By the numbers: Switzerland scores high on prices, lower on happiness

Keystone

Almost every article published by swissinfo.ch contains a percentage, an age, an amount of money or some other figure. Here’s a round-up of the most interesting statistics to appear in the past week’s stories.

Sunday

865,000

The number of guns currently registered in Switzerland’s intercantonal platform. As newspaper SonntagsBlick reported on Sunday, this represents a 9% increase over last year. 

Monday

100,000

The estimated cost in Swiss francs of damages caused by vandals at an unauthorised march in Zurich on International Women’s Day. Zurich police said in a statement on Monday that they did not intervene during the “massive damage to property” because of the large number of women and children in attendance. 

Tuesday

230

The number of people who lost their lives in Swiss road accidents in 2017, according to the Federal Office of Transport. Although that’s 14 more deaths than in 2016, the overall trend has been downward since 2013.

Wednesday

5

Switzerland’s ranking in the 2018 edition of the United Nation’s World Happiness report, released on Wednesday. It’s the third year in a row that Switzerland has seen its ranking fall, although it remains in the top five, behind Finland, Norway, Denmark and Iceland.

Thursday

2

The Swiss city of Zurich’s position on a list of 133 cities around the world ranked by the cost of living. Geneva tied with Seoul for sixth place, according to the 2018 World Wide Cost of Living Survey, published on Thursday.

Friday

170 million

The amount, in Swiss francs, of damages caused by floods, rockfalls and landslides in Switzerland in 2017. The figure represents a ten-year high according to a report published Friday by the Swiss Federal Institute of Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL).