Switzerland Schedules Vote on Capping Population at 10 Million By 2050

Switzerland is set to hold a vote to cap their population at 10 million, with supporters of the movement citing issues with strong population growth.

Switzerland's current population stands at almost 9.1 million, but the European nation has experienced significant population growth within the last decade. In 2020, the Swiss population was around 8.6 million, and in 2010, it was just 7.8 million.

Due to this track, Switzerland's most powerful political party, the right-wing Swiss People's Party (SVP), has released a proposal that would cap Switzerland's population at 10 million until 2050. In particular, the SVP cited concerns over immigration and highlighted rising cost-of-living and stressed infrastructure. They also emphasized the importance of the environment in Switzerland, with higher populations putting more strain on natural resources.

The nature of the proposal also forces the government to vote on it before the Swiss population reaches 10 million– following the current growth rate of between 0.5-1%, Switzerland would surpass that number within 10-20 years.

To stop the nation from reaching 10 million, the proposal would begin taking restrictive measures, including the refusal of entry to asylum seekers, people looking for family reunification, and others looking for a residency permit.

If the population were to hit 10 million, Switzerland would be forced to end their free-movement agreement with the European Union, which facilitates most economic relations between the two. The EU is also Switzerland's largest trading partner – though Switzerland is still not a part of the group – meaning that cutting themselves off from Europe could severely impact the nation's international relations.

However, the SVP remains the only party supporting the deal, which is seen by others as extremely conservative. Other parties and opposing experts have highlighted Switzerland's dependency on immigrants for lower-level jobs, and over 30% of new citizens in recent years were immigrants. Furthermore, restrictions on migration could violate international laws that are already in place.

Nevertheless, citizen polls suggest that there is widespread support for a population cap, and Switzerland's unique system of direct democracy could work in the SVP's favor.

Swiss law allows parties to hold a national referendum for a proposal if the party in question is able to garner at least 100,000 signatures to petition for a public vote. Having already done this, the SVP will hold a referendum on June 14 to decide on the proposal, which could have a massive impact on the future of Switzerland.

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