Voters in Switzerland will vote in June on an initiative to limit the population to 10 million by 2050, by restricting immigration. A divisive project, supported in the polls, but denounced for its economic, human and diplomatic risks, particularly in relations with the European Union.

Published on: 05/05/2026 - 17:57

“Sorry, we are full”: this is what Swiss conservatives would soon like to say to new candidates for immigration to the Swiss Confederation. The initiative "No Switzerland at 10 million!", on which the Swiss are called to vote on June 14, wants to include in the Constitution a cap on the country's permanent resident population so that it does not exceed 10 million inhabitants before 2050.

Supported by the Democratic Union of the Center (UDC), the national conservative party which holds the largest number of seats in the Swiss Parliament, the proposal which will be submitted to a referendum aims to restrict immigration, in particular asylum and family reunification, even if it means calling into question the free movement of people with the European Union.

The Federal Council, Parliament and the main other parties oppose this text, which they say endangers Switzerland's prosperity and ties with the EU.

But according to the latest polls, the proposal would not be so unpopular among the Swiss. According to a survey by the Leewas Institute for 20 Minutes/Tamedia, published on April 29, the initiative received 52% favorable opinions, and 35-49 year olds in particular were around 59% to say "yes".

A tightening of asylum then a withdrawal from agreements with the EU

According to the reference scenario of the Federal Statistical Office (FSO), the population of Switzerland, which stood at 9 million inhabitants at the end of 2024 (of which around 27% are foreigners), is expected to increase to around 10.5 million in 2055. A projection which worries conservatives.

“Uncontrolled immigration to our country casts over us the shadow of a Switzerland of 10 million,” warns the UDC on its website. “This veritable demographic explosion is overloading our infrastructure, destroying our nature and further increasing rents. After the net influx of 180,000 people in a single year, we must finally act.”

After the initiative "Against mass immigration" narrowly accepted in 2014, the SVP, which has made anti-immigration rhetoric one of the pillars of its political campaigns, launched the initiative "For moderate immigration (limitation initiative)" in 2020.

This time, with "No Switzerland of 10 million!", the SVP wants to force the Federal Council [Swiss government] to take measures in the field of asylum and in matters of ordinary immigration.

The proposal is divided into two phases to prevent the population from exceeding this threshold before the middle of the century. First, if Switzerland reaches 9.5 million inhabitants before this date, the government would be required to adopt restrictive measures to curb demographic growth, in particular by tightening asylum, family reunification and the issuance of residence permits. In practice, this would amount to refusing entry to new arrivals.

If, despite this, the population still exceeds 10 million, Switzerland would then have to withdraw from several bilateral agreements with the EU, first of all that on the free movement of people, [signed in 1999 between Switzerland and the EU to facilitate the conditions of residence and work of European citizens in Switzerland].

"The denunciation of the agreements is the ultima ratio (the last resort, Editor's note)", clarified during a press conference the vice-president of the UDC, Céline Amaudruz, recalling that the initiative provides before that a first level of alert once the threshold of 9.5 million inhabitants is crossed. “A warning which will require the Federal Council to take measures and renegotiate [with the EU]”.

An “anti-foreigners initiative”, denounces the opposition

The only political support for the UDC initiative, the Christian party Federal Democratic Union (UDF) also advocates “yes” to the initiative. Defenders of the text cite congested trains and roads, a housing shortage, increased crime, high social costs and other negative phenomena that they attribute to immigration.

In a post posted on the UDC website, Céline Amaudruz links the drop in educational levels, an increase in insecurity and rapes to "mass immigration", after having regretted that certain schools no longer offer Christmas carols, and that pork is no longer served in prisons and public canteens.

“Everyone has understood that this initiative of chaos is an anti-foreigner initiative,” denounced on Swiss Radio and Television (RTS) the green-liberal national councilor Céline Weber, firmly opposed to the UDC initiative.

Reminding that economic immigration is essential for Switzerland, the politician continues: “Around 75% of EU nationals who come to Switzerland work directly. These are people that our economy needs.”

Describing the initiative as "inhumane", the national advisor continues: "When you bring a person to Switzerland, for jobs where it is difficult to find staff, it seems logical to me that you are not going to ask them to come without their spouse and without their children".

For his part, socialist federal councilor Beat Jans believes that “this initiative endangers the well-being of the population”.

While the left generally denounces the restrictions required in the field of asylum – which only represents a small part of immigration [1.7% to which is added 0.7% of refugees from Ukraine, according to OFS data] – Céline Weber also rejects the argument according to which capping the population would resolve environmental problems. “There is absolutely nothing sustainable about this initiative.”

“Act of love” or “pure madness”

In the "Debates" section of the RTS where a dialogue was opened on this theme, defenders and opponents of the initiative multiply the arguments, preaching for their parish more than a month before the vote.

“The infrastructures are saturated: full trains, blocked roads, unobtainable parking lots. More population means more pollution, noise and tension,” writes a defender of the initiative, believing that “two measures are necessary: ​​limit births (through tax mechanisms) and control the borders, by limiting immigration.”

“Protecting Switzerland, its landscapes, its traditions and its balance is not a refusal of progress: it is an act of love and responsibility, so that this country remains habitable, safe and magnificent”, adds another supporter of the UDC proposal, writing under the pseudonym “Guillaume Tell”, legendary hero of the founding myths of Switzerland.

"Pure madness. Blocking something as human as immigration is already an unnecessarily costly choice in terms of energy and resources. If on top of that it causes enormous problems such as the collapse of the pension system, low fertility and a lack of generational renewal, this unnecessary choice also becomes stupid", reacts Joseph Prince, on the side of the opponents of the proposal.

"The fact of wanting to stop the population at a certain number also brings into play the question of open borders with the EU. And what would we do if a 10 million + 1 were born? Would we expel a foreign resident in exchange? Which one?" quips another Internet user.

In France, the initiative is also worrying. Such a population cap could also have deleterious effects, notably on real estate prices and the saturation of roads and public transport, reports 24 Heures, the main daily newspaper in the Swiss canton of Vaud.

Limiting immigration to Switzerland would in fact risk reinforcing the country's reliance on border labor, creating a draft in neighboring regions. In fact, a growing proportion of workers would be forced to settle in France, where municipalities, particularly in Haute-Savoie, are already struggling to keep up.

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