Swiss people reject proposal to cap national population

Voters in Switzerland on Sunday rejected an initiative that would have capped the country’s permanent resident population at 10 million until after 2050. About 55% of voters were against the measure. Roughly 3.3 million people cast votes in the referendum. Many Swiss government officials had urged citizens to vote against the cap.

Switzerland’s right-wing Swiss People’s Party proposed the initiative, which would have required the government to restrict claims for asylum or family reunification once the country’s population hit 9.5 million. If the initiative had passed, Switzerland would also have been required to end its free movement agreement with the European Union once its population hit 10 million. Switzerland is not a member of the EU but holds a number of treaties with the bloc, which comprises 27 states.

Switzerland’s population has mainly grown due to immigration over the past few years. First-generation immigrants and their children account for more than 40% of the country’s 9.1 million people, a higher percentage than most other countries.

Dig deeper: Read Joanna Insco’s earlier report on the cap initiative for more details.