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Tremors, watches and refugees

Migrant on a boat in the Mediterranean
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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.




900

More than 900 earthquakes were recorded in Switzerland last year, according to the Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich. But only 25 of them had a magnitude at which tremors are registered by an average person.  


21,000,000,000

Swiss watch exports broke the CHF21 billion ($21.2 billion) mark last year. This 6.3% increase is largely due to Asian markets and the watchmaking industry is optimistic the trend will continue despite uncertainty over the Chinese economy.  


16

Support for a proposal to curb urban sprawl in Switzerland has dropped by 16% over the past month according to the latest opinion poll. Voters decide on the issue next weekend but the initiative  seems doomed to fail at the ballot box.  


657

Women in Switzerland earned CH657 ($659) less per month than their male colleagues with the same qualifications. The gender gap has narrowed only slightly over the past five years but researchers are puzzled over the reasons for the difference.  


15

Applications for asylum in Switzerland dropped by 15% – the lowest level in 11 years. A total of 15,255 people, mainly from Syria, Eritrea and Afghanistan handed in a request last year, according a senior official in the justice ministry.

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SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR