TheSwiss people(German:die Schweizer,French:les Suisses,Italian:gli Svizzeri,Romansh:ils Svizzers) are the citizens of the multi-ethnicSwiss Confederation(Switzerland) regardless of ethno-cultural background[b]or people of self-identifiedSwiss ancestry.

Swiss people
Schweizer/Suisses/Svizzeri/Svizzers
Flag of Switzerland,a federal symbol used to represent all Swiss citizens
Official photo of the Federal Council (2008), idealized depiction of a multi-ethnic Swiss society.
Total population
c.11–12 million(2023)[a]
Regions with significant populations
Switzerland8.9 million(2023)[1]
0.8 million(2023)[2]
c.1.5 million[3]
France209,287
Germany99,582
United States83,667
Italy51,964
Canada41,463
United Kingdom40,183
Spain26,499
Australia26,374
Israel23,670
Austria18,350
Argentina15,120
Brazil13,611
Thailand10,414
Netherlands10,195
Belgium8,651
South Africa7,743
New Zealand7,345
Portugal6,916
Sweden6,601
Chile5,730
Turkey5,405
Mexico5,289
Liechtenstein4,878
Denmark3,720
Philippines3,615
United Arab Emirates3,452
Serbia3,446
Greece3,048
Norway2,956
Peru2,884
China2,564
Colombia2,348
Hungary2,229
Japan1,306[4]
Languages
Swiss German,Swiss Standard German,Bolze
Swiss French,Frainc-Comtou,Franco-Provençal
Swiss Italian,Lombard
Romansh
Swiss-German Sign,Swiss-Italian Sign,Swiss-French Sign
Religion
Catholicism,Swiss Reformed,atheism[5]
Related ethnic groups
Romansh people,Liechtensteiners,Germans,Austrians,French,ItaliansandCelts

The number ofSwiss nationalshas grown from 1.7 million in 1815 to 8.7 million in 2020. More than 1.5 million Swiss citizens holdmultiple citizenship.[6]About 11% of citizenslive abroad(0.8 million, of whom 0.6 million hold multiple citizenship). About 60% of those living abroad reside in theEuropean Union(0.46 million). The largest groups of Swiss descendants and nationals outside Europe are found in theUnited States,Brazil andCanada.

Although themodern state of Switzerlandoriginated in 1848, the period ofromantic nationalism,it is not anation-state,and the Swiss are not a singleethnic group,but rather are aconfederacy(Eidgenossenschaft) orWillensnation( "nation of will", "nation by choice", that is, aconsociational state), a term coined in conscious contrast to "nation"in the conventionally linguistic or ethnic sense of the term.

The demonymSwiss(formerly in English also calledSwitzer) and thename of Switzerland,ultimately derive from the toponymSchwyz,have been in widespread use to refer to theOld Swiss Confederacysince the 16th century.[7]

Ethno-linguistic composition

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Man and woman ofEntlebuch(Gabriel Lory,early 19th century)
Farmers ofChampery,Valais(1904 photograph)

The ethno-linguistic composition of the territories of modern Switzerland includes the following components:

The coreEight Cantonsof the Swiss Confederacy were entirely Alemannic-speaking, and German speakers remain the majority. However, from as early as the 15th century, parts of French-speakingVaudand Italian-speakingTicinowere acquired as subject territories by Bern and Uri, respectively. The SwissRomandiewas formed by the accession of French-speakingGenevaandNeuchâteland the partly francophoneValaisandBernese Jura(formerly part of thePrince-Bishopric of Basel) to theRestored Swiss Confederacyin 1815. Romansh wasformerly considereda group ofItalian dialects,but Switzerland declared Romansh a national language in 1938 in reaction to thefascist Italianirredentismat the time.

Switzerland experienced significant immigration from Italy in the very late 19th and early 20th century, such that in 1910 that accounted for some 10% of the Swiss population. This immigration was halted by the Great Depression and WWII. It restarted after the war ended. As elsewhere in Western Europe,immigration to Switzerlandhas increased dramatically since the 1960s, so that a large proportion of the resident population of Switzerland are now not descended or only partially descended from the core ethno-linguistic groups listed above. As of 2011, 37% of total resident population of Switzerland had immigrant background.[10] As of 2016, the most widely used foreign languages were English,Portuguese,Albanian,Serbo-Croatianand Spanish, all named as a "main language" by more than 2% of total population (respondents could name more than one "main language" ).[11]

Cultural history and national identity

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LandsgemeindebyWilhelm BalmerandAlbert Welti(1907–1914); an idealized National Romantic depiction of Swiss population and society.[12]

The Swiss populace historically derives from an amalgamation ofGallic(most significant theHelvetians) orGallo-Roman,AlamannicandRhaeticstock. Their cultural history is dominated by theAlps,and the alpine environment is often cited as an important factor in the formation of the Swiss national character.[13]For example, the "Swiss illness", the condition ofSwiss mercenariespining for their mountainous native home, became prototypical of the medical condition ofnostalgia( "homesickness" ) described in the 17th century.

Inearly modern Switzerland,theSwiss Confederacywas a pact between independent states within theHoly Roman Empire.The populations of the states ofCentral Switzerlandconsidered themselves ethnically or even racially separate:Martin ZeillerinTopographia Germaniae(1642) reports a racial division even within the canton ofUnterwalden,the population ofObwaldenbeing identified as "Romans",and that ofNidwaldenas "Cimbri"(viz.Germanic), while the people ofSchwyzwere identified as ofSwedish ancestry,and the people ofUriwere identified as "HunsorGoths".[14]

Modern Switzerland is atypical in its successful political integration of a multiethnic and multilingual populace, and is often cited as a model for new efforts at creating unification, as in the European Union's frequent invocation of the Swiss Confederate model.[15] Because the various populations of Switzerland share language, ethnicity, and religion not with each other but with the major European powers between whom Switzerland during the modernhistory of Europefound itself positioned, a policy of domestic plurality in conjunction with international neutrality became a matter of self-preservation.[16] Consequently, the Swiss elites during the period of the formation ofnation statesthroughout Europe did not attempt to impose a national language or a nationalism based on ethnicity, instead pushing for the creation of a civic nation grounded in democratic ideology, common political institutions, and shared political ritual. Political allegiance and patriotism was directed towards thecantons,not the federal level, where a spirit of rivalry and competition rather than unity prevailed.C. G. Jungadvanced the view that this system of social order was one of a "chronic state of mitigated civil war" which put Switzerland ahead of the world in a civilizatory process of "introverting" warlike aggression.[17]A similar view is attributed toGottfried Keller,who is cited to the effect that the Swiss Confederacy could not exist without the endemic rivalry between cantons.[18]

From the 19th century, there were conscious attempts to foster a federal "Pan-Swiss"national identitythat would replace or alleviate the cantonal patriotisms. Among the traditions enlisted to this end were federalsharpshooting competitionsortirs,because they were one of the few recognized symbols of pan-Swiss identity prior to the creation of the1815 Confederationand because they traditionally involved men from all levels of society, including the peasants, who inRomantic nationalismhad become ideologically synonymous with liberty and nationhood.[19]An additional symbol of federal national identity at the federal level was introduced with theSwiss national holidayin 1889. The bonfires associated with the national holiday have become so customary since then that they have displaced theFunkentraditions of greater antiquity.

Identification with the national symbolism relating to the Old Swiss Confederacy was especially difficult for the cantons which had been joined to theHelvetic Republicin 1798 without any prior membership in the Swiss Confederacy, and which were given the status of Swiss cantons only after the end of the Napoleonic era. These specifically includeGrisons,Valais,Ticino,VaudandGeneva. St. Gallenis a special case in a different sense, being a conglomerate of various historical regions created in 1803; in this case, patriotism may attach itself even to sub-cantonal entities, such as theToggenburg.Similarly, due to the historical imperialism of thecanton of Bern,there is considerable irredentism within the Bernese lands, most visiblyin the Bernese Jurabut to a lesser extent also in parts of theBernese Oberlandsuch asHasli.

Citizenship and naturalization

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Swiss citizenship is still primarily citizenship in one of theSwiss cantons,and the naturalization of foreign citizens is the privilege of the cantons. NoSwiss passportswere issued prior to 1915, more than 60 years after the establishment of the modern Swiss Confederation. Prior to 1915, citizens held passports issued by their cantons, the Confederation being considered as a federation of the cantons, not a state composed ofnatural personsas its citizens.

TheSwiss Constitutionof 1848 regulated certain rights that the cantons were required to grant to citizens of other cantons, such as the right of residence (in the case of naturalized citizens after a period of five years).[20]TheSwiss Constitutionof 1874, which remained in force (with revisions) until 1999, defined Swiss citizenship as inherited from cantonal citizenship:Jeder Kantonsbürger ist Schweizer Bürger( "every citizen of a canton is a Swiss citizen" ).[21] In the preamble to the currentSwiss Constitutionof 1999, a "Swiss People" (Schweizervolk) is invoked alongsides "the Cantons" as sovereign entity, and article 1 reads "The People and the Cantons [...] form the Swiss Confederation." Article 37 still defines Swiss citizenship as inherited from communal and cantonal citizenship: "Any person who is a citizen of a commune and of the Canton to which that commune belongs is a Swiss citizen."[22]

As Swiss citizenship is entirely based onjus sanguinis,theplace of originrather than theplace of birthis recorded in identity documents. As Swiss citizenship is tied to the cantonal citizenship associated with the "place of origin" (HeimatortorBürgerort"home commune, commune of citizenship" ), a citizen's place of origin is inherited from his or her father (from the mother if born out of wedlock or if the father holds no citizenship). The significance of the place of origin outside of the naturalization procedure has been gradually abolished in the early 21st century. Since 2012, the municipality or canton of a citizen's place of origin is no longer responsible for providingsocial welfareto that citizen.[23]Since 2013, a woman no longer acquires the place of origin of her husband upon marriage.[24]

While the cantons are responsible for naturalization, federalSwiss nationality lawregulates minimal requirements necessary for naturalization. These requirements were significantly reduced in a 2018 revision of the law, allowing naturalization after a minimal period of residence of ten years, and in certain cases as little as five years (naturalization of spouses and children of Swiss citizens; years of residence at ages 8 to 18 count double). A further requirement is that the applicant be "well integrated" and "familiar with life in Switzerland", and must have both oral and written competence in one of the national languages of Switzerland.[25] The federal law just specifies minimal requirements for naturalization, and cantons are free to introduce more stringent requirements.[26]In practice, the cantons delegate the actual procedure of naturalization to thecommunes.

With 25% of the population resident aliens, Switzerland has one of the highest ratios of non-naturalized inhabitants in Europe (comparable tothe Netherlands;roughly twice the ratio ofGermany). In 2003, 35,424 residents were naturalized, a number exceeding net population growth. Over the 25-year period of 1983 to 2007, 479,264 resident foreigners were naturalized, yearly numbers rising gradually from below 10,000 (0.1%) in the 1980s to above 40,000 (0.6%) in the 2000s.[27]Compare the figure of 0.2% (140,795) in the United Kingdom (2004).[28]

Genetics

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The genetic composition of the Swiss population is similar to that ofCentral Europein general. On the one hand, Switzerland at the crossroads of several prehistoric migrations; on the other hand, theAlpsacted as a refuge in some cases. Genetic studies found the followinghaplogroupsto be prevalent:

Haplogroup R1b-U152 also known as R1b-S28 is the frequent haplogroup of Swiss people, followed by R1b-U106/R1b-S21.

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^Collectively the 9.7 million citizens plus the estimated figure of 1.5 million non-citizens abroad with self-reported Swiss ancestry.
  2. ^The term is sometimes extended to include the descendants of Swiss emigrant, see e.g."Swiss".New Oxford American Dictionary.Conversely,Swiss nationality lawemploys a restrictive form ofjus sanguinispolicy, i.e. only children or protégés of Swiss citizens are given citizenship upon birth; children born in the country to foreign citizens are subject tonaturalisation.There are three levels ofalien citizensstatus in Switzerland), so that there are numerous second generation legal aliens who are technically "natives of Switzerland" without being considered Swiss.

References

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  1. ^"Bestand und Entwicklung der Bevölkerung der Schweiz im Jahr 2023: Definitive Ergebnisse"[Recent monthly and quarterly figures: provisional data](XLS)(official statistics) (in German, French, and Italian). Neuchâtel, Switzerland: Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), Swiss Confederation. 31 December 2023. 1155-1500.Retrieved13 September2024.{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  2. ^"Swiss citizens living abroad by country of residence, 1993-2023 Bundesamt für statistik"(in German).Retrieved13 September2024.{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: url-status (link): total: 813k, single citizenship: 205k. Geographical distribution: Europe: 520k (France: 209k, Germany: 99k, Italy 52k); Americas: 185k (USA 83k, Canada 41k); Oceania 81k; Asia: 56k; Africa: 18k.
  3. ^Swiss Americans:917k ±20k (Results – Community Survey 2013Archived2020-02-12 atarchive.today,includes 80k Swiss citizens with residence in the US) Swiss Canadian:147k (26k "single ethnic", 121k "multi-ethnic" responses; includes 40k Swiss citizens with residence in Canada) ("Ethnic Origin, 2011 National Household Survey".Statistics Canada. 8 May 2013.Archivedfrom the original on 24 December 2018.Retrieved24 November2013.) Swiss Argentine:300k (Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores y Culto de la República Argentina."La emigración suiza a la Argentina (Swiss emigration to Argentina) "(in Spanish).Archivedfrom the original on 27 February 2014.Retrieved21 February2014.). Swiss Chilean:100k (actual supera los 100.000 ciudadanos, la mayor de América Latina "Archived2014-10-16 at theWayback Machine) Swiss Brazilian:80k (História, Ciências, Saúde-Manguinhos - From Nova Friburgo to Fribourg in writing: Swiss colonization seen by the immigrantsArchived7 March 2011 at theWayback Machine. Swiss Australian:12k by birth, 29k by ancestry (2011 census).
  4. ^"Ở lưu người nước ngoài thống kê"(in Japanese). 15 December 2023.Retrieved29 April2024.
  5. ^Ständige Wohnbevölkerung ab 15 Jahren nach ReligionszugehörigkeitArchived18 February 2017 at theWayback Machine.Swiss Central Statistical Office 2015 Report. N.b.: the report contains data of the statistical analyses of the years 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015.
  6. ^916k out of 5,293k of permanent residents of Switzerland aged 15 and over ("Ständige Wohnbevölkerung ab 15 Jahren nach doppelter Staatszugehörigkeit (2016)"(in German).Archivedfrom the original on 11 November 2018.Retrieved20 April2018.) plus 570k out of 775kSwiss abroad("Auslandschweizerstatistik 2016"(PDF)(in German).Archived(PDF)from the original on 11 April 2019.Retrieved20 April2018.).
  7. ^"Schwyz".New Oxford American Dictionary.
  8. ^Minahan, James (2000).One Europe, Many Nations: A Historical Dictionary of European National Groups.Greenwood Publishing Group.p. 545.ISBN0313309841.Archivedfrom the original on 16 January 2023.Retrieved10 July2018.The Romands are a distinct Romance people
  9. ^"Languages".Federal Statistical Office.Archivedfrom the original on 2 July 2022.Retrieved7 July2022.
  10. ^"Population résidante permanente de 15 ans et plus, ventilée selon le statut migratoire et le canton".Office fédéral de la statistique. Archived fromthe originalon 16 November 2013.Retrieved14 August2013.
  11. ^Ständige Wohnbevölkerung nach Hauptsprachen 2016Archived22 April 2018 at theWayback Machine,BFS, 28 February 2018.
  12. ^Painting commissioned for the chamber of theCouncil of Statesin theFederal Palace(seede:Die Landsgemeinde).
  13. ^"Some landscapes were highlighted because they were considered essential in the building of the nation and the shaping of its culture. This was most obvious in Switzerland where the Swiss character was forged by the daily confrontation with the difficult mountainous environment of the Alps. Lunn (1963) suggests that the wonderful scenery gave those who inhabited it an opportunity to develop a sense of dignity and grandeur." Niamh Moore, Yvonne Whelan,Heritage, memory and the politics of identity: new perspectives on the cultural landscape,Ashgate Publishing, 2007,ISBN978-0-7546-4008-0,p. 88.
  14. ^Ferdinand Vetter,Ueber die Sage von der Herkunft der Schwyzer und Oberhasler aus Schweden und Friesland,Bern 1877, 10f.
  15. ^Hartley-Moore (2007)
  16. ^Kohn 1956:15–20
  17. ^ Frank McLynn,Carl Gustav Jung(1997),ISBN978-0-312-15491-2,chapter 1. "Jung advanced the paradox that the tolerable social order in Switzerland was a result of having `introverted' war; Switzerland was ahead of the rest of the world in that it was in a chronic state of mitigated civil war and did not direct its aggression outwards."
  18. ^Hartley-Moore (2007:213f.): "Localized equivalents of nationalist symbols were also essential to the creation of Swiss civil society. Rather than allowing a centralized federal government to force assimilation to a national ideal, Swiss policy nourished individual characteristics of different regional and language groups" throughout the country. In the Swiss model, pride in local identity is to some degree synonymous with loyalty to the larger state; national identity is nurtured through local 'patriotism.' As Gottfried Keller argued in the nineteenth century, 'Without cantons and without their differences and competition, no Swiss federation could exist'. "
  19. ^Hartley-Moore (2007), citing Kohn 1956:78.
  20. ^Constitution of 1848Archived14 October 2014 at theWayback MachineArt. 43. The requirement of adherence to aChristian confessionin the 1848 version was dropped in 1866.
  21. ^Constitution of 1874Archived7 February 2012 at theWayback Machine,Art. 43.
  22. ^AuthoritativeGermanArchived2010-10-24 at theWayback Machine,FrenchArchived2011-02-20 at theWayback MachineandItalianArchived14 May 2013 at theWayback Machineas well as non-authoritativeRomanshArchived27 January 2020 at theWayback MachineandEnglishArchived2016-06-21 at theWayback Machinetexts of Federal Constitution of the Swiss Confederation of 18 April 1999 (SR 101)
  23. ^Daniel Friedli,Der Heimatort wird irrelevantArchived9 November 2018 at theWayback Machine,NZZ8 January 2012.
  24. ^Swiss nationality law, Art. 161 ZGB.
  25. ^Regular naturalisationArchived3 December 2013 at theWayback Machine Facilitated naturalisationArchived10 October 2010 at theWayback Machine
  26. ^"Naturalisation: on ne devient pas Suisse partout de la même façon | 24 heures".Archives.24heures.ch. 22 March 2011. Archived fromthe originalon 28 June 2013.Retrieved6 September2013.
  27. ^"Bundesamt für Migration"(PDF).Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 30 October 2008.Retrieved16 April2008.
  28. ^Persons Granted British Citizenship, 2004 (pdf)Archived2009-03-26 at theWayback Machine
  29. ^Associated with the Paleolithic (Cro-Magnon); forming a small local maximum,relativegeneticsArchivedOctober 3, 2008, at theWayback Machine
  30. ^Associated with theNeolithic Revolution
  31. ^RelativegeneticsArchivedAugust 16, 2008, at theWayback Machine
  32. ^Relativegenetics,together with Northern Italy forming a local I1c minimumArchivedMay 1, 2015, at theWayback Machine
  33. ^RelativegeneticsArchivedAugust 16, 2008, at theWayback Machine
  34. ^Exhibiting a gradient of decreasing frequency east to west, shared with Germany and Northern Italy,relativegeneticsArchivedOctober 23, 2015, at theWayback Machine
  35. ^RelativegeneticsArchivedMay 1, 2015, at theWayback Machine
  36. ^UPF.EdiArchivedJune 25, 2008, at theWayback Machine

Bibliography

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  • Walter Sorell,The Swiss: A cultural panorama of Switzerland.Bobbs-Merrill, 1972.
  • Heinrich Zschokke,Des Schweizerlands Geschichten für das Schweizervolk,J. J. Mäcken, 1823.Internet Archive,trans. asThe History of Switzerland, for the Swiss Peopleby Francis George Shaw, 1855.Google Books
  • Frank Webb,Switzerland of the Swiss,Scribners, 1910.Archive.org
  • Paul Bilton,The Xenophobe's Guide to the Swiss,Oval Projects Ltd, 1999.Internet Archive
  • Leo Schelbert,Swiss Migration to America: The Swiss Mennonites,Ayer Publishing, 1980.
  • John Paul Von Grueningen,The Swiss In The United States: A Compilation Prepared for the Swiss-American Historical Society as the Second Volume of Its Publications,Swiss-American Historical Society, 1940, reprinted for Clearfield Co. by Genealogical Pub. Co., 2005,ISBN978-0-8063-5265-7.
  • Henry Demarest Lloyd, John Atkinson Hobson,The Swiss democracy: The Study of a Sovereign People,T. F. Unwin, 1908.
  • J. Christopher Herold,The Swiss without Halos,Greenwood Press, 1979.
  • Julie Hartley-Moore,The Song of Gryon: Political Ritual, Local Identity, and the Consolidation of Nationalism in Multiethnic Switzerland,Journal of American Folklore 120.476 (2007) 204–229.
  • Arnold Henry Moore Lunn,The Swiss and their Mountains: A Study of the Influence of Mountains on Man,Rand McNally, 1963.
  • Hans Kohn,Nationalism and Liberty: The Swiss Example.London: George Allen and Unwin, 1956.
  • Marcello Sorce Keller, "Transplanting multiculturalism: Swiss musical traditions reconfigured in multicultural Victoria", in Joel Crotti and Kay Dreyfus (Guest Editors),Victorian Historical Journal,LXXVIII(2007), no. 2, pp. 187–205; later appeared inBulletin - Schweizerische Gesellschaft für Musikethnologie und Gesellschaft für die Volksmusik in der Schweiz,October 2008, pp. 53–63.