POPULATION
8.5 million people
There are approximately 8.5 million people living in Switzerland, 25 per cent of whom are foreign nationals. More than half of the inhabitants who do not have a Swiss passport were either born in Switzerland or have been living here for at least ten years. The majority of foreign nationals come from an EU or EFTA country, predominantly from Italy (15%), Germany (14%) and Portugal (12%). 17 per cent come from non-European states.
Four national languages
Switzerland is a multilingual country. There are four national languages: German, French, Italian and Romansh. 63 per cent of the population speak primarily (Swiss) German, 23 per cent French, 8 per cent Italian and 0.5 per cent Romansh. English, Portuguese, Albanian (3 to 5 per cent of the population) and various other languages are also spoken in Switzerland. Many people state that they have two main languages.
Christian majority
67 per cent of people living in Switzerland claim affiliation to the Christian faith. Catholics are the majority in 14 cantons; Protestants are the majority in 3. In the remaining cantons, there is no clear majority. 25 per cent of citizens are not members of any religion – this number has been on the rise for several years.