Swiss women had, on average, 1.29 children in 2024—the lowest level since records began, the Federal Statistical Office (FSO) reported on Monday. The share of people who do not want children is rising too. Among 20- to 29-year-olds the proportion declaring no desire for children rose from 6% in 2013 to 17% in 2023. For those aged 30-39 the figure climbed from 9% to 16%. Even so, the wish for a two-child family remains the norm: 53% still say they would ideally like two.
Differences by sex, education or region are modest. The only sharp divide is relationship status: 23% of single adults say they do not want children, compared with 12% of those in couples.
Weighing the trade-offs
Thinking about parenthood elicits both hope and anxiety. Worries about career prospects remain widespread, and the expected boost to happiness from having a child has faded. In 2023, 41% of 20- to 39-year-olds expected a child—or an additional child—to increase their sense of happiness; 21% feared the opposite. Half anticipated negative consequences for their careers, a share that rises to 62% among women.
People cite several factors when deciding whether to have children: the quality of their relationship (63%), their financial situation (62%) and working conditions (56%). The division of domestic labour and the sharing of childcare have also become far more important in recent years, says the FSO.
Births fall, especially third ones
Switzerland registered 78,256 live births in 2024, down 2.2% from 2023. Since 2019 births have fallen by 9.2%—a decline not seen since the late 1970s. Third births have dropped most sharply, by 13.6%; first and second births fell by 8.5% and 9% respectively.
Basel-City recorded the lowest fertility rate in 2024, at 1.09 children per woman, followed by Ticino (1.16) and Geneva and Graubünden (1.22). Uri topped the table with 1.58, ahead of Appenzell Ausserrhoden (1.49) and Schwyz (1.4). In French-speaking Switzerland, Fribourg led with 1.38, followed by Jura (1.34) and Bern (1.27). Vaud, Neuchâtel and Valais each stood at 1.26.
Later motherhood
Swiss women continue to postpone childbearing. For the past decade fertility among 35- to 39-year-olds has exceeded that of women aged 25-29. In 2024 the average age of mothers at first birth reached 31.3. Delayed childbearing increases the risk of infertility; the FSO warns that biological factors may play a growing role in the drop in fertility observed since 2021.
Why fertility is so low
Several forces are pushing fertility down. As in much of Western Europe, couples postpone starting families because of prolonged education, career demands, high housing costs and general financial strain. Switzerland’s high cost of living raises the perceived burden of having children. Parenthood has become one lifestyle option among many. Access to childcare remains patchy, especially for lower-income families. And although immigration keeps the population growing, it does little to alter the underlying fertility trend. Relying on immigration to prevent an ageing population has been described by some demographers as a population ponzi scheme.
Policies tried, lessons learned
Governments around the world have attempted to boost fertility, generally with limited effect. The Nordics were once seen as an exception. In the 1990s and early 2000s Sweden’s total fertility rate rose from around 1.5 to about 1.9; Norway and Denmark hovered near 1.8–1.9. Their success was widely attributed to universal, affordable childcare; generous maternity and paternity leave; use-it-or-lose-it paternity quotas for fathers; and flexible work arrangements that helped parents—especially mothers—stay in the labour force. But the trend has reversed. Since 2010 fertility has fallen in these countries to roughly 1.5 in Sweden and Denmark and 1.4 in Norway.
Of all the policies tested, the only one with a meaningful durable, measurable effect on fertility is the provision of universal, affordable childcare. But even this effect is modest. Everything else nudges timing more than it changes the final number of children families have.
More on this:
FSO article (in French) – Take a 5 minute French test now
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