Racism and discrimination remain issues for many Swiss
Almost four in ten people in Switzerland have a migration background.
Keystone / Steffen Schmidt
A majority of Swiss see racism as an important social issue, although the scale of the problem has remained relatively constant in the eyes of the population.
This content was published on
2 minutes
Keystone-SDA/dos
Español
es
Racismo y discriminación siguen siendo un problema
Some 60% of people polled by the Federal Statistical Office (FSO) last year said racism was an important societal theme, up two percentage points since 2020.
This is according to the most recent edition of the FSO’s biennial Diversity and coexistence in Switzerland study, published on Thursday.
As for the integration of migrants in the country, 59% of respondents rated this as good; this is down five percentage points on two years ago, but similar to the level recorded in 2018.
Just under one-third of people also say they have been the victims of discrimination and violence based on their background or appearance, down two percentage points on 2020. The rate is 40% for people with a migrant background, and 50% for the 15-24-year-old age group. This latter group is also particuarly adamant that authorities should do more to prevent racism.
Diverse population
Some 31% of the population meanwhile reported feeling “uncomfortable in the presence of people perceived to be different”.
And while 9% of foreign nationals said they sometimes feel “threatened”, just 4% of Swiss nationals said the same.
People from over 190 nationalities feature in Switzerland’s population of around 9 million. Almost 30% of residents were born abroad.
The workplace, at 58%, is where interactions involving diversity most often take place.
Popular Stories
More
Demographics
Flat-hunting in Switzerland’s cheapest and most expensive municipalities
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?
ETH Zurich remains best university in continental Europe
This content was published on
Swiss universities have once again fallen slightly behind in international comparison. In the annual university rankings, they recorded slightly more losses than gains overall. However, three Swiss universities are among the 100 best in Europe.
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.
Read more
More
Why Switzerland should be doing more to fight racism
This content was published on
The UN has pointed its finger at a lack of clear Swiss legislation to tackle racism as well as the lack of enough accessible recourse for victims.
Expert group criticises systemic racism in Switzerland
This content was published on
Black people in Switzerland face everyday discrimination as well serious racial profiling by the police, a UN working group has found.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.