Describe the demographics and Ethnicity profile of Switzerland?

The total population of Switzerland is approximately 8.65 million as per the latest world population review 2020. The country has a life expectancy of 84.3 years according to the latest census. Even though Switzerland is a small country, it is diverse in its demographic and has a population density of 217 people per KM2. Switzerland has four official languages, which are, Swiss German, French, Italian & Romansh. The geographical location of Switzerland has it sharing its boundaries with Austria, France, Germany, Italy and Liechtenstein. 

The geographical proximities that Switzerland enjoys with these five countries have an influence on its culture and day to day life as well. More than one-fourth of the population comprises of foreign nationals and Italians form a good proportion of that as well. 

There are very diverse ethnic groups in Switzerland. Apart from Swiss nationals, other ethnic groups in Switzerland include Germans, Italians, Portuguese, French, and many more. 

Switzerland is majorly a Christian population, close to 70% of the population practices Christianity, these are majorly divided into two groups i.e. Roman Catholic or Reformed. One-fourth of the population is not associated with any religion, the remaining population is again a diverse group comprising of Muslims, Hindus, Buddhist among others.

The diverse international student population of Switzerland has nationals from over 100 countries, even with the ever-increasing number of students coming to Switzerland for higher education, the population growth in Switzerland specifically the urban population and resident population has remained consistent.

The population growth rate for Switzerland has hovered just below 1% every year, except in 2007 when it went slightly over 1%. A look at the total fertility rates in Switzerland reflects that according to the United Nations, Switzerland has a very low total fertility rate of 1.5 live births per woman. The infant mortality rate in Switzerland is 3 infant birth rates per 1,000 live births and 3.4 for children below the age of 5 years per 1,000 live births

The growth in population in Switzerland is expected to slow down in the coming years, thereby increasing the reliance on skilled professionals from other countries in the long run.

Check out, why study in Switzerland.