Up until 1981, the Swiss authorities imprisoned thousands of people who were not tried for any crime, under a procedure known as administrative detention. 60,000 were imprisoned, often for years at a time, in this way according to a recent estimate published by RTS. Referred to as a kind of compulsory welfare, people, including men, […]
Switzerland 4th in Eurovision song contest
With his song “She Got Me”, Luca Hänni came fourth in the Eurovision Grand Final in Tel Aviv, Israel on 18 May 2019. The winner was Duncan Laurence from the Netherlands with the song “Arcade”. Winners are selected based on the results of a combination of public tele-votes and votes from a panel of judges […]
Switzerland qualifies for Eurovision final
With his song “She Got Me”, Luca Hänni made it through to the Eurovision Grand Final in Tel Aviv, Israel. Hänni, a 24 year old Swiss singer-songwriter, was born in Bern and taught himself to play guitar and piano at primary school. After school he worked as a bricklayer before giving it up to pursue […]
Switzerland makes some progress on child obesity
Last year, the percentage of children aged 8 to 12 in Switzerland that were obese or overweight fell to 19.3% during the 2017/2018 school year, the lowest it has been in over ten years, according to Promotion Santé Suisse. The number of overweight or obese school children in Switzerland rises with age. During the 2017/2018 […]
Switzerland tops OECD gender index
For the fourth year, the OECD has ranked 120 countries on their political commitments and laws aimed at eliminating gender discrimination. The percentage based scores measure the remaining discrimination, so the lower the score the better. Overall scores range from 8% in Switzerland, down to 64% in Yemen. Some countries had gaps in their data […]
International Women’s Day – discontent with Switzerland’s childcare system
Since 1911, when people in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland came out in support of equal rights, 8 March has been International Women’s Day. A survey by Ispos on the event’s website gives insights into attitudes towards gender equality around the world. Some areas, like whether it’s easier to be a man, are controversial and show […]
Cost of winter sports accidents up 70 percent in Switzerland
According to figures published by the assurer SUVA, the cost of winter sports accidents has risen by 70% over the last 15 years. Around a quarter of Switzerland’s population partake in snow sport. Every year around 33,000 people living in Switzerland, who are insured for accidents via their employer, are hurt while skiing or snowboarding. […]
Sharp rise in divorce among Switzerland’s foreign population
This week, Switzerland’s Federal Statistical Office published figures on the number of divorces in 2018. Overall Switzerland’s divorce numbers were up 2.1% at 16,200 for the year. However, when broken down the number of divorces among couples where both were Swiss went down 6.1% as did those where one was Swiss (-0.9%). Divorces among couples […]
Video – deadly avalanche at Crans Montana Switzerland
Yesterday, an avalanche, which started above a piste at the Swiss resort of Crans Montana, spilled out on to it. According to local police, the avalanche left a trail of 840 metres. By the evening one person, a 34 year old French ski patroller who had been helping a skier, had been confirmed dead and […]
Switzerland’s prison population swells 50% in less than 30 years
The number of prisoners in Switzerland rose 50% from 1988 to 2017. Much of this is due to population growth. Switzerland’s population grew 28% over the same period. However, population growth doesn’t account for all of the increase in prison numbers. In 1988, there were 70 prisoners per 100,000. By 2017, the same figure was […]
