Swiss voters have rejected a plan to cap the country’s population at 10 million, choosing continuity with the European Union and economic steadiness over arguments that immigration is straining housing and public services.
A preliminary count in the nationwide referendum showed nearly 55% of voters opposed the proposal, with 45% backing it.
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The ballot had drawn comparisons with Britain’s 2016 Brexit referendum and rattled businesses, which feared it could jeopardize the free movement of labor between Switzerland and the EU, its most important trading partner.
Backed by the right-wing Swiss People’s Party, the measure called for Switzerland’s population to stay below 10 million before 2050. If that threshold were exceeded for two consecutive years, the country would have been required to end freedom of movement with the EU.
“With today’s decision, the electorate has sent out a signal of stability, openness, and reliability,” Mr Jans told a press conference alongside Swiss President Guy Parmelin.
Urs Bieri of pollster GFS Bern said the measure failed because, although unease over population growth runs deep, many voters feared the consequences for Switzerland’s relationship with the EU and for employers trying to fill jobs, including care work.
“Also, there’s a feeling that in the current international environment, it’s not sensible for a small country to do this,” he said.
The Swiss electorate generally votes four times a year on national referendums
Switzerland’s population already stands at 9.1 million and has expanded much faster than that of neighboring EU countries. Foreign nationals account for nearly 28% of the total, and official forecasts project the population will reach 10 million by the early 2040s.
Surveys had pointed to a tight race. Instead, the margin of victory for the ‘no’ camp was more decisive than many analysts had predicted.
Jan Hesselmann, a 27-year-old schoolteacher in Zurich, said he welcomed the outcome but was troubled by how much support the proposal attracted. “It’s the wrong way to go about it, it fuels xenophobia,” he said.
The proposal emerged against a broader backdrop of rising support across Europe for tougher immigration controls.
Turnout reached about 59%, comfortably above the recent Swiss referendum average of 48%.
Marcel Dettling, president of the Swiss People’s Party, said the initiative had resonated strongly in rural parts of the country but was ultimately sunk by urban voters.
“Not a single problem has been solved,” he said. “We will continue to push for sensible immigration.”
Business groups, which had warned that a population cap would choke off access to foreign labor, hurt the economy and strain ties with Brussels, welcomed the result.
Business association economiesuisse said Switzerland should now build on the outcome by ratifying the agreement reached with Brussels in late 2024 to strengthen bilateral economic relations.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Brussels and Bern would continue working together in the interests of citizens and businesses on both sides.
Critics of the initiative had branded it a recipe for chaos, arguing it risked triggering major disruption.
They also challenged the wisdom of confronting Brussels after a bruising 2025, when President Donald Trump imposed the highest US tariffs in Europe on Swiss goods.
The ‘no’ campaign underscored that message with posters showing a smiling Trump above the line: “Breaking with Europe, now of all times?”
Sibel Arslan, a federal lawmaker from the Green Party, said the vote showed Switzerland still saw its future in cooperation with its European neighbors. But she cautioned that a political threshold had been crossed and the issue was likely to return.
“The damage is done,” she said. “This has legitimised talk about capping the population. The genie is out of the bottle.”
Read More: What is the Swiss population cap proposal and what would it mean for Europe?
