On 24 September 2024, Switzerland’s parliament voted in favour of several motions aimed at tightening asylum policy. These include moves to remove the right of temporarily admitted asylum seekers to bring their families, and tougher rules for Ukrainians in Switzerland with protection S status, reported SRF. The motion seeking to remove the right of temporarily […]
Swiss health insurance set to rise further in 2025
This week, Elisabeth Baume-Schneider, Switzerland’s Health Minister, announced health insurance premiums will rise by an average of 6% in 2025 to CHF 378.70 a month. However, the range of the increase varies from 1.5% to 10.5% depending on the canton of residence. According the minister, the increase is driven by rising health care costs and […]
Swiss National Bank cuts interest rate
On 26 September 2024, The Swiss National Bank (SNB) announced further eased its monetary policy by lowering its key rate for the third time in a row by 0.25% to 1%. The SNB started cutting its key rate before the European Central Bank (ECB) and the US Federal Reserve (Fed). It first cut the rate […]
Swiss vote results 22 September 2024
On 22 September 2024, Swiss voters rejected two federal initiatives. The first, a plan to combat the decline in biodiversity was rejected by 63% of voters. The second, a government plan to reform employee pensions was rejected by 67% of voters. For the biodiversity initiative, cantonal level vote results ranged from nearly 58% in favour […]
Minister launches Swiss supercomputer
Switzerland has a new supercomputer, which was inaugurated by Federal Councilor Guy Parmelin this week at the national high-performance computing center in Lugano, reported RTS. The computer, known as “Alps” is one of the most powerful supercomputers in the world. To perform the calculations that “Alps” manages in one day, would require a standard laptop […]
Swiss to vote on employee pension reform
On 22 September 2024, the Swiss will vote on two popular initiatives. The first is the biodiversity initiative “For the future of our nature and our landscape”. The second is on a plan to reform Switzerland’s occupational pension system. Reform of Switzerland’s pension system is an increasingly pressing issue given the predictable demographic shift underway. […]
Swiss to vote on biodiversity initiative
On 22 September 2024, the Swiss will vote on two popular initiatives. The first is the biodiversity initiative “For the future of our nature and our landscape”. The second is on a plan to reform Switzerland’s occupational pension system. Biodiversity, a term referring to the number of living organisms and the habitats that support them, […]
Swiss parliament agrees to extra 4 billion francs for army
This week, Switzerland’s parliament voted in favour of spending an extra CHF 4 billion on the nation’s military, bringing annual military expenditure to 1% of GDP earlier than planned, reported RTS. The extra CHF 4 billion will bring the total budget to CHF 30 million spread across the period from 2025 to 2028. The Federal […]
Vacant homes become increasingly scarce in Switzerland
Data published this week by Switzerland’s Federal Statistical Office (FSO) show a decline in the number of vacant homes, both to buy and rent in Switzerland. On 1 June 2024, there were 51,974 empty homes in Switzerland, representing 1.08% of the country’s total housing stock. The number was down by 2,791 (-5.1%) compared to the […]
Switzerland’s population reaches 9 million
Data published this week by the Federal Statistical Office (FSO) show that Switzerland’s population reached more than 9 million at the end of June 2024. Census data show there were 9,002,763 people permanently residing in Switzerland at 30 June 2024. The FSO has run a population census seven times since 1850, when the total number […]
