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Number of Swiss abroad continues to grow

More and more Swiss are heading abroad for more than just a holiday Keystone

More Swiss nationals are choosing to relocate overseas. The Swiss expat population increased by 2% between 2013 and 2014, the foreign ministry announced on Thursday. France, Germany and the United States welcomed most of the new Swiss arrivals.

As of 2014, there were 746,885 Swiss nationals living abroad, an increase of almost 15,000 on the year before. The figures include all Swiss nationals registered at an embassy or consulate general.

Six of ten expats were living in the European Union, with around three-quarters of them based in countries sharing a border with Switzerland: France (194,474), Germany (84,671), Italy (51,353) and Austria (15,542). The highest increases were recorded in France (+3,112), Germany (+2,045) and the US (+1,176).

The largest expatriate Swiss communities outside Europe are in English-speaking countries. The US is home to around 79,000 Swiss, Canada hosts almost 40,000, Australia has close to 25,000, and Israel has almost 18,000.

In total, Swiss expats are living in 200 different countries worldwide, with about 12% more Swiss women than men living abroad. São Tomé, Principe, Kiribati and Turkmenistan are home to one Swiss national apiece.

Of almost 600,000 Swiss nationals abroad who are eligible to vote, 142,651 were listed on a Swiss electoral register for the nationwide vote held on November 30, 2014. This was an increase of around 1.5% in comparison with the elections to the House of Representatives in 2011.

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