. But ideas about quality of life are personal. Someone used to travelling alone in a vehicle may feel crowded in a shared ride. In the same way, Swiss voters must decide how much space they want and how much immigration they are comfortable with.
For the rest of the world, this vote is interesting because it may show how people feel about globalisation. With his tariffs, President Trump has already shaken the idea of an increasingly connected world. Switzerland’s vote may offer another clue about where that world is heading.
Disclaimer
Views expressed above are the author’s own.
