Swiss reject population cap in referendum, averting potential clash with EU
TLE DESK: A preliminary nationwide referendum tally showed nearly 55 percent of voters opposed the measure, while about 45 percent supported it, according to Reuters.
The proposal, backed by the right-wing Swiss People’s Party (SVP), sought to limit Switzerland’s population to 10 million by 2050. Under the plan, the government would have been required to terminate freedom of movement arrangements with the European Union if the population exceeded that threshold for two consecutive years.
The vote had drawn comparisons to the UK’s 2016 Brexit referendum because of concerns it could disrupt Switzerland’s economic relationship with the EU, its largest trading partner.
Swiss authorities had strongly opposed the proposal. Following the result, Beat Jans welcomed the outcome, saying voters had sent a message of “stability, openness and reliability.”
Speaking alongside Guy Parmelin, Jans said the government would continue examining ways to address public concerns over immigration and housing affordability.
Analysts said many voters were worried about rapid population growth but ultimately feared the economic consequences of restricting access to foreign workers.
According to Swiss pollster GFS Bern, concerns about labour shortages in sectors such as healthcare and social care, along with uncertainty in the current global environment, contributed to the proposal’s defeat.
Switzerland’s population currently stands at approximately 9.1 million, with foreigners accounting for nearly 28 percent of residents. Official projections indicate the population could reach 10 million in the early 2040s.
Business groups welcomed the referendum outcome, arguing that a population cap would have harmed the economy by limiting access to skilled workers and damaging relations with Brussels.
The country’s leading business federation, Economiesuisse, urged Switzerland to build on the result by advancing a bilateral agreement reached with the European Union in late 2024.
Meanwhile, Ursula von der Leyen said Brussels and Bern would continue working together for the benefit of citizens and businesses on both sides.
Despite the defeat, supporters of the proposal argued that concerns about migration remain unresolved. SVP President Marcel Dettling said the initiative had received strong backing in rural areas and pledged to continue pushing for stricter immigration policies.
Critics, however, warned that the campaign had legitimised calls for population limits and anti-immigration rhetoric. Green Party lawmaker Sibel Arslan said the debate was unlikely to disappear despite Sunday’s result.
“The genie is out of the bottle,” she said, warning that similar proposals could resurface in future political debates.
