Life & Aging

We examine trends shaping Swiss society’s lifestyle and aging, comparing them globally and offering insights on shared questions and issues.

Is Switzerland repeating England’s housing mistakes?

This content was published on Jun 16, 2025 Switzerland is about to repeat England’s mistakes in residential construction, says property economist Christian Hilber.

Our editor’s picks

After the first ‘Sarco pod’ death, will Switzerland introduce stricter rules for assisted suicide?

This content was published on Feb 6, 2025 The first death to come about using the Sarco capsule has reignited debate on whether assisted dying should be more tightly regulated in Switzerland.

"It is impossible to fully go back, neither physically nor as a person," says Chris/Nadia Brönimann.

Switzerland’s most renowned trans person no longer wants to be a woman

This content was published on Jan 12, 2025 Chris Brönimann became Nadia just before the turn of the millennium. Now Switzerland’s most famous transgender figure is publicly grappling with regret over that choice.

Growing old in Switzerland

The living conditions and infrastructure for older people in Switzerland are good, including the social and pension system. However, the latter is coming under increasing pressure: while life expectancy has risen significantly in recent decades, there have only been minor changes in the retirement age.

Community corner: latest debates and surveys on Life & Aging

What are your experiences with housing shortages and rising property prices?

Switzerland is steering towards a housing crisis. Are there solutions?

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Apr 25, 2025

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56 Comments

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Switzerland moves up three places in the WEF equality index

Switzerland moves up three places in the WEF gender equality index

This content was published on Jun 12, 2025 Switzerland has moved up three places to 17th in the World Economic Forum’s gender equality index.

Stays of the crowned heads in Switzerland, presented at the National Museum

New exhibit explores ties of European royalty to Switzerland

This content was published on Jun 12, 2025 An exhibit at the Swiss National Museum showcases the history of the visits by the royal families to Switzerland.

In Zurich, there are to be income limits for affordable flats

Zurich to set income limits to rent affordable flats

This content was published on Jun 12, 2025 The Zurich city parliament has spoken out in favour of an income limit for people renting private, affordable flats.

Arth-Rigi Railway has been writing Swiss railway history for 150 years

Arth-Rigi Railway line celebrates 150 years

This content was published on Jun 9, 2025 Over the past 150 years, the Arth-Rigi Railway has repeatedly played a pioneering role in Swiss rail transport.

Flat-hunting in Switzerland’s cheapest and most expensive municipalities

This content was published on Jun 8, 2025 The town of Le Locle in the Jura and the municipality of Kilchberg on Lake Zurich are 2.5 hours’ drive apart – and thousands of francs per square metre.

Resting at the summer palace in the forbidden city of Beijing. Max Huber on the left.

Around the world with a young Swiss explorer in 1900

This content was published on Jun 7, 2025 Long before he became president of the Red Cross, Zurich-born Max Huber travelled the world for two years documenting every step of his adventure.

Topic focus: Assisted suicide in Switzerland

Why assisted suicide is ‘normal’ in Switzerland

In Switzerland, assisted suicide is considered a legitimate way to end your life.

Yoshi travels from Japan to Switzerland to die

This content was published on Sep 13, 2021 A Japanese man came all the way to Switzerland to die. SWI swissinfo.ch accompanied him on the final part of his journey. This is his story.

To what extent do you think assisted suicide should be a legally available option to those who want to end their lives?

Switzerland legalised assisted suicide in the 1940s. More than 1,000 seriously ill or disabled people end their lives with the help of suicide assistants in Switzerland each year.

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Dec 2, 2021

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338 Comments

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A Swiss hospice where people can die with dignity

This content was published on Dec 12, 2023 Many people want to spend their last days at home. “La Maison de Tara” in Geneva offers an alternative to hospitalisation.

Sarco, the 3D-printed suicide pod, was presented in Switzerland for the first time on July 17 in Zurich.

Why liberal Switzerland is opposed to the Sarco suicide capsule

This content was published on Jul 27, 2024 The media hype is huge. Swiss outlets have been reporting on the Sarco suicide capsule for almost all of July. However, cantonal authorities are putting up resistance.

A nurse holding the hand of an elderly woman in a nursing home.

Assisted suicide: death with dignity or ethical dilemma?

This content was published on Jul 29, 2024 Assisted suicide is considered a controversial and personal topic. Does it mean death with dignity, or does it inevitably lead to an ethical dilemma?

Actor Tilda Swinton in a scene from The Room Next Door.

How film and literature have influenced the acceptance of assisted suicide

This content was published on Jan 6, 2025 Powerful stories of assisted dying are etched in our collective memory. Now, a research project from Switzerland is gathering artistic works on the subject.

After the first ‘Sarco pod’ death, will Switzerland introduce stricter rules for assisted suicide?

This content was published on Feb 6, 2025 The first death to come about using the Sarco capsule has reignited debate on whether assisted dying should be more tightly regulated in Switzerland.

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Echoes from the Indian Ocean: Swiss stories of the 2004 tsunami

This content was published on Jun 6, 2025 This Swiss docufiction tells the stories of people whose lives were devastated by the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.

Almost all people over 65 use the internet

Most over-65s in Switzerland regularly use the internet

This content was published on Jun 4, 2025 The digital divide is narrowing faster than expected in Switzerland. A study published on Wednesday reveals that nine out of ten over-65s use the internet.

How retiring baby boomers could crash Swiss property market

This content was published on Jun 2, 2025 If baby boomers sell their homes, the property market could collapse. Can younger generations hope for plummeting prices?

Historical plant collection believed to have been destroyed found in Basel

Historical plant collection from Indonesia discovered in Basel

This content was published on May 28, 2025 Experts in Basel have found four plant collections that were thought to be destroyed in the Second World War.

Novartis bets on ageing as next frontier in drug development

This content was published on May 23, 2025 Swiss pharma giant Novartis is diving into research on ageing to tap the growing market for drugs that help keep older adults healthy.

Half of men and a third of women too fat

Swiss health survey: 52% of men are overweight, 34% of women

This content was published on May 19, 2025 The results of the Swiss Health Survey 2022 reveal clear differences between men and women: 55% of women and 44% of men live with at least one chronic illness.

Children play at a traveller site in Nidau, near Biel, 1954.

How Switzerland, Scotland and Norway seized children from itinerant families

This content was published on May 15, 2025 In the 20th century, Yenish children in Switzerland were placed in institutions as part of a state-backed effort to destroy their way of life. Similar practices existed in Norway and Scotland.

Switzerland: 30% more births on weekdays

Friday most popular ‘birth day’ in Switzerland

This content was published on May 13, 2025 Fridays are the preferred day for babies to be born in Switzerland, according to a report by the Federal Statistical Office.

‘Without immigration, more than a third of the Swiss population would disappear per generation’

This content was published on May 12, 2025 Switzerland is a country of emigration but also immigration. This is typical of an open, globalised country, says political analyst Michael Hermann.

Two people in silhouette look at mobile phones while a contrail of an aircraft is seen in the sky in the evening twilight, at Zurich Kloten Airport, pictured in Ruemlang, Switzerland, Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025. (KEYSTONE/Michael Buholzer)

No house generation: the impossibility of buying property in Switzerland

This content was published on May 12, 2025 In many countries, buying a home is slipping further out of reach for young people. Switzerland is no exception.

Paving stones were laid in Biel in tribute to the victims of Nazism

‘Stumble stones’ laid in Swiss city in tribute to victims of Nazism

This content was published on May 9, 2025 Biel/Bienne now has its own memorial paving stones commemorating the victims of Nazism who lived in the Swiss city.

Swiss true crimes: the child serial killer Werner Ferrari (part 2/2)

This content was published on May 9, 2025 This two-part documentary film looks back at the police investigation into the shocking story of Switzerland’s infamous child serial killer.

Demographics

Flat-hunting in Switzerland’s cheapest and most expensive municipalities

Aging society

Is Switzerland repeating England’s housing mistakes?

Foreign Affairs

The Russia affair in the Swiss secret service: ‘This is espionage’

Cats climbing the cat ladders erected on the façade of a house in Bern

Swiss oddities

What a love of cat ladders says about the Swiss

Swiss Abroad

Swiss food labels must declare animal suffering from July

What are your experiences with housing shortages and rising property prices?

Switzerland is steering towards a housing crisis. Are there solutions?

Join the discussion

Apr 25, 2025

41 Likes

56 Comments

View the discussion

Is there a future for the humanitarian sector? What should it look like?

With key donors cutting aid budgets, the humanitarian sector faces a crisis. What strategies can organisations adopt to navigate this challenge?

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May 14, 2025

18 Likes

14 Comments

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Train vs plane: would you take a direct train between London and Geneva?

Eurostar is planning to run direct trains from Britain to Germany and Switzerland from the early 2030s. Would you favour the train over the plane? If not, why not?

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Jun 13, 2025

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3 Comments

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Life & Aging

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Is Switzerland repeating England’s housing mistakes?

Our editor’s picks

More

After the first ‘Sarco pod’ death, will Switzerland introduce stricter rules for assisted suicide?

More

Switzerland’s most renowned trans person no longer wants to be a woman

More

Growing old in Switzerland

Community corner: latest debates and surveys on Life & Aging

More

What are your experiences with housing shortages and rising property prices?

Latest content of Life & Aging

More

Switzerland moves up three places in the WEF gender equality index

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New exhibit explores ties of European royalty to Switzerland

More

Zurich to set income limits to rent affordable flats

More

Arth-Rigi Railway line celebrates 150 years

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Flat-hunting in Switzerland’s cheapest and most expensive municipalities

More

Around the world with a young Swiss explorer in 1900

Topic focus: Assisted suicide in Switzerland

More

Why assisted suicide is ‘normal’ in Switzerland

More

Yoshi travels from Japan to Switzerland to die

More

To what extent do you think assisted suicide should be a legally available option to those who want to end their lives?

More

A Swiss hospice where people can die with dignity

More

Why liberal Switzerland is opposed to the Sarco suicide capsule

More

Assisted suicide: death with dignity or ethical dilemma?

More

How film and literature have influenced the acceptance of assisted suicide

More

After the first ‘Sarco pod’ death, will Switzerland introduce stricter rules for assisted suicide?

More content on Life & Aging

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Echoes from the Indian Ocean: Swiss stories of the 2004 tsunami

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Most over-65s in Switzerland regularly use the internet

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How retiring baby boomers could crash Swiss property market

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Historical plant collection from Indonesia discovered in Basel

More

Novartis bets on ageing as next frontier in drug development

More

Swiss health survey: 52% of men are overweight, 34% of women

More

How Switzerland, Scotland and Norway seized children from itinerant families

More

Friday most popular ‘birth day’ in Switzerland

More

‘Without immigration, more than a third of the Swiss population would disappear per generation’

More

No house generation: the impossibility of buying property in Switzerland

More

‘Stumble stones’ laid in Swiss city in tribute to victims of Nazism

More

Swiss true crimes: the child serial killer Werner Ferrari (part 2/2)

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Flat-hunting in Switzerland’s cheapest and most expensive municipalities

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Is Switzerland repeating England’s housing mistakes?

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The Russia affair in the Swiss secret service: ‘This is espionage’

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What a love of cat ladders says about the Swiss

More

Swiss food labels must declare animal suffering from July

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