The proportion of residents of Zurich who speak English has risen significantly in recent years, according to new figures from city authorities. While this helps to enhance Zurich’s image as an international city, it does throw up interesting questions when it comes to the subject of integration. 

Proportion of English speakers rising in Zurich

According to Christof Meier, head of integration promotion for the city of Zurich, 130 different languages are spoken in Zurich, and almost 60 percent of the population speaks at least one other language in their everyday lives in addition to their main language. 

While three out of four people in Zurich speak German as their main language, that proportion is dropping quite rapidly. 10 years ago in 2014, the proportion was four in five. Indeed, the proportion of people who speak no German at all is rising, from 8 percent in 2014 to 12,4 percent today. 

Meier said that the proportion of English speakers in Zurich has increased significantly, from 9 to 14 percent of the population - an increase of 40 percent compared to 10 years ago. The number of French, Spanish, Greek, Russian, Polish and Ukrainian speakers has also increased. 

According to Meier’s figures, 40 percent of residents now speak English at work. What’s even more interesting is that, of those 136.000 people, 90.000 of them are not native English speakers. Indeed, even 37 percent of people whose mother tongue is Swiss German speak English at their jobs or in training. 

Zurich wants to embrace other languages but promote German learning

Meier said that the attitude towards language learning has changed in recent years in the city. “Perhaps 30 years ago, the prevailing attitude was: if you want something from us, you have to learn German first,” he said. “That is different today, because professional work also tries to reach people. So we offer more information in English and in a few other languages.” 

While Meier sees this as a positive development, helping to strengthen “Zurich’s attractiveness and competitiveness as an international business location”, he also says it “entails risk”, because not everyone in Zurich speaks English - particularly those who are less well-educated - and so he believes care must be taken to prevent a social divide from forming.

For instance, Meier points to the fact that 70 percent of academics and managers working in Zurich use English, as do 50 percent of officer workers and technicians. But among tradespeople and nurses, the figure drops significantly to less than 20 percent. 

The solution, according to Meier, is to adopt a policy that embraces reality. That means embracing and supporting all of the languages spoken in Zurich, but still promoting German as an integral part of life in the Swiss city. “We must prevent exclusion due to differences in education or language. What must not happen is unequal treatment of languages… [However], there will be no compromises on our goal of ensuring that as many people as possible can communicate and participate in German.”