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With its initiative, the right-wing Swiss People’s Party is calling on the authorities to prevent the country\u2019s permanent resident population from reaching ten million by 2050. <\/p>\n
Keystone \/ Peter Schneider <\/p>\n
A popular initiative aims to force the Swiss government to limit the country\u2019s population to ten million until 2050 \u2013 by restricting immigration. Have similar policies been implemented elsewhere in the world?\n<\/p>\n
This content was published on <\/p>\n
May 13, 2026 – 09:00\n<\/p>\n
On June 14, the Swiss will vote on an immigration initiative that is generating considerable debate, even beyond the country\u2019s borders. It frames migration issues in an unusual way by linking immigrants to a risk of overpopulation.<\/p>\n
The \u201cNo to ten million!External link<\/a>\u201d initiative, submitted by the right-wing Swiss People\u2019s Party, would compel the Swiss government and parliament to limit the number of permanent residents to ten million until 2050 and to stabilise the population at roughly that level in the future.<\/p>\n The initiative proposes that as of 2050, the government would be able to \u201cadjust the limit each year based on the natural population growth\u201d. In other words, the cap would not apply to births within Switzerland.<\/p>\n To maintain the ten-million limit, the government would have to adjust the number of immigrants allowed entry. Restrictions would first be placed on the number of asylum seekers permitted to remain in Switzerland. As a last resort, the agreement with the European Union on the free movement of persons might need to be terminated.<\/p>\n The first steps would be taken as soon as the population reaches 9.5 million.<\/p>\n >> Read about the details of the initiative and the arguments of its supporters and opponents:<\/p>\n \n More<\/p>\n More <\/p>\n Swiss Politics\n <\/p>\n \u2018No to ten million\u2019 vote \u2013 should Switzerland cap its population? <\/p>\n This content was published on <\/p>\n Apr 14, 2026 <\/p>\n On June 14, the Swiss will vote on a right-wing initiative aiming to cap immigration. <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Read more: \u2018No to ten million\u2019 vote \u2013 should Switzerland cap its population? An unprecedented experiment?<\/p>\n The government is among the numerous opponents of the initiative. Justice Minister Beat Jans, a left-wing Social Democrat, calls the initiative \u201cradical\u201d. In a recent interviewExternal link<\/a> with the Le Temps newspaper, he says that it \u201cproposes a population ceiling, an experiment that no other country in the world has yet attempted\u201d.<\/p>\n Swissinfo interviewed three demographers, in Switzerland and abroad, to verify this claim.<\/p>\n Population growth and immigration<\/p>\n The People\u2019s Party correctly describes Switzerland\u2019s current demographic reality. One of the smallest countries in Europe, it has one of the highest population growth rates on the continent: about 1% per year. Immigration is the principal engine of this increase as the birth rate is at a historic low<\/a> (1.29 children per woman in 2024). The initiative\u2019s target numbers might even be exceeded before they enter into force through legislation. The Federal Statistical Office estimatesExternal link<\/a> that the Swiss population will reach 9.5 million by the early 2030s and ten million at the start of the 2040s.<\/p>\n In many developed countries, immigration only just stabilises population numbers \u2013 a situation very different from Switzerland\u2019s. Some are even experiencing population decline.<\/p>\n External Content <\/p>\n >> The following article explores divisions over immigration, especially in countries where rapid population growth is driven by immigrants:<\/p>\n \n More<\/p>\n More <\/p>\n Demographics\n <\/p>\n How countries are managing immigration between economic needs and social tensions <\/p>\n This content was published on <\/p>\n Jan 21, 2025 <\/p>\n In many developed countries population growth is now essentially fuelled by immigration. Here are some facts, figures and insights from demographers. <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Read more: How countries are managing immigration between economic needs and social tensions In other words, few other developed countries are demographically similar to Switzerland. As a result, says Tomas SobotkaExternal link<\/a>, deputy director of the Vienna Institute of Demography, \u201cthe fact that the [immigration] discussion focuses on the size of the population [and] the risk of \u2018overpopulation\u2019 is very unusual\u201d.<\/p>\n Immigration is a political issue almost everywhere, but debate generally centres on social cohesion and the number and profile of immigrants.<\/p>\n Dutch right wing seized on immigration \u2013 and lost power<\/p>\n According to Sobotka, only the Netherlands has recently entered a debate similar to Switzerland\u2019s. It too is one of the most densely populated countries in Europe, and its population growth is likewise fuelled by immigration. Its population currently stands at 18 million.<\/p>\n In the 1990s, a Dutch organisation called the Ten Million Club proposed a population limit of ten million, but its recommendations were never implemented.<\/p>\n In 2024, a state demographic commission published a reportExternal link<\/a> advocating \u201cmoderate growth\u201d. Although it does not propose a population cap, it recommends a 2050 goal in the range of 19 to 20 million residents.<\/p>\n The far-right government of Geert Wilders envisionedExternal link<\/a> strict immigration controls to meet this objective, but it lost its bid for re-election in November 2025. Wilders\u2019s centrist successor, Rob Jetten, has so far been more moderate on immigration issues.<\/p>\n Luxembourg considers population cap dystopian<\/p>\n Luxembourg, another small country that attracts a large number of foreign workers, does not appear to share a concern about immigration. According to a March articleExternal link<\/a> in the Luxembourg Times, most of the country\u2019s political parties and an economic think tank say that \u201cfollowing the Swiss plan would be a recipe for disaster\u201d.<\/p>\n Only the right-wing ADR party believes the Luxembourg electorate should be allowed to vote on \u201clong-term population limits\u201d. This party, however, has never been part of the government.<\/p>\n Limiting human presence in the Galapagos<\/p>\n Currently, population-limiting policies exist only in specific overpopulated zones within countries, says Philippe Wanner, professor at the University of Geneva\u2019s demography and socioeconomics institute. This is true, for instance, in the Galapagos in Ecuador. The archipelago is home to many species of plants and animals, some of which exist nowhere else in the world. A 1998 law allows it to limit immigration and its populationExternal link<\/a>. Wanner explains that the reasons for this law were, however, \u201cclearly environmental\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cOther countries do ask themselves what \u2018maximum load\u2019 they can bear, but these are still theoretical discussions,\u201d Wanner says, adding that no country has enacted population-limiting policies by restricting immigration.<\/p>\n Birth control to reduce population growth<\/p>\n Historically, several countries have, however, tried to reduce population growth by limiting family size. In the early 1970s, Singapore introduced incentivesExternal link<\/a> encouraging families to have fewer children. Iran formerly enactedExternal link<\/a> family-planning policies, and similar programmes still exist in certain sub-Saharan countries in Africa.<\/p>\n Family size has also been controlled through coercive measures. In the late 1940s, the Indian government was one of the first to \u201cplace slowing population growth very high on its list of priorities, for the healthy development of the country,\u201d says Gilles Pison, scientific advisor to the management of the national institute of demographic studies in France. By the 1970s, the population-control measures reached their peak with forced sterilisations.<\/p>\n Only China has attempted a population cap<\/p>\n China is the only country to have set a limit for the size of its population. It introduced its one-child policy in 1979 to slow its rapidly increasing population \u2013 not because of problems with population density but due to concerns about economic growth.<\/p>\n \u201cThe target was specified, though not precisely,\u201d says Wanner. The population was \u201cnot to exceed a threshold of 1.2 to 1.4 billion residents\u201d.<\/p>\n This policy led to human tragedies and a gender imbalance. The Chinese population growth rate certainly slowed, but according to Pison, other factors no doubt also contributed. And today, China is confronted with population decline and has initiated a 180-degree turnaround with measures to boost the birth rateExternal link<\/a>.<\/p>\n In 2025, for similar reasons, Vietnam ended its two-child limitExternal link<\/a> that had been in place since 1988.<\/p>\n Fundamentally different projects<\/p>\n![\"Crowded?](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/454006733_highres_f166ae.jpg\")
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