The latest data from the Federal Statistical Office (FSO) has revealed which of the 10 largest Swiss cities are home to the most expats and the most English speakers. In three cities, mother-tongue English speakers make up more than one in 10 of the population.

Cities in Switzerland continue to grow

Every year as part of the FSO’s City Statistics report, the government analyses how the 10 largest cities and their surrounding areas have developed. In all, 450 different aspects of life were analysed, from housing and jobs to education and citizenship.

With the Swiss population rising at rates unseen since the 1960s, the report found that the country's major cities continue to grow. As of the beginning of 2024, 433.989 people called Zurich home, compared to 206.635 in Geneva and 176.329 - Canton Zurich is now home to approaching 1,454 million people. Lausanne is the youngest city in Switzerland with a median age of 37,5 years, while Lugano is the oldest at 46,8.

Majority of the population of Geneva are not Swiss citizens

In terms of which city is home to the most expats and internationals, it was Geneva that took the top spot. According to their data, a majority of residents (50,1 percent) in the city do not have Swiss passports - 120.924 people living in Geneva were born abroad.

As the home of major international companies, two top universities and institutions like the International Olympic Committee, Lausanne took second place. 42,5 percent of the population is not Swiss as of the end of 2023, while 73.000 of the Vaud capital's residents were not born in the alpine nation. Thanks to its large Italian expat community Lugano placed third with 40 percent, and by contrast, Switzerland's de-facto capital Bern placed bottom with just 25,5 percent.

Which cities have the largest non-Swiss populations?

In all, here are the 10 largest cities in Switzerland, ranked by their non-Swiss populations:

1. Geneva (50,1 percent)
2. Lausanne (42,5 percent)
3. Lugano (40 percent)
4. Basel (39,5 percent)
5. Biel / Bienne (34,1 percent)
6. Zurich (33,8 percent)
7. St. Gallen (33,6 percent)
8. Lucerne (27 percent)
9. Winterthur (36,4 percent)
10. Bern (25,5 percent)

However, the order does change slightly once the agglomerations of each city are taken into account. Canton Zurich jumps Biel and Basel to take fourth place, while Biel / Bienne drops a place to sixth.

Zurich home to the most English speakers

Interestingly, the order changes even further when looking at which cities are home to the most English speakers: as of 2022, 15,8 percent of the population of Zurich speaks English at home, the highest rate in Switzerland. Basel and Geneva took joint second with 13,7 percent, while Lausanne rounded out the top four with 9,9 percent.

Watson attributed this to Zurich's status as a top destination for expats and home to many large banks and other global companies. It is also likely to be home to the most English speakers overall, as according to the survey, 47,3 percent of Zurich residents (both mother-tongue speakers and not) reported that English is their main language at work. Similarly high rates were reported in Basel (39,2 percent), Geneva (37,3 percent), Lausanne and Bern (both 27,8 percent)

Despite its large English-speaking community, learning German is still the way forward in the Swiss metropolis. The survey found that 60,5 percent of Zurich residents use Swiss German at home, while 23,7 percent speak High German.

Which Swiss city has the most English mother-tongue speakers?

In all, here are the 10 Swiss cities ranked by their English mother-tongue populations:

• 1. Zurich (15,8 percent)
• =2. Basel (13,7 percent)
• =2. Geneva (13,7 percent)
• 4. Lausanne (9,9 percent)
• 5. Lucerne (8,4 percent)
• 6. Bern (8,2 percent)
• 7. Winterthur (6,5 percent)
• 8. Biel / Bienne (5,2 percent)
• 9. St. Gallen (4,8 percent)
• 10. Lugano (4,8 percent)

For more information about the findings, check out the FSO website. 

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