It is often said that Switzerland has 26 cantons. However, technically it has 20 full and 6 half cantons. Basel-City is one of Switzerland’s half cantons. This means it only gets one seat in the Council of States, Switzerland’s federal upper house, compared to the two each full canton gets. Some cantonal politicians in Basel-City […]
Geneva to vote on seven proposals
Voting papers for the next lot of referenda are long in Geneva. A total of 10 questions on seven subjects will be put to voters. In addition to the two votes on state pensions (one to spend more, one to spend less), there will be questions on a monster building development, the minimum number of […]
Swiss home prices up in 2023
This week, the Federal Statistical Office (FSO) published the Swiss residential property price index for 2023, which showed an annual price increase of 2.2%, with a rise of 1.1% in the fourth quarter. The average price of single-family homes rose by an average of 1.9% last year and the prices of apartments rose by an […]
Issues concerning the Swiss most in 2023
This week, a survey was published setting out issues of greatest concern to the Swiss public. The five biggest issues cited by the Swiss population are of a monetary nature. Economic concerns haverisen, leaving issues such as climate change in sixth place. The top concern is healthcare costs and health insurance premiums. 41.8% were worried […]
Work, housing, crime, culture – Switzerland’s best and worst cities
Recently published data from Switzerland’s Federal Statistical Office (FSO) rank Switzerland’s cities on various aspects related to quality of life, reported RTS. Quality of life depends on what someone finds important. So the survey does not attempt to come up with a single rating. Instead it ranks Switzerland’s cities across a number of categories. The […]
Swiss military finds unexpected billion franc hole in budget
Recently revealed financial difficulties at Switzerland’s military came out of the blue this week, reported RTS. Army head Thomas Süssli and defence minister Viola Amherd are in regular contact about the army’s finances, so politicians across the political spectrum were surprised by the size of hole in the budget. Some said they knew there was […]
The four Swiss votes set for June 2024
Swiss voters will be presented with four questions on 9 June 2024, announced the administration this week. According to RTS the four votes are on two initiatives on health insurance premiums, one on laws related to green energy and one on vaccinations. The Socialist Party gathered enough signatures for a vote on its 10% initiative, […]
Swiss pension finances – the unavoidable numerical reality
Swiss state pensions have been in the news a lot recently. VAT increased on 1 January 2024 to help fund them, and two referenda on the subject are set for voting on 3 March 2024. This week, RTS published an article setting out the mathematical reality of Switzerland’s pension finances. Pensions in Switzerland, like in […]
More non-religious than Catholics in Switzerland
The shift away from religion continues to accelerate in Switzerland. By 2022, those belonging to no faith (34%) outnumbered Catholics (32%), protestants (21%) and other faith groups (12%). The only groups growing are the non-religious, Muslims and other forms of Christianity, according to statistics published by the Federal Statistical Office (FSO). The percentage of the […]
Swiss doctor shortage – hardest hit regions
As the baby boomer generation retires staff shortages are emerging. Family doctors is one profession particularly hard hit due to training bottle necks and the challenges of the role. A report by RTS shows that the district of Franches-Montagnes in the Jura has one sixth of the per capita number of family doctors as Lausanne. […]
