Urban population growth (annual %) in Switzerland
Switzerland: Urban population growth (annual %) was 1.3% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Urban population growth in Switzerland, 1961–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN). Measured in annual %.
Analysis
In 2025, urban population growth in Switzerland stood at 1.3%.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 22.0% on the previous year and down 44.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, urban population growth in Switzerland peaked at 3.8% in 1962 and was at its lowest, -0.0%, in 1976.
Switzerland ranks 108th of 218 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 65 years of available data.
Urban population growth (annual %) in Switzerland, year by year
| Year | annual % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 3.3% | — |
| 1962 | 3.8% | +17.3% |
| 1963 | 3.4% | -10.3% |
| 1964 | 2.9% | -14.4% |
| 1965 | 2.4% | -17.9% |
| 1966 | 2.3% | -6.2% |
| 1967 | 2.4% | +6.2% |
| 1968 | 2.4% | -1.9% |
| 1969 | 2.1% | -9.0% |
| 1970 | 1.6% | -23.2% |
| 1971 | 1.4% | -17.9% |
| 1972 | 1.5% | +10.1% |
| 1973 | 1.4% | -6.7% |
| 1974 | 1.1% | -18.2% |
| 1975 | 0.5% | -53.9% |
| 1976 | -0.0% | -102.5% |
| 1977 | 0.2% | -1917.6% |
| 1978 | 0.6% | +163.9% |
| 1979 | 0.9% | +40.1% |
| 1980 | 1.1% | +31.6% |
| 1981 | 1.4% | +22.7% |
| 1982 | 1.6% | +14.9% |
| 1983 | 1.6% | -1.3% |
| 1984 | 1.6% | +1.3% |
| 1985 | 1.7% | +8.1% |
| 1986 | 1.8% | +5.0% |
| 1987 | 1.9% | +4.2% |
| 1988 | 1.9% | +2.0% |
| 1989 | 1.9% | -1.5% |
| 1990 | 2.0% | +3.6% |
| 1991 | 2.1% | +5.9% |
| 1992 | 1.9% | -7.4% |
| 1993 | 1.7% | -9.8% |
| 1994 | 1.6% | -7.7% |
| 1995 | 1.4% | -10.7% |
| 1996 | 1.1% | -20.3% |
| 1997 | 0.9% | -25.0% |
| 1998 | 0.8% | -5.9% |
| 1999 | 0.9% | +6.4% |
| 2000 | 0.8% | -8.4% |
| 2001 | 0.7% | -7.0% |
| 2002 | 0.8% | +11.2% |
| 2003 | 0.8% | -3.6% |
| 2004 | 0.7% | -8.3% |
| 2005 | 0.7% | -7.5% |
| 2006 | 0.6% | -2.5% |
| 2007 | 0.9% | +41.0% |
| 2008 | 1.3% | +41.6% |
| 2009 | 1.3% | -1.0% |
| 2010 | 1.1% | -15.3% |
| 2011 | 1.2% | +7.4% |
| 2012 | 1.2% | +2.6% |
| 2013 | 1.6% | +36.4% |
| 2014 | 2.1% | +26.1% |
| 2015 | 2.3% | +10.8% |
| 2016 | 2.5% | +9.0% |
| 2017 | 2.5% | +1.7% |
| 2018 | 2.5% | -1.8% |
| 2019 | 2.6% | +3.2% |
| 2020 | 2.6% | +2.9% |
| 2021 | 3.0% | +13.3% |
| 2022 | 1.7% | -43.9% |
| 2023 | 1.6% | -6.2% |
| 2024 | 1.6% | +3.3% |
| 2025 | 1.3% | -22.0% |
Switzerland compared with similar countries
- Switzerland's 1.3% is above the median for high income countries, which is 0.6%, 2.0× the median. (85 countries reporting)
- Switzerland's 1.3% is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 0.5%, 2.4× the median. (57 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Urban population growth (annual %) in Switzerland changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1977 | +1917.6% | -0.0% | 0.2% |
| 1978 | +163.9% | 0.2% | 0.6% |
| 1976 | -102.5% | 0.5% | -0.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 2.8% | 2.1% | 3.8% | 9 |
| 1970s | 0.9% | -0.0% | 1.6% | 10 |
| 1980s | 1.7% | 1.1% | 1.9% | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.4% | 0.8% | 2.1% | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.9% | 0.6% | 1.3% | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.0% | 1.1% | 2.6% | 10 |
| 2020s | 2.0% | 1.3% | 3.0% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Switzerland
More climate change data for Switzerland
- Nutrient nitrogen N (total) — Synthetic fertilizers (Agricultural) 72.47 million kg (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) 6,008 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 1,192 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 4,816 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 4.5 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 171.99 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) 476.97 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 472.94 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 4.03 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions 1.78 kt (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is urban population growth in Switzerland?
- Urban population growth in Switzerland was 1.3% in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest urban population growth recorded in Switzerland?
- The highest recorded value was 3.8% in 1962.
- What is the lowest urban population growth recorded in Switzerland?
- The lowest recorded value was -0.0% in 1976.
- How does Switzerland rank for urban population growth?
- Switzerland ranks 108th out of 218 countries with data for 2025.
- Is urban population growth rising or falling in Switzerland?
- Over the last ten years it is down 44.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Switzerland data come from?
- The figures come from World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN), published as part of Urban population growth (annual %). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 65 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Annual urban population growth rate for year t is the exponential rate of growth of midyear urban population from year t-1 to t, expressed as a percentage. Urban population refers to people living in urban areas as defined by national statistical offices. It is calculated using World Bank total population estimates and urban ratios from the United Nations World Urbanization Prospects.