Recently, the Swiss federal statistical office published preliminary results of a survey on Switzerland’s attitudes toward foreigners, which included questions on nationality, race, language and religion. The survey, which questioned 3,000 people across Switzerland, was designed to take the pulse of multicultural coexistence in Switzerland, a nation which is home to people of more than […]
If Catalonia were part of Switzerland
According to the BBC, Spain’s government is set to remove autonomy from the region after Catalan leader, Carles Puigdemont, failed to meet Madrid’s deadline for clarifying whether he had declared independence. Earlier this month, RTS, Switzerland’s state broadcaster said neutral Switzerland was ready to help facilitate discussions between Spain’s government and Catalonia. In addition to […]
Majority of Swiss see a future beyond car ownership
A recent study finds that a majority of Swiss see a future beyond car ownership. This new post-car world, set out by a team of geographers, architects, urbanists, economists, engineers, and political and social scientists, asked the public to imagine living in a society that would choose to live car free, not out of environmental constraints […]
The new 10 Swiss franc note hand mystery
The third in a series of gorgeous new Swiss franc bank notes will be released by the Swiss National Bank (SNB) on October 18th. The 10-franc note keeps its yellow colour, but most everything else in the design and construction is different. What’s most remarkable about the new bank note? Not the 40 centimes or […]
3 million francs of gold and silver found in Swiss sewers
Call it “dirty money” if you wish, because there’s about CHF 3 million in gold and silver found each year in Swiss sewage. But no one is going to get rich, according to a just-published report by the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (Eawag). Recovering the estimated CHF 1.5 million in gold, […]
Switzerland’s gender pay gap – why educational equality doesn’t lead to the same pay
A recent OECD report on the gender pay difference looks at the situation in Switzerland. Across the OECD, young women are better educated than young men, do more work in total – paid and unpaid – yet earn less. In 2015, the average pay difference across the OECD was around 14%. Over the 5 years […]
Standard German works at work but Swiss German rules among friends
A recent study of Swiss German, the largest ever on the subject, was published this week. It offers insights into when and where the language is spoken. Switzerland has three (full) official languages: German, French and Italian, which are used more universally by federal government, and a fourth, Romansh, which is used when communicating with […]
Geneva to Paris for 34 francs
Train operator TGV Lyria is set to launch new fares to compete with low-cost airlines. Prices starting at CHF 34 will be offered on trips from Geneva to Paris. First class tickets at CHF 57 will be offered on the same journey. There will also be a fully-flexible first class business fare priced a bit […]
Talk of cutting Swiss pensions paid to foreign residents
Le Matin. According to Le Matin, Jean-Luc Addor, a parliamentarian and member of the Swiss People’s Party (UDC/SVP), wants to know what savings could be made if pensions paid to those abroad were adjusted for living costs in those countries. According to the newspaper, after the rejection of the vote to reform Swiss pensions, Addor […]
Aging population explains only a small part of rising Swiss healthcare costs
There are many reasons why Swiss healthcare costs continue to climb. One, often cited, is changing demographics, jargon for more older people. But how much of an impact is this having? A set of figures for 2014, estimate that the share of health spending on the 28.5% of the population over 60, was 60.7% of […]
