[Waymninelia]

http://www.migrationinformation.org/...lay.cfm?ID=731


In 2008, Switzerland had over 1.6 million foreign residents according to official government statistics, or 21.4 percent of the country's total population (foreign residents do not include naturalized immigrants but do include those born in Switzerland to foreign-national parents). An average of 40,000 foreigners has naturalized each year since 2002.

Recent Non-EU/EFTA Immigration Numbers

By the 1980s, Switzerland began receiving an increasing number of asylum applications. In the early 1990s, applicants included tens of thousands from Bosnia and Kosovo fleeing war in the former Yugoslavia.

Iraqi Kurds came during the 1990-1991 Persian Gulf War and Saddam Hussein's regime while Congolese started arriving in higher numbers in the 1990s as the war in the Democratic Republic of Congo became increasingly bloody.

But among all recent immigrants, the path to Switzerland has not been through recognized refugee status or asylum. Between 1998 and 2007, 39.4 percent of all immigrants came to reunify with family members who were either foreign residents or Swiss nationals, 25.2 percent for employment, and 12.4 percent to receive professional training.

Switzerland limits the number of non-EU/EFTA citizens who may come to Switzerland to work each year; these third-state nationals have to be highly skilled and may only be admitted if no qualified Swiss or EU/EFTA nationals can be recruited.

In 2008, the largest group of foreigners to receive residence/work permits came from India (2,630 permits, mainly IT professionals), followed by US nationals (1,665 permits) and Canadian nationals (605 permits) employed by multinational companies.

Of Switzerland's 679,232 non-EU/EFTA foreign residents in 2007, about 196,000 were from Serbia and Montenegro, 109,000 from Asia, 75,400 from Turkey, and 66,600 from Africa (see Table 1).

Native-born foreigners — also known as the second generation — made up 22.3 percent of the foreign-resident population at the end of 2007; 62 percent of these native-born foreign residents were EU nationals.

Switzerland admitted 22,900 refugees in 2007. Almost one-fourth were from Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia and Montenegro, with one-fifth from Turkey and 10 percent from Iraq.

There were 40,774 people in the asylum process at the end of 2008. The 16,606 asylum applications submitted in 2008 represent a 53.1 percent increase from 2007. Switzerland defines asylum seekers as those who explicitly ask (in writing or orally) for protection from persecution. The top countries of origin for applicants in 2008 were Eritrea, Somalia, Iraq, Serbia (including Kosovo), and Sri Lanka (see Figure 1).

Integration Indicators

In general, non-EU/EFTA foreign residents tend to be less educated, experience lower employment rates and hold lower-skilled jobs, and live in poverty at higher rates than EU/EFTA citizens in Switzerland and Swiss nationals.

Although Switzerland has a relatively low naturalization rate, non-EU/EFTA citizens are more likely to take up Swiss citizenship. They also make up the majority of Switzerland's Muslims, Orthodox Christians, and Hindus.

In terms of education, as of 2007, 20.0 percent of foreign adults age 18 to 24 had not received a high school diploma and were not enrolled in higher education, compared to 5.0 percent of Swiss nationals in the same age group, according to the Swiss Federal Statistical Office.

Immigrants from the EU-27 countries experience significantly lower unemployment levels than workers from other countries. Unemployment rates among EU-27 country citizens in Switzerland was 4 percent in 2007 versus 14 percent for non-EU-27 country citizens. Among Swiss citizens, the 2007 unemployment rate was 2.7 percent.

While EU-27 citizens and Swiss citizens have similar levels of highly skilled employment, immigrants from Turkey and the Balkans represent a notable portion of unskilled laborers in Switzerland.

In 2007, 32 percent of workers from Turkey and the Balkans were employed as drivers, assembly line workers, and manual laborers. About 15 percent of both EU-27 citizens and those of non-European nationalities (excluding Turks and people from the Balkans) were engaged in unskilled labor. Only 8.1 percent of Swiss workers were engaged in the unskilled-labor sector in 2007 (see page 43 of this Swiss Federal Statistical Office PDF for figure).

About a quarter of those from Turkey and the Balkans (24.5 percent) between ages 20 and 59 lived in poverty in 2007, as did a similar percentage of other non-European nationalities (23.4 percent). In contrast, just 9.4 percent of those from the EU-27 and 6.9 percent of Swiss lived in poverty.

Naturalizations are another indicator of immigrant integration. By its own admission, Switzerland has a low naturalization rate, with just 2.9 percent of foreigners naturalizing in 2007 — lower than in 2006 but double the rate in 1997. Those from regions beyond Europe had higher rates: 6.4 percent for those from Africa, 5.6 percent for those from Asia, and 4.9 percent for those from Latin America.

In terms of individual countries, citizens of non-EU/EFTA countries had the highest naturalization rates in 2007: 9.5 percent for those from Albania, 7.3 percent for those from Bosnia and Herzegovina, 5.5 percent for those from Serbia and Montenegro, 5.3 percent for those from Russia, and 5.2 percent for those from Ukraine. It is important to note that many workers from EU/EFTA countries may desire only temporary residence and will never seek Swiss naturalization.

In 2007, 43,900 immigrants from a mix of traditional and newer origin countries became Swiss citizens. The largest share were from Serbia and Montenegro (23.8 percent), followed by Italy (10.5 percent), Bosnia and Herzegovina (6.9 percent), Turkey (6.9 percent), and Macedonia (5.0 percent). Asia and Oceania (11.1 percent) and Africa (6.6 percent) also had notable shares (see Figure 2). The number of naturalizations slightly increased in 2008 to 45,305 people.

By far the largest of these religions was Islam: about 311,000 residents of Switzerland were Muslim in 2000, or 4.3 percent of the country's total population at the time, according to the Swiss Federal Statistical Office. They were more numerous in the German-speaking parts of the country and more highly concentrated in large cities, particularly Basel and Lausanne, than in rural areas.

While the Federal Statistic Office has not undertaken a survey of Muslims in Switzerland since 2000, some municipalities have measured their own populations. According to an April 2009 article from the Swiss-French newspaper 24 Heures, the Muslim population in the city of Montreux rose from 4.6 percent of the population in 2000 to 6.0 percent by 2008.

About 18 percent of all foreign nationals were Muslim in 2000, but nearly all Muslims — 88.3 percent — were foreigners in 2000. Among foreign-national Muslims, 56.4 percent came from the former Yugoslavia and 20.2 percent from Turkey. Foreign nationals made up 78.1 percent of the 131,900 Orthodox Christians (mainly from the former Yugoslavia) and 92.5 percent of the 27,800 Hindus (overwhelmingly from Sri Lanka).


Popular Attitudes

The active presence of racism and xenophobia in Switzerland varies significantly by region. In francophone western Switzerland, and particularly in Geneva, home to the United Nations and other international organizations, tolerance for foreigners is high. Geneva's residents tend to vote for leftist political parties that have strongly opposed SVP's anti-immigrant campaigns.

The strongholds of anti-immigrant political parties lie in rural German-speaking Switzerland and in the southern Ticino region, which has its own far-right party called the Lega dei Ticinesi.

In the rural, German-speaking cantons of Uri, Obwalden, Nidwalden, Appenzell Innerrhoden, and Appenzell Ausserrhoden, foreigners accounted for less that 14 percent of the population. The Ticino region has an above-average share of foreigners, 25.9 percent in 2007. In 2000, 26.0 percent of its 78,789 foreigners were from non-EU/EFTA countries.

The strongest support for SVP politicians in the 2007 parliamentary elections did not always come from cantons where foreign nationals make up a smaller share of the population. In the canton of Thurgau, which is largely agricultural (SVP started as a farmer's party), the SVP won 42.4 percent of the votes. Foreigners accounted for an average portion of the cantonal population, at 20.7 percent. In 2000, non-EU/EFTA citizens made up 48.5 percent of the foreign population in Thurgau.

The headscarf as an open expression of Muslim faith has been the topic of continuing debate in Switzerland. Critics believe the headscarf contradicts Swiss democratic values about the equality of women, while others say wearing a headscarf should be a personal freedom.

A 2004 Isopublic poll showed 53 percent of Swiss agreed with the Swiss supermarket chain Migros in its move to expressly allow employees to wear the Muslim headscarf while at work. In the francophone region of Switzerland, respondents were more critical of the Muslim headscarf, while German and Italian speakers were more tolerant.

In the same 2004 survey, 76 percent of Swiss felt that Muslims in Switzerland were not a threat to the country, while 16 percent disagreed.
I posted this because people kept asking about why I mentioned Switzerland, so I felt it fair to post some attitudes and stats from that nation as well...

[LianneForbess]

I didn't know Switzerland had that much non-european immigrants and asylum seekers.

[MediconStop]

I didn't know Switzerland had that much non-european immigrants and asylum seekers.

Most of them are in the French speaking area...Geneve is full of foreigners, Zurich is definitely not. Swiss people are actually fairly tolerant of foreigners, despite the media crap about the miniretes, but the issue is that the tolerance is centered in the middle of the nation and in the French speaking region...they are pretty left wing. The Eastern German speaking heart land, especially the Northeast is extremely conservative.

[CefGemYAffews]

I see conservative as a very positive word.

Our swedish school minister (centre-right) got shit from leftist opponents because he wants "Christianity to dominate in swedish schools and not other religions".

Is that attitude common in French Switzerland, that all religions and cultures are equal parts of the country?

[O25YtQnn]

I see conservative as a very positive word.

Our swedish school minister (centre-right) got shit from leftist opponents because he wants "Christianity to dominate in swedish schools and not other religions".

Is that attitude common in French Switzerland, that all religions and cultures are equal parts of the country?

no, similar to France, French speaking Swiss are more secular, but not as much as French.


I believe in a separation of church in state, I don't believe the school should be in the business of instructing anyone about religion. That is why you have parents, ministers, priest, etc. I'm not muslim and I don't want to hear about your freaking religion in school either. I'm not sure why it is that some folks have not learned (despite all the evidence in human history) that states should stay out of the business of God.

In any case, GErman speaking Swiss are predominately Catholic (but there are large pockets of Protestants), the French speaking area is the opposite.


Which is the exact of opposite of Germany and France...

Conservative and Liberal, I view as neutral words, it really depends on what the topic of discussion is.

A purely conservative society is one that usually lacks innovation and progress, because it is obsessed with keeping everything the same.

A purely liberal leftist society is always into radical experimentation and revolution...also destructive for future progress.

I think a healthy balance is the best situation... you need some conservatives to temper liberals, but there should not be too much of either. In the end, liberals change society.

Everything that conservatives want to preserve is what liberals two or three generations fought to create, and that pattern always goes like that...because people get comfortable with the "new change" and then it becomes "reality' then people want to maintain (conserve) that system.

---------- Post added 2010-10-15 at 15:01 ----------

Also for the children who write "Jack wannabe swiss" grow a pair of man-sized balls and actually post something under your name and stop acting like a bitch. Thanks.

[bubborn]

Bosnians are in general muslim by name. Not by attitude, heart, real religion etc. so offcourse they wouldnt have a problem with muslims in general because i believe the observance rate would be rather low in Switserland. Furthermore the majority of immigrants are Europeans with rather similar culture to Swiss.

Just wait till they get our northern african-, pakistani'-, somali- etc. etc. friends. than their brady bunch mentality will melt like ice before the sun.

[QXCharles]

Bosnians are in general muslim by name. Not by attitude, heart, real religion etc. so offcourse they wouldnt have a problem with muslims in general because i believe the observance rate would be rather low in Switserland. Furthermore the majority of immigrants are Europeans with rather similar culture to Swiss.

Just wait till they get our northern african-, pakistani'-, somali- etc. etc. friends. than their brady bunch mentality will melt like ice before the sun.

Well they already have problems with germans. And Italians are fairly integrated but still kind of looked on as "low class".

Yeah I want them to import about 500,000 Somalis, 200,000 Afghans/Kurds

Then I will be moving back to America as the lynch mobs start.

Actually I don't know, Swiss people tend to be suspicious of and look down a bit on all foreigners, especially Germans for some reason...I tried to explain this in the post about Switzerland and Germany, but it still is a odd thing to me.

In general, I with my fiancee spoke French well enough to do her job in French, we would be moving to Geneve, I love that area. Laid back, people are fairly liberal (but not stupidly so, like a lot of folks in France)...I like it. People do not stare either.

In the German area, they stare at each other and everyone else. They have this look on there face like "what the fuck is he doing"...then if you look at them they look away (similar to a stereotype of Fins)...


An example of cultural difference is that in the French area they had a recent vote, wanting to give permanent residence limited voting rights, it passed in most of those Cantons.

In the German one? I believe outside of Bern, not one passed, in fact it was overwealmingly "NEIN"!!



My future-father-in-law said "If we let the auslander vote, they are going to vote to make immigration easy, and build huge Muslim prayer houses (he doesn't know the word Mosque) and women will walk the street in black bed sheets...Damned Swabi (germans) will take all the job from us Swiss..." Dude is hilarious, but remember, he will have a black son-in-law, so he is "liberal".

I would hate to hear a very conservative Swiss talk, I'm sure it will sound like a neo-Nazi.

Still, so far, people mind their own business, are nice. I have had no negative incidence with Swiss people and I've been through most of the nation. However, in Zurich I did get some dirty stares from a few older men when with my fiancee once. This is weird because in her town, that does not happen, and it is far more rural.

[Lhiistyssdds]

Swiss stance on immigrants

[zU8KbeIU]

I found it quite weird that there was a mass prayer/blessing today when they connected the two tunnels for the pan-Euro train line, are most Swiss people religious?

[GroosteFoessy]

Swiss stance on immigrants

No that is not the "Swiss Stance" that is like saying because Bush is president that all American agreed with him, when most Americans did not even vote for him the first time, he did not win a majority...he barely won a majority the second time.

Actually in Switzerland the SVD gets far less support than the Republicans did under Bush.

Also that advertisement was very controversial in Switzerland. The SVD only has 20% of the vote, mostly concentrated in the Northeast of the country. It's in a coalition.

So to say that is the "Swiss" attitude is quite ignorant.

When does 20% represent 100%...or even 50%???

---------- Post added 2010-10-15 at 19:21 ----------

I found it quite weird that there was a mass prayer/blessing today when they connected the two tunnels for the pan-Euro train line, are most Swiss people religious?

Most? No. Are they more religious than most Europeans and less so than Americans? Yes.

Religion plays a bigger role there than in most Euro countries for certain, especially in the Catholic cantons in the German speaking areas...

[VemyhemiHef]

So basically they're a bunch of left-wing, multiculturalist wimps? Wonderful...

[chuecalovers]

So basically they're a bunch of left-wing, multiculturalist wimps? Wonderful...

Uhm, not exactly. MutliCultis don't ban Mineretes on Mosques. Swiss people are a paradox. The reason is because there is no "Swiss Culture" there are Swiss Cultures. Even the GErman speaking Canton's vary quite a bit.

For example, Appenzel did not allow women to vote until 1989 or 1990, but the nation as a whole allowed it (every other Canton) in the early 1970s.

But check this out, one of the first women elected in the French region was a Mulatto.

Less than 40 years after women got the right to vote, there are more women than men on the executive council, and a woman is the chair (Switzerland does not have a head of state, instead they have a cabinet, with a self elected chairman)...

So really it depends on where you are in Switzerland. The nation is very small (4 hours by train from one side to the other) but very diverse in opinion. The Swiss form of tolerance, historically has been..."you do what you want in your Canton, and I do what I want...everyone gets a vote...weak federal government is the best federal government..."

So some Cantons are very liberals, other are more conservative than most regions of the U.S. All depends on where you find yourself.

[Zoxeeoy]

I didn't know that Switzerland are multicutural country.

[Gofthooxdix]

I didn't know that Switzerland are multicutural country.

it's not...not in the way you think. It has always been "multicultural" as far as the indigenous population goes. If you are talking about British style multiculturalism or Canada or America...not really. Having a lot of foreigners (most of them non-citizens) in your country does not make it multi-cultural.