28.03.2025 - There were 826 700 Swiss citizens residing in other countries on 31 December 2024. Their numbers have increased since 2023 (+13 300 people or +1.6%). Three quarters of the Swiss abroad have more than one nationality. This figure rises to 85% among the under-18s. These are some of the results of the Statistics on the Swiss Abroad published by the Federal Statistical Office (FSO).
At the end of 2024, 826 700 Swiss citizens were registered with an official Swiss representation abroad, 1.6% more than in 2023. This increase is slightly lower than the year before (+1.7%). In addition to migration by Swiss nationals, trends in the numbers of Swiss abroad are influenced by changes in the existing populations (births and deaths) and acquisition of Swiss nationality by foreign citizens.
Swiss people on every continent
Of the 826 700 Swiss citizens residing abroad, 530 500 live in Europe (64%). The largest communities are in France (212 100), Germany (101 000), Italy (52 600), the UK (40 900) and Spain (27 300). In these five countries, the number of Swiss citizens grew between 2023 and 2024, with the highest growth in Spain (+3.1%) and the lowest in Italy (+1.2%). While there are fewer Swiss nationals in Portugal and Bosnia and Herzegovina (7600 and 1400 respectively), the increase recorded in 2024 was higher than in other European countries (+10.2% and +13.5%).
Some 296 200 Swiss citizens reside in other parts of the world: 16% in North America, 7% in Latin America and the Caribbean, 7% in Asia, 4% in Oceania and 2% in Africa. The 84 700 Swiss citizens residing in the United States make up the largest community of Swiss abroad outside Europe. The second and third-largest communities are in Canada and Australia, with 41 700 and 26 600 Swiss citizens respectively.
Compared with 2023, the number of Swiss citizens abroad has increased on most continents, including Asia (+3.3%), Europe (+1.9%), North America (+1.0%), Oceania (+0.8%) and Africa (+0.5%). In Latin America and the Caribbean, the number of Swiss abroad has fallen slightly (‒0.1%).
An ageing population
Among the Swiss abroad, 21% of people are under 18, 55% are aged 18‒64 and 24% are aged 65 or over. All age groups have grown since 2023 (by +0.9%, +0.8% and +4.2% respectively). As in previous years, the biggest change was seen in the older age group. The ageing of the Swiss abroad was the main reason for this trend, in addition to migration. Another factor could be methodological, due to potential under-reporting of deaths in the registers (see the box at the end of this press release).
Among the countries with large communities of Swiss abroad, Thailand (43%), Portugal (36%), South Africa (33%) and Spain (33%) had the highest percentage of older Swiss citizens. Between 2023 and 2024, Portugal and Thailand saw particularly large increases in the share of older people among the Swiss abroad (+15.9% and +7.1% respectively).
Three quarters of Swiss citizens abroad have more than one nationality
Three quarters of Swiss citizens abroad ‒ some 617 600 ‒ have at least one other nationality. Since 2017 (the first year for which the FSO published the Statistics on the Swiss Abroad), the number of Swiss abroad with multiple nationalities has increased more than that of Swiss abroad with only one nationality (+10.2% compared with +9.4%). Women more often have several nationalities than men (76% compared with 73%).
The percentage of Swiss citizens with more than one nationality is highest in Latin America and the Caribbean (84%), Oceania (81%) and North America (79%). Argentina and Chile are the countries with the highest percentages (95% and 92% respectively).
The proportion of Swiss citizens with more than one nationality is lower in Asia and Africa than other continents (63% and 66% respectively). Among the countries with the largest communities of Swiss abroad, Thailand has the lowest percentage of people with more than one nationality (37%). In some countries in Asia, the percentage of Swiss citizens with multiple nationalities is especially high. Israel is one of these countries (86%).
Age and multiple nationalities
Overall, the under-18s make up the group with the highest percentage of Swiss abroad who have more than one nationality (85%), followed by the 18‒64 (75%) and 65+ age groups (65%). These differences between age groups in terms of multiple nationality are more pronounced in some countries than in others. Among the countries with the largest Swiss communities, this difference is the most pronounced in Thailand, where 80% of Swiss citizens under the age of 18 have at least one additional nationality. This percentage is 42% and 21% respectively in the 18‒64 and 65+ age groups. There are also big differences between the age groups in Germany, Austria and Spain. In these three countries, the majority of Swiss under-18s (around 80%) have at least two nationalities, whereas less than half of older people have more than one nationality.
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