Popular initiative: ‘No to a Switzerland with 10 million! (Sustainability Initiative)’Language dropdown English selectedDEFRITENRM

The Federal Council<br>The portal of the Swiss government

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Popular initiative: ‘No to a Switzerland with 10 million! (Sustainability Initiative)’<br>On 14 June 2026, Swiss citizens will vote on the popular initiative: ‘No to a Switzerland with 10 million! (Sustainability Initiative)’.

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The initiative in brief<br>At the end of 2025, approximately 9.1 million people were living in Switzerland. Since the introduction of the free movement of persons in 2002, the population has grown by around 1.7 million. This is mainly due to immigration. The number of people immigrating depends primarily on the labour market. When the economy is strong, companies struggle to find enough workers within Switzerland. Companies, as well as public institutions like hospitals and care homes, often recruit the skilled workers they need from the EU.<br>The ‘No to a Switzerland with 10 million! (Sustainability Initiative)’ calls for a cap on the permanent resident population: Switzerland’s population must remain below 10 million until 2050. If the permanent resident population exceeds 9.5 million before 2050, the Federal Council and Parliament will need to take measures, particularly in the areas of asylum and family reunification. The Federal Council would also need to invoke or negotiate exemptions and safeguard clauses in international agreements that contribute to population growth. If the 10-million threshold is exceeded, Switzerland would have to terminate these agreements, including the one with the EU on the free movement of persons after two years. This would also render the other agreements under Bilateral Agreements I null and void. Switzerland’s participation in the EU’s Schengen and Dublin agreements would also be called into question, thereby jeopardising close cooperation in the areas of security and asylum.<br>Federal Council explanations<br>On the German, French, Italian and Romansh pages, the official explanations of the Federal Council are available in PDF format.<br>Good to know<br>Political rights in Switzerland<br>Learn more about Swiss political rights – such as voting, participating in elections, and submitting initiatives or petitions – on our ch.ch portal. There you will also find more details on past and upcoming votes.

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The initiative in brief<br>Federal Council explanations<br>Good to know