There’s renewed focus on Switzerland’s middle class after its rejection of tax reforms in a nationwide vote. Nearly two-thirds of Swiss society is defined as middle class, but what does the term really mean today?
In Sunday's vote, 59% of voters felt proposals to change the country’s corporate tax landscape were too generous to companies at the expense of ordinary taxpayers.
A large-scale study carried out by the Federal Statistical Office in 2013 gives some insights into the makeup of the modern middle class.
1. They earn between 70% and 150% of median income
Wages are the main criteria for deciding whether someone is part of the middle class or not. How the household is made up is also a determining factor. So people living in a household with a gross income of between 70 and 150% of the median income are classified as belonging to the middle class. Median income is the amount that divides income distribution into two equal groups, half having income above that amount and half below.
External Content
The following content is sourced from external partners. We cannot guarantee that it is suitable for the visually or hearing impaired.
2. They represent nearly two-thirds of the population
58.1% of Swiss are middle class. A fifth of the population earn less than the middle class and a fifth have more.
External Content
The following content is sourced from external partners. We cannot guarantee that it is suitable for the visually or hearing impaired.
3. Numbers have remained relatively stable since 1998
Between 1998 and 2013 the middle class represented between 57% and 61% of the population. It peaked at 61.3% in 2009 and then decreased somewhat. The Federal Statistical Office says there has not been a significant change. A sign that the middle class is not eroding, as some news reports claim.
4. One in four people in the middle class reports having financial troubles with low wages
External Content
The following content is sourced from external partners. We cannot guarantee that it is suitable for the visually or hearing impaired.
5. More than a fifth of the lower middle class did not enter higher education
Level of education is closely associated with an income bracket. The proportion of people without a post-compulsory school diploma decreases as income increases.
External Content
The following content is sourced from external partners. We cannot guarantee that it is suitable for the visually or hearing impaired.
6. They don’t have much faith in politics
Lower middle class and people on low incomes have less confidence in the political system than the general population.
External Content
The following content is sourced from external partners. We cannot guarantee that it is suitable for the visually or hearing impaired.
All rights reserved. The content of the website by swissinfo.ch is copyrighted. It is intended for private use only. Any other use of the website content beyond the use stipulated above, particularly the distribution, modification, transmission, storage and copying requires prior written consent of swissinfo.ch. Should you be interested in any such use of the website content, please contact us via contact@swissinfo.ch.
As regards the use for private purposes, it is only permitted to use a hyperlink to specific content, and to place it on your own website or a website of third parties. The swissinfo.ch website content may only be embedded in an ad-free environment without any modifications. Specifically applying to all software, folders, data and their content provided for download by the swissinfo.ch website, a basic, non-exclusive and non-transferable license is granted that is restricted to the one-time downloading and saving of said data on private devices. All other rights remain the property of swissinfo.ch. In particular, any sale or commercial use of these data is prohibited.