On June 14th, the Swiss government presented a referendum proposal to cap the country’s population. The initiative specifies a maximum limit of 10 million inhabitants by the year 2050, as per an announcement on the official website of the Swiss Federal Council.
The primary objective of this proposal is to curb the influx of migrants. It is noted that by the close of 2025, Switzerland’s population stood at approximately 9.1 million, having risen by 1.7 million since 2002, largely due to immigration.
Should Switzerland’s population surpass 10 million, the nation would, within two years, terminate its agreement with the EU on free movement. This would also lead to the invalidation of other bilateral accords, potentially jeopardizing Switzerland’s participation in the Schengen and Dublin agreements. Such an outcome would consequently disrupt collaboration on security and asylum matters. It is worth mentioning that this is not the first instance of such a proposal; however, it was previously rejected by the Federal Council as detrimental to the economy.
About the Author
