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Women flee the nest earlier than men

Woman looking at flat
Half of women in Switzerland have moved out by the age of 21.5 © Keystone / Christian Beutler

Women in Switzerland move out of their parents’ home much earlier than men. By the age of 20, almost a third have left, compared with only 23% of men.

By 30, almost 97% of women have moved on, compared with 90% of men. Overall, at the age of 22, half of all young Swiss no longer live with their mother, father or both parents, the Federal Statistical Office (FSO) revealed in a surveyExternal link of 15- to 39-year-olds published on Thursday.

After moving out, most live near their parents and maintain close contact. The physical distance increases with age. Young people from French- and Italian-speaking Switzerland move out earlier.

Half of women have moved out by the age of 21.5, half of men by 22.8. The difference grows to 15 percentage points among 25-year-olds: 83% of all women have moved out at this age, compared with 68% of men. This difference narrows with increasing age, but still amounts to seven percentage points at the age of 30.

The study found that the cohorts from 1978 to 1987 moved out earlier than the ones from 1988 to 2002. At the age of 20, 39% of the women in the older group had moved out, compared with 26% in the younger group. The statistical office found the same trend among men.

Differences based on the level of education are less pronounced. In general, people who have completed tertiary education moved out earlier. So at the age of 20, 35% of women with a tertiary degree had left their parents’ home, compared with 31% without a tertiary degree. This is also evident among men. At the age of 30, 93% of university graduates have moved out, compared to 85% of men without tertiary education.

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