A proposal by the right-wing Swiss People’s Party (SVP) to cap Switzerland’s population at 10 million has failed at the ballot box.
The measure, titled “No to a Switzerland with 10 million! (Sustainability Initiative),” went down by roughly 55 percent to 45 percent, with a voter turnout of 60 percent of the population.
Early polling suggested that the vote would be closely contested. A late-April survey conducted for public broadcaster SRG SSR found the electorate evenly divided, with 47 percent supporting the proposal and 47 percent opposed. By late May, however, sentiment had shifted, with opposition rising to 52 percent while support slipped to 45 percent, according to polling by gfs.bern.
The proposal would have made Switzerland the first country to set a formal limit on its population, capping residents at 10 million from about 9.1 million today. It would have obligated the government to act once the figure reached 9.5 million, with more far-reaching measures, potentially including curbs on free movement with the European Union, if it passed 10 million.
The campaign had gained traction by linking immigration to rising housing costs, strained transport networks, and infrastructure struggling to keep pace with growth.
The SVP also presented the initiative as a way to tackle rising crime and what it called “creeping Islamization.”
The outcome represents a victory for the federal government, business groups, and trade unions, which had argued the proposal threatened economic growth and access to foreign labor.
“With today’s decision, the electorate has sent a signal for stability and reliability,” Swiss federal justice minister Beat Jans said at an afternoon press conference on June 14. “It makes clear that it wants to continue the bilateral path with the EU. This is important for jobs and prosperity.”
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen welcomed the outcome after the votes were counted, stating: “The Swiss people have spoken. The EU and Switzerland share deep ties and a strong partnership.”
Economiesuisse, the main business lobby, had labeled it a “chaos initiative.”
“We are relieved,” said Vincent Subilia, director general of the Geneva Chamber of Commerce.
He said the campaign had pushed Switzerland “to the limits of democracy.”
Zurich centrist National Councillor Yvonne Bürgin echoed that sentiment.
“In the end, the arguments were convincing that a rigid cap is not a solution,” Bürgin said.
“This outcome is a relief for our economy, for our national cohesion, and for the stability of our relations with our European partners,” Socialist parliamentarian Brenda Tuosto told The Epoch Times. “Some 55 percent of voters chose not to give in to politics driven by fear and retreat.”
“[The measure] would have plunged our companies, our healthcare system, and our schools and universities into a dramatic labour shortage,” she said.
“The SVP’s racist and isolationist initiative has failed,” the Greens said in a statement.
Political scientist Lukas Golder of gfs.bern said an alliance of the center and the left had formed against the SVP, viewing proposals touching on free movement and Schengen cooperation as risky amid current uncertainty.
Not everyone in the center opposed the measure. Some centrist national politicians, such as Heidi Z'graggen, publicly backed the “Yes” camp. They argued that businesses want to recruit from a larger pool, but that Switzerland, given its immigration problems, should instead train its own workforce.
SVP leaders kept an optimistic outlook despite the results not going their way.
“We’ve lost a battle, not the war,” Franz Grüter, a party parliamentarian, told The Epoch Times.
The vote exposed a sharp divide between town and country. Rural cantons broadly endorsed the initiative, while the cities, which lean left and hold larger populations, turned out against it.
“I’m impressed that voters in rural areas clearly backed this initiative,” Grüter said.
“For the Swiss people, the underlying problems raised by this initiative remain.
“If nothing is done, we will end up a country of 10, 11, perhaps even 12 million people, while our infrastructure has already reached its limits. If politicians are smart, they cannot simply ignore that nearly half of the Swiss population supported this important initiative.”
According to Switzerland’s Federal Statistical Office, the population reached its current 9.1 million at the end of 2025, up from approximately 7.3 million in 2002, reflecting one of Europe’s fastest growth rates for the small, mountainous country.
Erich Hess, another SVP parliamentarian, accused the “political and business elites” of skewing the immigration debate by framing it around labor shortages.
“The debate is not about a small number of highly qualified specialists that Switzerland genuinely needs. Much of today’s immigration is driven by asylum migration and family reunification,” he told The Epoch Times.
“For many Swiss citizens, the issue is no longer economic growth at any cost, but preserving quality of life, public security, and social cohesion.
“If current policies continue, social tensions will increase further, as we have already seen in other European countries. The immigration debate is far from over.”
