Swiss population rise: Mainly foreigners

BERN  The population of Switzerland rose by 1.3% in 2013, the overwhelming majority of them immigrants, the Federal Office of Statistics announced this week. With 100,600 new residents, the current population now stands at 8.1 million. An estimated 89,500 of the new influx were immigrants, primarily Germans, Portuguese, Italians, French, Spanish and other European Union citizens, contributing to a slight increase from 23.3% in 2012 in the proportion of foreigners living in Switzerland to 23.8%.
Switzerland, which has the highest rate of immigration in Europe, now ranks sixth among a score of wealthy nations or entities with populations born abroad. Only Qatar, Singapore, Israel, Hong Kong and Saudi Arabia have loftier proportions, according to the University of Neuchatel. Qatar, for example, has a population consisting of over 84% foreigners, consisting mainly of labour migrants without whom this small Gulf country could not survive.
Different sectors in Switzerland, notably multi-national corporations, high-tech research and development, hospitals, agriculture as well as tourism and the hospitality business, have consistently made a similar argument maintaining that the Swiss economy would collapse without qualified immigrant labour or new blood. Even the universities are increasingly relying on foreign students and lecturers to maintain their high standards of instruction and research.
This arrival of new immigrants does not represent the highest in recent years. In response to filling much-needed jobs in Switzerland, the early 1960s witnessed far greater ‘Gastarbeiter’ influxes, primarily Italians, Portuguese and Spanish. A similar rise was registered in 2008, again because of the high number of jobs available. Many have since settled in this country adopting citizenship. Their children are almost more Swiss than the Swiss serving in the army, voting in elections with a sizeable minority, ironically, favouring immigrant restrictions.
Nevertheless, the new government figures with Fribourg (2.1%), Vaud (2.0%) Valais (1.6%), and Geneva (1.4%) showing the largest increases are likely to provoke renewed political debate relating to the controversial 9 February, 2014 migration referendum. Proposed by the right-wing UDC party, this seeks to cut back on EU citizens coming to live and work in Switzerland.
Ecopop, another referendum initiative, this time backed by environmentalists, is seeking to curb population increases by radically limiting immigration to 0.2%. Other initiatives with variations of the same theme are also in the offing.
The Ecopop proponents maintain that over-population, construction and the steady erosion of green spaces is threatening the environmental well-being of the country. Based on latest projections, Switzerland is slated to host a population of 8.5 million by 2019, a correction to last June’s OFS estimate of 2023. The next Swiss federal parliamentary elections in November, 2015, are expected to focus heavily on the population and immigration issue.
Various politicians are already pointing the finger at private enterprise, particularly multi-nationals. According to Robert Cramer, a Green party council member from Geneva cited by Le Temps, “the business sector needs to wake up and assume its responsibilities.” Companies, he argues, are seeking to hire personnel by finding cheaper labour outside the country. Vaud’s Isabelle Moret, vice-president of the Radical Liberal Party (PLR), also lambasted the private sector by questioning the “moral responsibilities of certain companies, notably those which seek to recruit on the other side of our frontiers.”
Neither politician, however, offered a solution to jobs that companies are unable to fill by relying on existing expertise within Swiss borders. The Swiss watch industry, for example, is desperately seeking qualified personnel in neighbouring France, because there are not enough Swiss to fill the jobs. The same goes for the hotel and restaurant industry.