At 37% of the total, one-person households are now the most common way to live in Switzerland, according to recently published data by Switzerland’s Federal Statistical Office (FSO). The data from 2022, show that 37% of households contained one person, followed by the 32% that contained two, 13% that contained three, 12% with four and […]
Switzerland’s largest pumpkin in 2023
Every year there is a competition to see who can grow the largest pumpkin. This year, 20 giant pumpkins and other oversized vegetables graced the scales at the Bächlihof in Jona, in eastern Switzerland. This year several records were broken. Matthias Leuenberger’s 2.4 kilogram aubergine and 45.8 kilogram courgette surpassed earlier records of 2.1 and […]
Immigration: Swiss population will say stop at some point
In a recent interview, Guy Parmelin, a Swiss Federal Councillor and former president, said that at some point the population will say stop, referring to immigration, reported SRF. In the interview, Parmelin, a Federal Councillor and member of the Swiss People’s Party (SVP/UDC) was unusually blunt regarding Switzerland’s politics of immigration, something his party has […]
More than 90 members of Swiss parliament defending healthcare
After the United States, Switzerland has the world’s second most costly healthcare. Cost-saving reforms put forward by the health minister over many years have yielded little. Last week, average compulsory health insurance premiums rose the most in more than a decade. This week, an investigation by the newspaper SonntagsZeitung (NZZ), revealed 90 parliamentarians working as […]
Swiss canton approves 300 franc fine for littering
Anyone littering is currently fined CHF 50 in the canton of Thurgau. A parliamentary initiative by the Swiss People’s Party (SVP/UDC), with support from the Green Party, to raise littering fines sixfold to CHF 300 (US$ 330) was approved by the canton’s parliament this week, reported SRF. One of the initiators, farmer Urs Schär, talked […]
Swiss cabinet opposed to universal childcare initiative
On 29 September 2023, Switzerland’s Federal Council announced that it was opposed to an initiative to introduce publicly financed universal childcare, reported RTS. On 26 July 2023, a green light to a vote on a proposal to provide “good affordable childcare for everyone” was given. A total of 102,238 valid signatures were confirmed, a figure […]
Sharp rise in people leaving the catholic church in Switzerland
Church goers in the cantons of Zurich and St. Gallen have been leaving the catholic church at an accelerated pace recently, reported SRF this week. Churches in most of Switzerland’s cantons receive much of their funding from voluntary church taxes. The canton of Vaud is the exception. There all taxpayers automatically contribute to the funding […]
Most Swiss homes still heated with wood or fossil fuel
In 2022, more than two thirds of Swiss homes were heated with heating oil (39%), gas (18%) or by burning wood (12%), according to figures published this week by the Federal Statistical Office (FSO). High emission wood, gas and mazout burners heated 69% of Swiss residential buildings in 2022. Heat pumps (19%), standard electric heaters […]
Swiss health insurance premiums set to rise most since 2010
Health insurance premiums will rise by 8.7% on average in 2024, announced the authorities this week. This is the sharpest rise since 2010 when they rose by 8.6%. The average monthly premium across Switzerland in 2024 will be CHF 359.50. Health Minister Alain Berset and Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) director Anne Lévy announced the […]
Broken wheel caused derailment in the Gotthard tunnel
The Swiss Safety Investigation Board (SUST) confirmed its findings this week, confirming its initial suspicion that a broken wheel had led to the derailment of a train in the Gotthard Base Tunnel in mid-August 2023. The wheel failed due to metal fatigue caused by vibrations and started with the cracks in the rim. The defective […]
