The dynamism of Swiss cities is the engine of immigration
As Swissinfo.ch notes, a fifth of all foreigners registered in Switzerland live in cities with a population of over 100,000. In Switzerland's five largest cities – Zurich, Basel, Geneva, Lausanne and Bern – at least one in four permanent residents does not have a red passport with a white cross.
Since 1990, the proportion of foreigners in the Confederation's urban centers has been steadily increasing, the only exception to this rule being Bern, a city of federal significance which, although it performs capital functions, does not suffer from an influx of foreigners, especially compared to other Swiss cities.
In international comparison, Switzerland's largest cities are among the most cosmopolitan in the world. "Switzerland is a great immigration power, and this despite a rather restrictive migration policy," says Etienne Piguet, professor of economic geography at the University of Neuchâtel and vice-president of the Federal Migration Commission.
According to this expert, foreign citizens are mainly attracted by dynamic economic development, which is linked not only to the presence of international companies in these cities, but also to an atmosphere of global openness. In addition, each Swiss city has its own specific factors that influence both the number of immigrants and their employment structure.
Geneva – the influence of the UN
The city of Calvin is the Swiss metropolis with the highest proportion of foreigners living there. Almost half (47.8% in 2018) of the residents of Calvin's city do not have a Swiss passport. Undoubtedly, says Etienne Piguet, Geneva received the title of the most cosmopolitan city in the country precisely because of the presence of the European headquarters of the UN and many other international organizations.
Lausanne – the "Olympic capital"
Over the past three decades, the share of the foreign population in Lausanne has increased sharply: from 31% in 1990 to 43% in 2018. Thanks to this rapid development, the main city of the canton of Vaud has even approached its neighbor, international Geneva. "We are observing an effect in Lausanne similar to that in Geneva, but it is achieved through other factors," notes Etienne Piguet.
For example, the International Olympic Committee (IOC), international sports federations and world-renowned universities such as the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL) are located here, which naturally attract people from all over the world to the shores of Lake Geneva. Additionally, a large number of international companies that have set up their headquarters and head offices here give the city a cosmopolitan character.
Basel – the "magic pill"
It is in Basel that the proportion of foreigners has increased the most compared to other cities. In 1990, only 24% of residents did not have a Swiss passport, and by 2018 this share had reached as much as 37.5%. As in other large cities, the main factor attracting immigrants was not the waters of the Rhine, the beauties of nature, or even the wonderful architecture of the Old Town, but a flexible and dynamic labor market. Here, in giant international pharmaceutical corporations, you can meet employees from literally all over the world.
The growth rate of the number of immigrants in Basel was so significant that since 2000, the proportion of foreigners relative to locals in this city has become even higher than in Zurich, even though the city on the Limmat River is still the business and financial capital of the country.
According to Patrick Koch, a research associate at the Integration Office of the Canton of Basel-Stadt, this may be explained by the housing situation – finding an apartment or house in Basel is indeed easier and cheaper. In 2018, only 0.2% of apartments in Zurich's real estate market were vacant out of the total housing stock. In Basel, on the contrary, the share of available housing has increased slightly in recent years from 0.3% to 0.7%. In addition, rent is slightly lower here.
Zurich – the big city lights
And yet, Zurich undoubtedly remains the strongest magnet for immigrants and expats, especially thanks to international companies operating in the financial and banking sectors, as well as biotechnology enterprises. A rich cultural and creative life, leading world universities (ETH Zurich and the University of Zurich) also attract many foreign employees.
A bonus can also be the fact that it has become easier to find work in Zurich than in the 1990s, as many jobs have been created here over the past 20 years, for example in computer technology, social and household services, and the scientific sector.
Bern – administrative resource
And only the federal center of Switzerland differs in its structure from other large cities in the country: the proportion of foreigners has decreased slightly since 2016. Just under a quarter of residents of the city on the Aare River do not have a Swiss passport – this is a very small share compared to other cities, even lower than in Switzerland as a whole in 2017. The reason is the economic structure of Bern, which differs markedly from that of Zurich, Basel or Geneva.
This is the opinion of Susanne Rebzamen, a leading expert in the field of integration of foreigners at the Bern city administration. Here, she says, there are few international companies capable of attracting foreigners. In addition, Bern has never been as industrial a city as Basel, which makes it less attractive for foreign workers. Bern's economy is built around the presence of the federal government and its structures, and in this sector, foreigners, as one might guess, are represented to an extremely limited extent.