Be it because of their career, love or longing for a life in a distant country: over the past few years, around 80 Swiss people packed their bags every day. They soon belonged to the so-called fifth Switzerland, with a place of residence abroad.
More than Swiss people live in over 65 countries. Since 2011, with around 30,000 emigrants annually, more Swiss people have left their homeland than came back. A kink probably caused by Covid-19 took place in 2020: the first year in a long time in which around 26,000 people emigrated as many returned.
Popular and less popular destinations
Most emigrants stay in Europe and settle in France, Germany, Italy, Great Britain, Spain or Portugal, such as “Swissinfo” reported. Turkey is also a popular new home. Eastern Europe is more likely to be avoided.
The next popular destinations are already further away: the USA, Canada, Brazil, Australia as well as Thailand and the Philippines in Southeast Asia, which have an almost magnetic effect on Swiss emigrants. In most African countries, the number of new settlers from Switzerland can practically be counted on one hand.
Age and gender differences
The younger, the more willing to travel – this motto can also be derived from the Federal data statistics read off. According to this, Swiss people between the ages of 20 and 34 are particularly prone to wanderlust. Many already have a child. With school-age children, emigrating becomes more complicated again, and the curve decreases accordingly from the 35-year-olds onwards. With 70-year-olds, the curve begins to flatten out almost completely.
And yet old age doesn’t seem to be a hurdle. Retirees in particular are drawn to sunnier climes – above all to Spain, Turkey, Thailand and Serbia. And in 2019 two Swiss women who had turned 100 said goodbye to their homeland.
Only men moved to one country – no, not to Thailand, which had a gender ratio of 34 percent women to 66 percent men between 2011 and 2019. The Vatican only attracted men during this period. No wonder, there is no such thing as a female Swiss guard and the Catholic Church is not exactly known as an equal opportunity employer. The only two countries that seem to attract significantly more Swiss women are Iceland and Chad. (kes)