Switzerland’s global image got a boost in 2024

A picture of Switzerland or a cliché of it? Tourists in front of the Matterhorn. Keystone/Urs Flüeler

Switzerland managed to improve its reputation around the world last year – at least partly thanks to a high-level conference on Ukraine, a foreign ministry report has found.

After two years of relatively frequent negative headlines – mostly about the country’s stance on the war in Ukraine and the implosion of Credit Suisse – 2024 brought an upswing for Switzerland’s image, according to Presence Switzerland, a foreign ministry unit responsible for polishing Switzerland’s global standing.

Last year, international media not only reported on the country less often – they were also less critical, Presence Switzerland says. According to its annual reportExternal link, which includes the results of a survey of 11,000 people in 18 countries, the overall picture is positive: “2024 was a good year for the perception of Switzerland”, it writes.

The biggest media echo was generated by the June 2024 conference on peace in Ukraine – the so-called Bürgenstock Conference, after the central Switzerland resort where it was held. This event met with a largely objective or positive response in the international press – with the exception of Russian media, which tried to label it a failure in advance, partly due to Russia’s non-participation.

Relations between Switzerland and the European Union (EU) were covered less extensively by international media, even though the end of negotiations on a future deal in December 2024 met with a big response domestically – from a Swiss perspective, it’s probably the most important foreign policy decision for the coming years or even decades. 

In addition, events like the judgement by the European Court on Human Rights (ECHR) in the case of the climate seniors and Nemo’s victory at the Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) attracted international attention in the press and on social media. This is likely to be repeated in the case of the 2025 ESC, to be held in Basel.

The analysis also shows that a country’s image among the general population usually remains quite stable: 70% of respondents said their view of Switzerland had not changed in the last two years.

Meanwhile the study reveals that the perception of Switzerland in neighbouring countries is often more differentiated and critical than in more distant countries, where Switzerland is more likely to be defined by stereotypes and clichés: i.e. more mountains and chocolate, less neutrality and banking.

In short, Switzerland’s global image remains very positive overall – and it gets better the further away you go.

What do you think? What’s the perception of Switzerland where you live? Let us know in the debate below:

Translated from German by DeepL/dos