Numerous incidents involving fireworks and and fires kept Switzerland’s emergency services busy on New Year’s Eve, reported SRF. The worst incident was the death of a 46-year old man in the canton of Luzern who died when a homemade device for firing fireworks exploded. The man died at the scene of the explosion. Two people […]
Swiss inequality – a perception gap?
In a recent poll, nearly 82% completely (46%) or somewhat (36%) agreed that the gap between rich and poor in Switzerland is increasing. However, these responses are at odds with typical measures of inequality. Two key measures of inequality are the S80/S20 and the Gini Coefficient. On both measures Switzerland is fairly stable. The S80/S20 […]
Internet searches – most popular in Switzerland in 2023
The most commonly searched term on Google in Switzerland in 2023 was “ChatGPT”, reported Google. Second, third, fourth and fifth places went to “CS stock” (Credit Suisse stock), “war in Israel and Gaza”, “Rammstein” (a German band) and “Erdbeben Turkey” (the location of the tragic earthquake in February). ChatGPT searches were popular across the year […]
Percentage of Swiss on welfare dips below 3 percent
In 2022, 2.9% of the population received welfare, according to data published by the Federal Statistical Office (FSO) this week. Since 2005, when nationwide data on welfare was first collected, the rate has only dipped below 3% once before in 2008. The highest it has been was 3.3% in 2016 and 2017. Welfare does not […]
Song with Swiss connection tops UK Christmas chart in 2023
Before streaming, topping the Christmas charts was based on the sales of singles in the run up to Christmas. That was in 1984. Now it’s 2023 and it is based on the number of streams in the week leading up to midnight on 21 December. This year, the winner was the Wham! classic Last Christmas, […]
The Swiss link to the Wham Christmas song
How the music video for 80’s hit song “Last Christmas” by the group Wham came to be filmed in Saas-Fee in Switzerland is a story of chance. According to Blick, roughly a year before the video was shot, Beat Anthamatten, director of the Grand Hotel Walliserhof in Saas-Fee, met one of the crew filming a […]
Switzerland’s birth rate – from baby boom to bust
Before the pandemic, the number of births in Switzerland was falling. Then the number shot up as the pandemic waned. Between 2020 and 2021 the birthrate rose by 4%. However, in 2022, the rate fell by nearly 10%, according to Switzerland’s Federal Statistical Office (FSO). In 2022, the birth rate was lower than it has […]
Switzerland experimenting with 24 hour asylum decisions
To reduce the pressure on an overloaded asylum system Switzerland has started a pilot system to processes certain asylum requests within 24 hours, reported RTS. The fast-track asylum process will be tested on groups of asylum seekers with low rates of success, in particular those arriving from the North African nations of Algeria, Libya, Morocco […]
What makes someone Swiss – a survey
A survey run by gfs.bern that asked more than 57,000 people what makes someone Swiss was published by RTS this week. One of the takeaways from the survey is that a person’s behaviour is more important than their origin. 54% said that origin was of secondary importance when establishing Swissness. The most important behaviour for […]
Swiss village hits back at cow bell haters
The sound of cow bells is an integral feature of Switzerland’s image, conjuring up idilic alpine scenes of cows roaming freely, chomping on grass. However, these same clanging bells can be less than idilic when you’re trying to sleep. In the small Bernese town of Aarwangen several poorly rested newcomers have complained. Town locals, shocked […]
