20 Minutes. In Switzerland all able men must serve in the country’s military when they turn 18. Women can sign up however this is not legally required and few do. The minimum military training male Swiss citizens must undertake depends on rank. For the lowest rank of corporal the minimum is 260 days, which starts with initial […]
Switzerland sees steep rise in number of mothers working
Recent figures from Switzerland’s Federal Statistical office show that in 2016 74% of women with children under 15 were working. In 1996, the same percentage was 61%. The percentage of mums working climbs significantly with the level of education. In 2016, 79% of those with tertiary qualifications were working, compared to 61% of mums in […]
Vote launched to legalise cannabis in Switzerland
Tribune de Genève. Last week a group called “Legalize it“, launched an initiative to have cannabis legalised. They now have 18 months to get 100,000 signatures, the minimum number required to qualify for a referendum, known as a popular initiative. Unlike a failed referendum on the subject in 2008, this one includes a ban on sales […]
Swiss military aptitude seems to depend on job, socio-economic status and political leaning
Le Matin. Based on a study of 240,000 Swiss military conscripts between 2010 and 2015, what an individual does, where they live, their socio-economic status, and their political leaning correlates with whether they are deemed fit for the Swiss military forces. The study conducted by the University of Zurich, shows that trades people, farmers and […]
The number of solo parents rises in Switzerland with big variances across cantons
Between 2014 and 2015 the number of solo parents rose 11,500 (+5.6%) bringing the total to 218,000. Single parent families made up 6% of Swiss households in 2015, according to statistics released this week. The percentages vary significantly by canton. The cantons with the highest rates of of solo mums and dads are Geneva (8.7%), Neuchâtel (8.0%), […]
Young man dies of measles in Switzerland
20 Minutes. “This is a tragic but fortunately rare case in Switzerland” Daniel Koch, of the Swiss Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) told the Tages-Anzeiger this morning, regarding the death of a young man in January. This is the first measles death in Switzerland since 2009 when a 12 year old girl died in Geneva. The FOPH […]
Girl of 6 dies in a ski accident in Switzerland
20 Minutes. On Sunday, at the resort Les Mosses, a 6 year old girl collided with an adolescent of 16. According to Vaud Police, the two young skiers crashed into each other on a piste at Les Parchets. The accident, which happened at 9:40 am, left the girl seriously injured. A helicopter flew the girl […]
Vaud discusses extending winter school holiday to 2 weeks
Le Matin. In Switzerland, this ski season has been disappointing, particularly if you have school aged children. During the Vaud school holiday this season, the fourth week of February, there was limited snow. Even at high resorts like Verbier, snow conditions were fairly average across the week. The week before there was good snow. But then […]
Swiss women third latest to have first child
Le Matin. In 2015, the average age Swiss mothers had their first child was unchanged from 2014, according to recent Eurostat data. At a european level, only Italians and Spaniards left motherhood later than Swiss. In 2015, the average age of Swiss first-time mums was 30.6 years, slightly younger than Spanish first-time mothers (30.7). In Italy […]
Unauthorised Bible distribution causes outrage in Geneva
Tribune de Genève. According to the newspaper, parents of children at the Collège de Drize, in Carouge, Geneva, were outraged when their children, aged between 12 and 15, arrived home last week with copies of the New Testament. It turns out the Bibles were distributed by Gideons International, an American evangelical organisation, without authorisation. The organisation has […]
