More children were born in Switzerland last year than at any time in the past 50 years. Life expectancy increased, and fewer people died than during the first pandemic year of 2020.

According to provisional statistics for 2021, the permanent resident population of Switzerland grew by 0.8% compared with 2020 to more than 8.7 million people at the end of the year, the Federal Statistical Office (FSO) said on TuesdayExternal link. The population increase was thus slightly stronger than in the three previous years (0.7%).

Last year 89,400 live births were recorded in Switzerland, the highest number since 1972. The 4.1% increase was also the highest since 1988. The pandemic may have had an indirect influence on the number of births, the FSO told the Swiss News Agency Keystone-SDA.

All 26 cantons recorded an increase in births except Nidwalden and Obwalden in central Switzerland.

The number of children per woman rose from 1.46 in 2020 to 1.51.

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Fewer deaths

Last year 71,100 people died in Switzerland. This is 5,100 fewer than in 2020, when Covid-19 claimed its first victim. Nevertheless, the number of deaths was still 3,300 more than in 2019, before the pandemic.

The net birth surplus (the difference between births and deaths), which had fallen sharply in 2020 as a result of more deaths, rose again to 18,300 people in 2021.

Life expectancy at birth also rose again, from 81.1 years to 81.7 years for men and from 85.2 years to 85.7 years for women.

Last year 165,600 people moved to Switzerland (up 1.5%) and 114,600 people left the country (up 4.8%). As a result, net migration fell from 53,800 to 51,000.

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