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Switzerland in numbers: the country, its people and its work.

Nine million people, five million jobs, 626 000 companies and 26 cantons. The figures that describe Switzerland — with a wage you can slide and a canton you can pick.

Published Last updated 6 min read
Painting of an accountant at a wooden desk with papers and a computer in a bright, slightly old-fashioned office, with a Swiss old town, a lake and mountains through the windows
Counting the country: numbers, papers and a view of the lake.
01 · The country

Nine million people, four languages, twenty-six cantons.

Switzerland is smaller than many European regions, yet it runs as 26 cantons with their own taxes, schools and offices — and it is growing by a mid-sized town every year.

9.1 M
people live in Switzerland — plus 76 100 in 2025 alone (+0.8 %)
BFS, end 2025 [1]
27.7 %
of residents are foreign nationals — one of the highest shares in Europe
BFS, end 2025 [1]
26
cantons, each with its own tax rates, school system and permit office
Swiss Confederation [2]
1.81 M
people are 65 or older — for the first time more than the 1.80 M under 20
BFS, end 2025 [1]
10 M
residents expected between 2040 and 2045
BFS reference scenario [1]
92 %
of population growth comes from immigration
BFS, 2025 [1]
Main language spoken at home [2]
German 62 %French 23 %Italian 8 %other
Many residents speak a non-national language at home — English, Portuguese and Albanian are the largest. Figures are rounded shares of the resident population.
02 · Work

Almost everyone works — and many choose less than full-time.

5.39 M
people are in work
BFS SAKE, Q4 2025 [3]
3.0 %
registered unemployment (SECO) — 5.0 % by the ILO survey definition
SECO Aug 2026 · BFS Q4 2025 [4]
39 %
of workers are part-time (59 % of women, 21 % of men)
BFS SAKE 2024 [5]
14 %
of workers are self-employed
BFS SAKE 2024 [5]
40 h
actually worked per week on average (41 h 42 contractual)
BFS, 2025 [6]
4 wk
minimum paid holiday per year — 5 weeks under age 20
CO Art. 329a [8]
CHF 7 024
median gross monthly wage, full-time
BFS LSE 2024 [7]

Switzerland as 100 people

Each square is one percent. Switch the view to see how the country splits.

What a full-time month pays [7]

Median means half of all full-time workers earn more, half earn less. Drag the marker to see where a salary sits.

Bottom 10 %
CHF 4 635Median
CHF 7 024Top 10 %
CHF 12 526
CHF 7 024 a month gross — about 50 % of full-time workers earn less than this.
CHF 7 502
median in the canton of Zürich
BFS LSE 2024 [7]
CHF 5 708
median in Ticino — the regional gap is real
BFS LSE 2024 [7]
8.4 %
wage gap between women and men, down from 9.5 % in 2022
BFS LSE 2024 [7]
03 · Companies

A country of very small companies.

626 033
registered companies
BFS STATENT 2023 [15]
561 952
micro companies with 1–9 staff — 9 in 10 of all companies
BFS STATENT 2023 [15]
1 814
large companies with 250 staff or more
BFS STATENT 2023 [15]
4.82 M
jobs counted in those companies
BFS STATENT 2023 [15]
3.19 M
people work in companies with fewer than 250 staff — two in three
BFS STATENT 2023 [15]
1.63 M
people work in large companies — one in three
BFS STATENT 2023 [15]
1.19 M
people work in micro companies with fewer than 10 staff
BFS STATENT 2023 [15]
≈ 690 000
people are self-employed — 14 % of everyone in work
BFS SAKE 2024, derived [5]
04 · Your canton

Twenty-six cantons, twenty-six sets of numbers.

Pick a canton to see how big it is, how crowded, and what share of the country lives there.

Population BFS, 31.12.2024 [14]; area and languages: official cantonal figures. Density is residents per km² of total area, including lakes and mountains.

05 · Money rules in one glance

Five rules that explain most of the paperwork.

  • No national minimum wageA federal minimum was rejected by 76 % of voters in 2014. Five cantons and the city of Lucerne set their own floors for employees — they do not apply to self-employed taskers, who set their own prices. [11]
  • CHF 2 500 a yearSide income above this line must be declared to the AHV, and self-employed earners register with the Ausgleichskasse. Below it, employees pay nothing extra. [10]
  • Every franc is taxableThere is no tax-free allowance for side income; it is added to your other income in your tax return.
  • Health insurance within 3 monthsBasic health insurance is compulsory for everyone living in Switzerland and must be taken out within three months of arrival. [9]
  • Three pillars of retirementState pension (AHV), occupational pension (BVG, employees only above a salary threshold) and private savings (3a). Self-employed people have no compulsory second pillar.

Cantonal minimum wages, 2026 [11]

Per hour, for employees. Re-checked against cantonal sources at publication.

  • GenevaCHF 24.59
  • City of LucerneCHF 22.75
  • Basel-StadtCHF 22.20
  • JuraCHF 21.40
  • NeuchâtelCHF 21.35
  • TicinoCHF 20.00–20.50
06 · Questions people ask

Short answers.

Is 3 % unemployment good?

By European standards it is low. Note that Switzerland publishes two figures: 3.0 % counts people registered at regional job centres (SECO), 5.0 % comes from the ILO survey definition, which also counts people looking for work who are not registered. Both are among the lowest in Europe.

How many people in Switzerland work part-time?

About 1.9 million — 39 % of everyone in work has a job of under 90 %. Among women it is 59 %, among men 21 %. The share has grown by 13 percentage points since 1991 and is one of the highest in Europe.

What does a Swiss full-time job pay?

The median gross wage for a full-time job was CHF 7 024 a month in 2024: half of all full-time workers earn more, half earn less. The lowest-paid tenth earn under CHF 4 635, the best-paid tenth over CHF 12 526. Zürich’s median is CHF 7 502, Ticino’s CHF 5 708.

How much can I earn on the side before paperwork starts?

Up to CHF 2 500 a year from side work, employees owe no additional AHV contributions. Above that, you declare the income and, if self-employed, register with your cantonal Ausgleichskasse. Taxes apply from the first franc either way.

How many companies are there in Switzerland?

626 033 registered companies in 2023. Nine in ten have fewer than ten staff, and only 1 814 employ 250 people or more — yet those few large companies provide one in three jobs.

How fast is Switzerland growing?

By 76 100 people in 2025, or 0.8 % — roughly the size of Schaffhausen every year. About nine in ten of them arrived from abroad; the statistics office expects the country to pass 10 million residents between 2040 and 2045.

Painting of a young man delivering groceries by cargo bike in a Swiss old town

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References

Where the numbers come from.

  1. [1]
    Federal Statistical Office (BFS) — Bestand und Entwicklung der Bevölkerung der Schweiz im Jahr 2025: definitive Ergebnisse. www.bfs.admin.ch
  2. [2]
    Federal Statistical Office (BFS) — Sprachen — Hauptsprachen der Bevölkerung. www.bfs.admin.ch
  3. [3]
    Federal Statistical Office (BFS) — Schweizerische Arbeitskräfteerhebung (SAKE), 4. Quartal 2025: Arbeitsangebot. www.bfs.admin.ch
  4. [4]
    State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) — Die Lage auf dem Arbeitsmarkt, August 2026. www.seco.admin.ch
  5. [5]
    Federal Statistical Office (BFS) — SAKE in Kürze 2024. dam-api.bfs.admin.ch
  6. [6]
    Federal Statistical Office (BFS) — Arbeitszeit im Jahr 2025 — Arbeitsvolumenstatistik. www.bfs.admin.ch
  7. [7]
    Federal Statistical Office (BFS) — Schweizerische Lohnstrukturerhebung (LSE) 2024: erste Ergebnisse. www.bfs.admin.ch
  8. [8]
    Swiss Confederation — Code of Obligations, Art. 329a — minimum holiday entitlement. www.fedlex.admin.ch
  9. [9]
    Swiss Confederation — Federal Health Insurance Act (KVG), Art. 3 — compulsory insurance within three months. www.fedlex.admin.ch
  10. [10]
    AHV/IV information centre — Merkblatt 2.02 — Beiträge der Selbstständigerwerbenden. www.ahv-iv.ch
  11. [11]
    Cantonal minimum wages 2026 (overview) — Mindestlohn Schweiz 2026 — kantonale Sätze. checkeverything.ch
  12. [12]
    Federal Inspectorate for Heavy Current Installations (ESTI) — Installationsbewilligungen nach NIV. www.esti.admin.ch
  13. [13]
    State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SBFI) — Reglementierte Berufe in der Schweiz. www.sbfi.admin.ch
  14. [14]
    Federal Statistical Office (BFS) — Ständige Wohnbevölkerung nach Kanton, 31.12.2024 (STATPOP). www.bfs.admin.ch
  15. [15]
    HSG Institute for SMEs / OBT — KMU in Zahlen 2026 — BFS STATENT 2023 figures by company size. www.obt.ch

All figures were checked against the sources above on 4 October 2026. The “last updated” date at the top changes whenever a figure is refreshed. This page is general information, not tax or legal advice.