‘We have a pope’ – and record food prices

Keystone

Almost every article published by swissinfo.ch contains a percentage, an age, an amount of money or some other figure. Here’s a round-up of the most interesting statistics to appear in the past week’s stories.

Sunday

1

The number of goals scored/conceded by both Switzerland and Brazil in their first match at the football World Cup in Russia. The draw meant the qualifying group, which also includes Serbia and Costa Rica, was wide open. 

Monday

454,000

Two years ago, Swiss voters narrowly rejected tax breaks for heterosexual married couples. The Christian Democratic Party, which organised the initiative, is demanding a re-run, saying government figures were wrong. Indeed, the cabinet has admitted that instead of the 80,000 married and registered couples in line to receive the tax break, it was in fact 454,000 couples. 

Tuesday

5,800,000

Although 5.8 million people own a driving licence in Switzerland, applications are dropping – especially among the young. 

Wednesday

68

Eye-watering onions – and prices. For the third year in a row, Switzerland is the most expensive in Europe for food and non-alcoholic drinks, 68% more than the EU average. 

Thursday

30,000

Or was it 37,000? Depending on who you ask, the congregation of Catholics who flocked to Geneva to celebrate mass with Pope Francis was either the smaller number (according to the police) or the larger (the diocese). 

Friday

60

The current retirement age for construction workers. Unions have warned of strikes if this is increased.