Exit registers increase in number of assisted suicides in Switzerland
In 2025, 1,421 people made use of Exit Switzerland's services in the German and Italian-speaking parts of the country. This is higher than in 2024, when 1,235 cases of assisted suicide were registered.
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The number of members is also growing steadily. According to a report published on Monday, 14,189 people joined the non-profit association over the course of 12 months. Exit had 195,836 members (+8%) in the German-speaking cantons and in the Italian-speaking region of Switzerland at the end of 2025.
Switzerland’s largest suicide assistance organisation attributes the growing number of assisted suicides to, among other things, an ageing society, which is confronted with seriously disabling illnesses or disabilities.
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The average age of those accompanied in 2025 was 80, slightly higher than in 2024 (79.5). The average age of women rose from 79.9 to 80.6 years old, and that of men from 78.9 to 79.2.
Stable figures in southern and eastern Switzerland
As has been the case for many years, more women (818) than men (603) used Exit to end their lives. It should be noted that in Ticino (28) there was one fewer case of assisted suicide last year than in 2024, while in Graubünden (35) the figures are identical.
The number of members has been growing steadily for years. In January 2026 alone, 2,400 people applied for an Exit Switzerland (German-speaking region) membership card, the organisation said.
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According to its annual report, 32% of people who resorted to assisted suicide had terminal cancer, which corresponds to 461 cases. There is also a significant number of elderly people with multiple disorders (polymorbidity) who opted for an assisted death: last year there were 326 cases (23% of the total), compared to 205 in 2024.
The vast majority of the seriously ill had the option of an assisted suicide within the walls of their own homes. In fact, 75% of assisted suicides took place in private homes. Another 20% (278 cases) occurred in nursing homes for the elderly.
Translated from Italian with AI/gw
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