1.61% of the population. Is that enough to destabilize Switzerland?
Facts, figures
The theme of migration is everywhere, in the media, political discourse, and polls. To the point of making people believe it's THE number one problem. But why is it talked about so much? Is the attention given to this theme related to the number of people concerned? Or rather to the fact that most of them don't vote, so you can say whatever you want about them?
Fake news, exaggerations, manipulated figures, and amalgamations – we've deconstructed them all in our sections. prejudices and statistics. We'll get back to this in the coming days and invite you to read and share our charts and analyses on your social networks and with your friends. To bring a little reality and reason back into this debate.
Today, in our «Facts and Figures» segment, the invasion myth.
The omnipresence of the asylum theme in the media and political debates, coupled with a lack of knowledge in this area, can sometimes lead to the belief that the country is overwhelmed with refugees or asylum seekers. The reality of the numbers is quite different.
1,6%
This is the percentage of the population residing in Switzerland who are in the asylum domain.
This figure includes individuals who have applied for asylum (Permit N), those who have received international protection (Permit B and C refugee or Permit F and F refugee), and those subject to deportation proceedings.
Deconstruction of a myth
The rhetoric surrounding the supposed invasion of refugees in Switzerland and Europe, the «refugee crisis,» and the fear of a «pull factor» is not without consequences. The use of these expressions in the media and in the political sphere influences public opinion, distills a climate of fear, and paints a false picture of reality. This myth fuels the discourse of xenophobic political parties and contributes to the hardening of laws concerning refugees and their living conditions.
Reliable statistics and a broadening of the time frame are therefore necessary for the production of relevant analyses.
Below you will find a selection of articles on this subject.
In his analysis [[With tax breaks] Switzerland encourages immigration... with the support of the UDC, the daily newspaper Blick aptly highlights the party's contradictions and its «No Switzerland with 10 million inhabitants!» initiative (August 20, 2023)
«The weakness of this argument is that people fleeing war or poverty are only responsible for a relatively small portion of immigration. In 2022, 24,511 asylum applications were filed in Switzerland, not including Ukrainians who sought S protection status. In contrast, the vast majority of new arrivals come to Switzerland
for professional reasons, generally from EU countries.»
