By 1 January 2024, Switzerland had 2,131 municipalities (communes/Gemeinde), 162 fewer (-7%) than 10 years ago, reported RTS.
With an average of around 4,000 residents per municipality, Switzerland still has a significant number of them. England, with a population of 57 million, has only 318 municipalities (mainly councils), which comes out at an average of nearly 18,000 residents per municipal unit.
The number of municipalities in Switzerland continues to decline as more merge. A key motivation to merge is cost savings. Combining administrative tasks can allow workforces, rent and other expenses to be trimmed. Scaling services can also deliver economies of scale, for example in waste management and procurement.
However, municipal mergers can also have a political component. Being the mayor of a larger combined municipality typically means higher pay and greater status. In addition, cost savings can sometimes prove elusive. Redundancies do not always happen as promised and new services sometimes gobble up any savings promised by merger promotors.
More on this:
RTS article (in French) – Take a 5 minute French test now
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