Which parts of Switzerland are the most tolerant and which are the least tolerant of foreigners? A study published on Friday by the Federal Statistical Office (BfS) investigates these questions. Accordingly, residents of urban areas are much more tolerant of foreigners than residents of rural regions.
Switzerland is not equally tolerant of foreigners everywhere. But xenophobia seems to be a marginal phenomenon: “Only a small proportion feel disturbed by people who are perceived as ‘different’ and the majority reject racist attitudes,” says the study. “People who are politically right-wing, do not have a migration background or live in sparsely populated areas are comparatively less open.”
According to this, “41 percent of the population without a migration background state that they feel disturbed by people with a different language, nationality, religion or skin color”. This proportion is half as large for the population with a migration background. It should be noted that more than a third of the Swiss population has a migration background.
Geographical and linguistic division
The urban-rural divide is striking: “In densely populated municipalities, 27 percent of the population say that they feel disturbed by people who are perceived as ‘different'”, emerges from the in-depth analysis of diversity in Switzerland. “In sparsely populated communities it is 38 percent. Inhabitants of densely populated communities “have a more positive attitude overall than people in sparsely populated areas,” states the BfS.
According to the study, a split can also be seen along the geographical and linguistic boundaries. For example, foreigners in the French- and Italian-speaking cantons are less often perceived as “different” than in the German-speaking cantons. The exception is Zurich. Eastern Swiss (41 percent) are more likely to feel disturbed than residents of the greater Lake Geneva (24 percent), Ticino (24 percent) and Zurich (30 percent) regions.
A study by the University of Geneva at the beginning of this year showed that it is no coincidence that most foreigners live in cities and in the vicinity of urban centers. The study found a “strong foreign presence” in and around large cities with their economic centers and jobs. (kes)