At the end of 2023, there were 813,400 Swiss citizens living outside Switzerland, more than 11% of the total – 6.5 million citizens lived in Switzerland in 2022.
The number of Swiss abroad rose by 13,400 or 1.7% during 2023. Most of the 813,400 lived in Europe (64%), with 26% of total citizens abroad living in France, the most popular place to live outside the country. The next most popular nations were Germany (12%), Italy (6%), the UK (5%) and Spain (3%).
Beyond Europe, the North American region (15%) was the most popular destination, followed by Latin America (7%), Asia (7%), Oceania (4%) and Africa (2%).
The only region to experience a decline in Swiss expatriates was Africa. In 2023, the number of Swiss on the African continent fell by 0.2%. The greatest gains were in Asia (+3%), Europe (1.9%), Oceania (+1.2%) and North America (+1%). Within Europe, Portugal (+14%) and Spain (2.7%) rose the most.
Many Swiss find themselves abroad for work, family or retirement. Much of the immigration to European destinations reflects people returning to their home countries after gaining Swiss citizenship. In addition, many Swiss are drawn to warmer lower cost nations such as France, Spain and Thailand in retirement. Spain and Thailand in particular draw an older group of Swiss. While, Swiss expats in the UK and Israel are comparatively young.
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