Yesterday, Roger Federer won the Australian open, beating Marin Cilic from Croatia, making him the first male player to win 20 grand slam finals. “Of course winning is an absolute dream come true,” Federer told the crowd while holding the trophy. “The fairytale continues for me after the great year I had last year. It’s […]
Swiss fact: nearly half of Swiss rental properties owned by individuals
If you rent a home in Switzerland it is more likely to belong to an individual than a big real estate company or pension fund. In 2017, 49% of residential rental properties in Switzerland were owned by individuals, according to Statistics published by the Swiss Federal Statistical Office. The highest rate of rental home ownership […]
My Swiss Story – a multilingual life in a multilingual nation
Everyone has a story. My Swiss Story is a series that looks at lives in Switzerland. Born and raised in a small German village near Stuttgart, Diana Linder lives with her husband and two boys in Veigy-Foncenex, a French commune bordering Geneva. A freelance interpreter, working mostly in Switzerland, she speaks German, English, French and Spanish. […]
Income inequality in Switzerland remains stable after redistribution
Income inequality in Switzerland has remained stable according to a report published by Switzerland’s Federal Statistical Office. A key measure of inequality involves dividing the income share of the top 20% by that of the bottom 20%, a measure known as S80/S20. 1 is complete equality. In 2015, the latest figure, the S80/S20 for Switzerland […]
New poll on vote to axe Swiss broadcast fee suggests rejection
A poll run by the media group Tamedia shows a clear majority in favour of rejecting the initiative, dubbed “No Billag”, which aims to end Switzerland’s broadcasting fee. This poll follows one done in December 2017, which showed a majority in favour of the initiative. In December 57% were either fully or quite in favour […]
Some Swiss train platforms to go smoke-free in February
From 1 February 2018, Swiss Rail will start trialling smoke-free train platforms in Nyon, Neuchâtel, Basel, Zurich, Chur and Bellinzona. If successful the ban could become permanent and cover all Swiss Rail stations by the end of the year. Some smokers interviewed at Nyon train station by the newspaper Le Matin, described the move as […]
Fast-track citizenship starts in February for third generation foreigners
Last week Switzerland’s Federal Council announced that young foreigners whose grandparents immigrated to Switzerland or were born there, could get Swiss citizenship via a simplified procedure, starting on 15 February 2018, provided they meet certain requirements. 60.4% of Swiss voters agreed to this plan in a referendum on 12 February 2017. Swiss to vote on […]
Most Swiss against 1.3 billion franc EU payment, according to poll
A poll by Swiss media company Tamedia, suggests a majority of Swiss are against the CHF 1.3 billion payment the Federal Council, Switzerland’s executive, agreed to contribute towards EU payments to EU members in eastern Europe over 10 years. The poll results were reported in 20 Minutes. After agreeing the sum in November last year […]
The new immigration vote that could end free Swiss-EU migration
Last week the Swiss People’s Party (UDC/SVP) and Action for a neutral independent Switzerland (ASIN) began collecting the 100,000 signatures required to launch a new vote to limit immigration into Switzerland from EU and EFTA nations. The new initiative to limit immigration is less ambiguous than the one put to a vote on 9 February 2014. […]
Budget busting burgers – Swiss franc still the most overvalued
The Economist has just published its January 2018 Big Mac index, a light-hearted measure of whether currencies are under or overvalued. The underlying assumption is that a Big Mac is the same whether bought in Kiev or Chur, so any price difference must be due to the exchange rate. In January 2018, Swiss Big Macs […]
