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Swiss population increased in 2020 despite Covid

Newborn baby
There were 9,700 more births than deaths in Switzerland last year © Keystone / Gaetan Bally

The resident population of Switzerland grew by 64,300 people to 8,670,300 last year, an increase of 0.7%, despite the sharp increase in deaths caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The population grew in all 26 cantons apart from Neuchâtel, Appenzell Outer Rhodes and Ticino, the Federal Statistical OfficeExternal link (FSO) said on Wednesday on the basis of definitive figures.

The FSO attributes the population growth to three factors. The immigration of 53,800 people resulted in the foreign resident population growing by 1.6%.

There were also 9,700 more births than deaths – almost half the figure for 2019. The most surplus births were in Zurich. In contrast, more deaths than births were recorded in cantons Ticino, Jura, Glarus, Neuchâtel, Schaffhausen, Basel Country, Basel City, Graubünden and Bern.

The third factor cited by the FSO is internal migration from canton to canton. Fribourg saw the highest rate of new residents who had moved from other parts of the country; Basel City saw the highest rate of its citizens move to other cantons.

More than 10,500 people have died in Switzerland in connection with Covid-19. 

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