Why more young Swiss men are opting for a vasectomy

As the world changes, so do many men’s attitudes towards fertility and fatherhood. Keystone

Children? No thanks! The stories of two men who opted for a vasectomy in their early twenties are representative of a wider trend: steadily declining birth rates, including in Switzerland.

“I decided to have a vasectomy when I was 21,” says Raul, who is now 27. “I didn’t want to take the risk of unwanted fatherhood. And I felt a need to be in control of my sex life.”

Raul did not make the decision lightly. After a long period of careful consideration, he finally went ahead with it after talking to a friend who had also done the operation. “Only the third urologist I saw agreed with my decision – and still insisted that I wait three months to think it over,” Raul says.

No second thoughts

According to the Swiss federal law regulating sterilisation, the procedure may be performed on “persons of sound mind who have reached the age of 18”, provided they have been “fully informed about the procedure” and have given their written consent.

Nevertheless, urologists are highly cautious. Many follow the guidelines of the European Association of Urology, which advises against vasectomy for men under the age of 30.

Sterilisation in Switzerland – data

According to the Federal Statistical Office (FSO), in 2022 a total of 8.9% of the population aged 15 to 74, when asked about contraception methods, said they had undergone male sterilisation. This is a slight increase compared to the 2017 survey. The percentage rises with age: among 35- to 44-year-olds it reaches 10.8%; among 25- to 34-year-olds it is 1.8%.

The FSO also notes that 2,566 sterilisation procedures were carried out in Swiss hospitals in 2019: 733 on men and 1,833 on women. No data is available on procedures done outside hospitals. Vasectomies are more common in German-speaking Switzerland than in the country’s other linguistic regions.

Raul’s parents also would have preferred him to wait a little longer. “My father was very sceptical. My mother asked me to at least freeze my sperm, which I didn’t do,” he explains by phone. But six years on, Raul is more convinced than ever that he made the right decision, as is his current partner.

“We don’t want to bring children into a capitalist world and turn them into cogs in a system which leaves no room for living. What’s more, being child-free gives me more freedom and more time for clubs and associations.” Raul is a member of various climate and anti-speciesist groups; he also campaigns for animal rights and works at an animal sanctuary, Co&xister, in canton Vaud.

All the data on decreasing births, and what this could mean for Swiss society, below:

Parenthood no guarantee of greater happiness

Oliver (whose name has been changed) has a similar story. In his early twenties, he began to question his own future as well as that of the planet. It was also at this time that he became involved in vegan and anti-speciesist circles.

“I had a vasectomy when I was 25 and in Canada, where the practice is less restricted,” the now 30-year-old university student says. “After the consultation, the doctor agreed with my decision and performed the operation that same day.”

His decision was also shaped by his lifestyle. He volunteers for various organisations, an unpaid commitment that would not allow him to provide a family with a living standard up to today’s expectations, he explains.

Oliver is by no means the only young person in Switzerland in this situation. According to data from the Federal Statistical Office, the number of 20- to 29-year-olds who do not want to have children nearly tripled between 2013 and 2023. This corresponds to one in six people in this age group today.

Stated reasons include working conditions and the difficulty of balancing work and family life. On top of this, more and more young people believe that having children does not automatically make for a more fulfilling, happier life. In fact, parenthood is rather seen as having a negative impact on happiness, a couple’s relationship, and career prospects. 

Birth rates in Switzerland and beyond

According to the latest estimates by the United Nations (World Population Prospects 2024), the global fertility rate fell from around five children per woman in the 1950s to 2.3 in 2024.

In many countries, the birth rate is well below the level of 2.1 children per woman that guarantees generational renewal. In Spain it stands at 1.23, in Italy at 1.21 and in Malta at 1.11. The situation is similar in Japan (1.23), China (1.02) and South Korea, which, at 0.75, has one of the lowest rates in the world.

Switzerland is no exception: in 2024, the average number of children per woman fell to 1.29, an all-time low.

Economic uncertainty and climate anxiety

Clémentine Rossier, director of the Institute of Demography and Socioeconomics at the University of Geneva, confirms this overall picture. “One of the main reasons is the growing economic uncertainty, as seen after the 2008-2009 financial crisis. Various studies show that when people’s perception of economic instability increases, there is a decline in births nine months later.”

In addition to economic factors, Oliver had a host of other reasons for opting out of fatherhood. “I’m worried about the future. We’re in the throes of a climate crisis with summers that are getting hotter and hotter. And politically, I think the world is moving towards more fascism,” says the activist, who spends his free time fighting food waste by distributing food discarded by wholesalers to people in need.

He is not alone in these concerns, Rossier confirms: “Among the factors influencing the decision not to have children is a growing anxiety linked to the climate crisis. Another element is the so-called third wave of feminism, which the #MeToo movement also pushed forward, and which has called into question gender roles within couples and families.” Many young women, the professor says, no longer accept the double burden of work and family in a society where gender equality has still not been reached.

In this context, Oliver says he is glad to have taken on the burden of contraception in order to relieve his partner. “She really appreciates not having to take the pill and the fact that there’s no risk of an unwanted pregnancy,” he explains. This represents not just a physical and mental burden, Rossier notes, but also a financial one. “Studies show that the costs of contraception are borne almost exclusively by women, something which further entrenches an unfair distribution of responsibilities.”

Polarisation and new masculinities

Jannik Böhm is a sex educator who has been holding sex education classes in schools for some ten years, mainly for boys. In class, he sees a certain polarisation on issues relating to gender and sexuality. Alongside feminist and progressive trends, he notes a revival of more traditional family models and gender roles.

“These are contradictory dynamics. Three distinct groups can be identified in the classroom,” the 38-year-old says. “A third of the young people support gender equality and a new concept of masculinity, another third does not yet have a clear opinion, and the last third is influenced by circles such as the manosphere or incels, which defend traditionalist and often sexist views.”

Tensions between these groups are palpable, Böhm says, and manifest primarily in homophobic attitudes and a tendency to define one’s own masculinity by denigrating homosexuality and anything perceived as feminine.

In his classes, the educator discusses sexuality and outlines various methods of contraception. In Switzerland, he notes, the use of the pill is declining in favour of alternatives such as condoms, the coil and natural methods. “Condoms do not guarantee absolute protection, as the probability of an unwanted pregnancy can be as high as 15%,” explains Böhm, who is also on the board of the organisation Sexual Health Switzerland. “For this reason, and due to a lack of alternatives, the number of young men opting for a vasectomy could increase in the future.”

This trend is already clear in France, for example, which has seen a veritable boom in vasectomies. Between 2010 and 2022, the number increased 15-fold, although the baseline was very low.

Worldwide, meanwhile, the annual number of male sterilisations is falling. Oliver and Raul are thus swimming against the tide, in particular because they made the decision at a very young age. Oliver has not completely ruled out the idea of becoming a father one day, perhaps through adoption or alternative means of conception. Yet for Raul, the matter is sealed. “While I have no second thoughts whatsoever about the vasectomy, I do have a tattoo that I wish I’d never got,” he laughs.

Should authorities try to boost birth rates? If so, how? Have your say in our debate:

Edited by Marc Leutenegger/Adapted from German by Julia Bassam/dos