Switzerland’s population is still growing and is expected to hit 10 million in the years to come, but some parts of the country will see faster growth than others.
Even though the birth rate in Switzerland has been falling for years, the country’s population as a whole is steadily increasing.
In fact, it is expected to reach the 10-million mark sometime in the 2040s, according to the ‘Population Scenarios’ study published by the Federal Statistical Office (FSO).
Its estimates place the average annual population growth at 0.5 percent, an increase that will come “exclusively from immigration,” the FSO noted.
But this influx of newcomers will not be distributed evenly throughout the country.
Where will most of these immigrants live?
The FSO envisages them settling “around the major urban areas” — pretty much following the same migratory patterns as they have done in the past — but not only: smaller cantons will also absorb some of the new residents, according to the FSO.
The top-10 cantons in terms of population growth in the next two decades, will be Lucerne, with a hefty 33-percent increase.
Next will be St.Gallen (26.6 percent), followed by Vaud (23.1), Geneva (22.5), Thurgau (21.7), Aargau (21.6), Valais (19.8), Appenzell Innerrhoden (19.7), Zurich (19.2), and Zug (17.6).
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And the numbers do not stop there
The FSO also calculated a “high scenario”— that is, if more immigrants than expected arrive in Switzerland, and the birth rate increases, as does the life expectancy.
In such a case, the country’s permanent resident population would already reach 11.7 million by 2050.
READ ALSO: What Switzerland needs to do to accommodate 10 million residents
