The case
Swiss population continues to grow older.
Source: BFS
The commentary
The number of older people in Switzerland keeps rising. Definitive figures from the Federal Statistical Office (FSO) show that share of over-65s increased by 2.3 % in 2023.
According to a FSO statement today, 1.73 million people over the age of 65 were living in Switzerland at the end of 2023, compared to 1.69 million the previous year. The number of over-65s rose in all cantons – the most in Obwalden, Fribourg, Schwyz, Thurgau and Uri, namely by over 3 %. In 2023, 503,600 people in Switzerland were at least 80 years old, compared to 485,600 in 2022 (+3.7 %), and all cantons recorded an increase. It was particularly marked in Obwalden, Fribourg and Nidwalden, with an increase of more than 5 %.
At the end of last year, there were 8.962 300 inhabitants in Switzerland. This was announced by the FSO in April of this year on the basis of provisional figures and has now been confirmed. However, unlike the figure announced in April, population growth was not 1.6 %, but 1.7 % instead.