Young people are moving to Zurich

According to a statement from the Statistical Office of the canton of Zurich, an average of 58,000 people have moved to the canton of Zurich each year over the past six years. Emigration from the canton during the same period was around 44,000 people per year. The surplus of 14,000 people represents 70 per cent of the canton’s population growth.

The positive balance of migration flows comes solely from inflows from abroad. Migration to and from the canton with the rest of Switzerland is more balanced.

Two-thirds of all people moving to the canton are less than 40 years old, making them significantly younger on average that the resident population, and they come to the canton mainly for work or education. Older people between the ages of 60 and 69, in contrast, are increasingly attracted to other parts of Switzerland or abroad. As many of the young women moving to Zurich tend to have children in the following years, the canton’s birth rate has also risen in recent years. Demographic ageing could weaken these two factors, but not stop them.  

The city of Zurich attracts an above-average number of people, especially younger ones. It took in 43 per cent of all migrants from abroad and 36 per cent of all migrants from the rest of Switzerland, although it only makes up 25 per cent of the canton’s total population.