Swiss citizens voted in a referendum on June 14 against a proposal to limit the country’s permanent population to 10 million.
According to forecasts by the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SRF). Pointing Bloomberg: 55% of Swiss people voted against the idea. by Climate prediction By 14:50 Zurich time (15:50 Moscow time), 81.3% of the votes had been counted, and 54.7% of the population voted against the initiative.
A radical proposal to cap the population and limit immigration in 2024 has been launched by the right-wing conservative Swiss People’s Party, which holds about a third of the seats in the country’s Federal Assembly (parliament).
The proposal stipulates that the population should not exceed 10 million people until 2050. If this happens within two years, the petitioners suggested that Switzerland end freedom of movement with the European Union.
Supporters of the initiative say the current overcrowding has already strained Swiss infrastructure, undermined local identity, and pushed up rental prices.
Critics of the idea noted that it would harm the Swiss economy, make it difficult to attract foreign workers and harm Switzerland’s relations with the European Union.
The Swiss government and parliament voted against this initiative. But the referendum was launched automatically when more than 100,000 residents of the country signed the petition.
By the end of 2025, Switzerland’s population reached 9.1 million.