In 2017, net migration of foreigners to Switzerland fell for the fourth year running to 53k, according to the State Migrations Secretariat (SEM).

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This net figure was 12% lower than in 2016 and similar to the number in 2002 when Switzerland opened its doors to citizens of EU and EFTA nations.
In 2017, 148k foreigners moved to Switzerland and 95k left. This was a 12% fall in net foreign migration compared to 2016. These overall movements masked wide variations. The net number of foreigners arriving from EU and EFTA nations dropped by over 20%, far more than the average.
By 31 December 2017 there were 2,054,000 foreigners living in Switzerland, around 24% of the population. 1,406,000, or 70% of this group, were from EU or EFTA countries. The number of French was up 4.2k – the largest increase, while the number of Portuguese was down by 1.5k – the largest decrease.
For numbers on the evolution of Switzerland’s foreign population and migration from 2000 to 2016, click here.
More on this:
Swiss State Migration Secretariat press release (in French) – Take a 5 minute French test now
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