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Keeping company
Labour agreement faces social test
As support for the free movement of workers accord with the European Union is waning, Swiss employers and unions are agreed on combating labour market abuses and tightening controls. But they are at loggerheads over the issue of minimum wages. [...]
Neither war nor peace
Battle begins against drones and killer robots
The intensive use of drones by the Obama administration is feeding a wave of protest and criticism which reaches Geneva next week when a coalition of NGOs will call for a halt to the race to build technology for autonomous killing robots. [...]
Corporate taxes
Swiss set to tackle divisive fiscal reform
Swiss banking woes
Minister says end to US tax dispute in sight
Swiss Finance Minister Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf says a resolution may be not far off to end a long-running dispute with the United States over Swiss banks accused of helping wealthy Americans evade billions of dollars of taxes. [...]
Changes at the top
Surprise shake-up marks Glencore Xstrata meeting
Formula for success
Chinese parents drive baby milk powder boom
Ice hockey
Switzerland take silver at world championships
Switzerland won its first medal at the ice hockey world championships in 60 years, capturing the silver medal after losing to hosts Sweden 5-1 in the final in Stockholm on Sunday. [...]
Gymnastics coach
'It’s a great feeling to fly, to twist, to rotate'
Aerial mapping
Successful takeoff for Swiss commercial drones
Switzerland’s flying robots used for 3D aerial mapping have been a global commercial success. But security and privacy concerns could curb the enthusiasm of a sector which is in full swing.
[...]Cancer discovery
New imaging gives insight into tumours’ travels
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In depth
Population
More foreigners and fewer naturalisations
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Switzerland continues to be a multifaceted land due to immigration (Keystone)
The number of non-Swiss living in Switzerland rose slightly in 2012 to 1.825 million, a three per cent increase over 2011, the Federal Migration Office reported on Friday. Foreigners continue to make up roughly 20 per cent of the population.
The increase was primarily attributed to migration by citizens of the 27 European Union countries, with a 4.1 per cent increase over 2011, to a total of 1.2 million.
There were 630,000 people from non-EU countries living in Switzerland at the end of 2012, 0.9 per cent more than at the end of 2011.
In 2012, 144,000 foreigners moved into Switzerland, and 66,000 left the country. There were 20,000 foreigner births and 6000 deaths.
The biggest group of foreigners in Switzerland are Italians (294,000), followed by Germans (285,000), Portuguese (238,000), French (104,000) and Serbians (95,000).
The number of foreigners who were granted Swiss citizenship in 2012 was markedly lower than the number in 2011. In 2012, 34,000 foreigners became Swiss citizens, a decrease of 7.2 per cent.
Free movement
Minister calls for open dialogue on immigration
Justice Minister Simonetta Sommaruga has warned against downplaying the negative consequences of Europe’s liberal immigration regulations for Switzerland, while at the same time pointing out that the country owes its prosperity in part to foreign labour. [...]
Ideal immigrants
Why Portuguese seek work in Switzerland
More than 230,000 Portuguese citizens live in Switzerland. And the financial crises means the number is growing. Immigration expert Rosita Fibbi tells swissinfo.ch about the people who "don't make many demands and who know their place". [...]
Scrubs
Foreign doctors bail out Switzerland
In the wake of the accords with the European Union on the free movement of people, many EU physicians have been flocking to Switzerland, attracted by entrepreneurial freedom and well-paid positions – and the country has come to rely on them. [...]
Immigration
Swiss to vote on curbing population growth
Campaigners have collected enough signatures to force a nationwide vote on a proposal to slow down population growth through immigration limits and measures to promote birth control in developing countries. [...]
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