Switzerland Today

Dear Swiss Abroad,

Swiss 15-year-olds are good at maths – among the best in Europe – and above-average at science, according to the 2022 PISA international education survey of 81 countries. Results for reading are stable. Overall, there has not been much change for these three subjects since the 2015 survey.

This contrasts with many other countries which have experienced an “unprecedented drop” in student performance. Was the Covid-19 pandemic partly to blame? Perhaps; during lockdown Switzerland closed its schools for shorter periods than many other countries. The report's authors say Covid had no negative impact on the skills of pupils in Switzerland.

Read on for more stories and news from Switzerland today.

© Keystone / Gaetan Bally

In the news: Pictet and US crackdown, training as a young Swiss doctor, new births and hackers hit Baden.

• Banque Pictet& Cie SA, the Swiss private bank and asset manager, agreed to pay$123 million (CHF107 million) to resolve a US investigation into how it helped Americans hide more than $5.6 billion in secret bank accounts. It is the last of a number of Swiss banks that have been caught up in the US crackdown since 2009.
• Hackers have published large amounts of data from the Swiss city of Baden on the darknet, it has been confirmed.
• The number of births in Switzerland increased significantly during the Covid-19 pandemic, the Federal Statistical Office confirmed on Tuesday. 2020 saw a sharp drop in the number of marriages, while the number of divorces was exceptionally low in the first half of that year.
• Working as a doctor is one of the most prestigious professions in Switzerland, but the reality seems quite different: one-third ofmedical studentssay they are ready to give up after their first internship in a hospital due to the long hours and heavy administrative workload expected in the years ahead.

Keystone / Laurent Gillieron

PISA survey: Swiss students perform well in maths

Swiss 15-year-olds scored well for mathematics in an international survey published on Tuesday. They are also above average for science and reading. But 25% of Swiss pupils failed to reach the minimum level in reading.

The 2022 PISA survey from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) found that Swiss 15-year-olds scored 508 points for maths on the PISA scale in 2022, compared with an average of 472 points. Six countries scored better, all in East Asia. Estonian students had a similar level to Switzerland in maths.

The study noted a “very slight drop” in Swiss results since 2015, when the average score was still 521 points. But Switzerland is no exception: the OECD average also fell by 12 points between 2015 and 2022.

In Switzerland, 19% of pupils do not achieve the minimum level of competence in mathematics, as defined by the OECD.

For reading, Swiss pupils performed significantly better than the OECD average (483 points versus 476). Fourteen countries did better than Switzerland, 57 worse. Reading scores in Switzerland have been relatively stable since 2015. 

On a negative note: 25% of Swiss students do not achieve the minimum competency level, as defined by the OECD. This percentage has risen by 5 points since 2015.

Swiss students are also better at natural sciences (503 points) than the OECD average (485). Their performance has been stable since 2015. 

Overall, Asian countries dominated the top spots in the keenly watched survey of education capabilities, while levels in Europe slipped at a record pace – and not just because of Covid. 

“The PISA 2022 results show a fall in student performance that is unprecedented in Pisa’s history,” said OECD education analyst Irene Hu. Long-term issues in education systems are partly to blame for the drop in performances around the world, such as lower support from teachers and staff and lack of resources, the report said.

© Keystone / Urs Flueeler

Swiss hotel industry enjoyed record summer in 2023

The Swiss hotel industry had a recordsummer – 23.9 million overnight stays for the May to October period (+6.3%), the Federal Statistical Office (FSO) said. It was helped by an influx of foreign visitors, especially from the United States and China.

Overnight stays by foreignvisitors rose by 17.2% compared to the 2022 summer season. US holidaymakers generated over two million nights “for the first time since 1985”, said the FSO.

The summer season was also marked by a return of Chinese tourists. With the end of the zero-Covid policy, the number of overnight stays by Chinese tourists quadrupled compared to the summer season in 2022. It still remains much lower than 2019, however.

The FSO also notes a sharp increase in tourists from South Korea and India.

The hotel industry also benefited from strong interest from Swiss holidaymakers and visitors. The number of overnight stays among Swiss visitors dropped by 3.4% compared to the 2022 summer season, to 11.5 million overnight stays. But it remains at a high level.

The start of the 2023/24 winter season has been described as a “total success” thanks to early snowfalls and bookings, according to Switzerland Tourism. Hotels and tourism officials predict a 3% increase in overnight stays for Christmas and New Year.