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Nine out of ten Swiss rent in major cities

A picture taken on a communal roof terrace
In Geneva, 91.4% of people were tenants. Keystone

Geneva, Zurich and Lausanne are the Swiss cities with the highest proportion of people living in rented accommodation. Nine out of ten homes there are rentals, according to the latest figures published by the Federal Statistical Office on Wednesday.

In Geneva, 91.4% of people were tenants. The rate was similarly high in Lausanne (90.3%) and in Zurich (89%).

On a national level, some 59% of Swiss households were rentals between 2012 and 2016, according to statistical office.

+Learn more about the Swiss housing system

Out of the 174 Swiss locations analysed, home owners were in the majority in only eight.

The largest proportion of property owners, 64.7%, was found in Obersaxen, a mountain village in eastern Switzerland. Two villages in French-speaking Switzerland with a homeowner proportion of 58.3% and 56.7% respectively came second and third.

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