On 27 September 2020, Swiss voters have many decisions to make. The list of referenda is long and includes decisions on fighter jets, ending the free movement of people between Switzerland and the EU, hunting and tax deductions for child care. Another is a decision on whether to accept a proposal to grant fathers two […]
Obesity remains a significant health issue in Switzerland
The number of people in Switzerland suffering from obesity has doubled over 25 years, according to a recent study published by the Federal Statistical Office. In 1992, 5% of Switzerland’s population was classified as obese. By 2017, the percentage had risen to 11%. In recent years the rate has stabilised. Zoltan Pataky, an obesity specialist […]
Swiss government relaxes rules for most polluting cars
Citing the economic effects of the Coronavirus pandemic, Switzerland’s Federal Council has decided to relax measures designed to curb the sale of the most polluting cars in Switzerland. In July 2012, Switzerland introduced regulations on the CO2 emissions of new cars. The rules, which include average fleet emissions limits, apply to any vendor importing more […]
Coronavirus: Switzerland considers adding only parts of France to its quarantine list
With daily infection rates in France rising to levels not seen since its previous peak in April 2020, the Swiss government is considering modifying its quarantine risk list system to include certain French regions rather than the whole country. The idea is being discussed as a potential way to avoid paralysing parts of Switzerland that […]
Switzerland remains first in the world for innovation
The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) has ranked Switzerland number one in the world for innovation for the tenth consecutive year, according to its latest Global Innovation Index (GII) published this week. Switzerland, Sweden, U.S., U.K and Netherlands lead the innovation ranking, which ranks more than 130 nations. The biggest change in Switzerland’s score this […]
Pandemic causes historic slump in Swiss GDP in second quarter
In the second quarter (Q2) of 2020, Switzerland’s GDP fell by –8.2 % after decreasing by –2.5 % in the previous quarter. GDP for Q2 2020 was 10.5% lower than Q4 2019. Domestic economic activity was severely restricted in the wake of the pandemic and the measures taken to contain it, said the government. However, […]
Switzerland’s Christian Catholic church votes in favour of same sex marriage
Over the weekend, the Christian Catholic Church of Switzerland voted in favour of same sex marriage at a national synod in Zurich, according to RTS. The Christian Catholic Church of Switzerland is part of an offshoot of Catholicism that rejects papal infallibility. The church has around 12,000 adherents mainly in Basel, Aargau, Solothun, Zurich, Bern, […]
Journalists in Switzerland have not had a pay rise for 14 years
A recent survey by a Swiss union USS shows that average pay for journalists in Switzerland has barely risen for 14 years. In 2006, on average (median) a journalist earned CHF 7,200 a month. By 2020, this figure had risen to CHF 7,333, an average annual increase of 0.13%, which amounts to less than CHF […]
Is ventilation in Swiss schools good enough to reduce the spread of Covid-19?
As pupils across Switzerland soon start returning to school, some might wonder how well ventilated school classrooms are. A study published by Switzerland’s Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) in 2019 estimates that the air quality in two thirds of Swiss classrooms was inadequate. The study, which ran over two years, sampled the air quality […]
Unemployment up in second quarter of 2020 in Switzerland
Switzerland’s unemployment rate rose from 4.2% to 4.6% in the second quarter of 2020, according to a recent survey that measures unemployment more broadly than Switzerland’s official unemployment measure. The method used for these calculations is the one defined by the International Labour Organisation (ILO), which includes all available job seekers – ILO definition of unemployment. […]
