Global rankings: where Switzerland gets good marks – and where it could do better snbchf.com

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Global rankings: where Switzerland gets good marks – and where it could do better — Zurich took second spot behind Vienna in Mercer’s 2023 Quality of Living survey for expatriates, The Swiss city was hailed for its political stability and high-quality infrastructure. Keystone / Gaetan Bally

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Whether it is quality of life, universities or globalisation, Switzerland regularly excels in international rankings. SWI swissinfo.ch digs into recent global surveys to analyse the results.

This content was published on October 21, 2024 - 17:04

Born in London, Simon is a multimedia journalist who has worked for www.swissinfo.ch since 2006. He speaks French, German and Spanish and focuses on science, technology and innovation issues.

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Switzerland has one of the world’s most liveable cities – Zurich – according to a recent studyExternal link in Nature Cities. In the country’s largest city (population 430,000), 99.2% of residents live within a 15-minute walk of essential services such as healthcare and education. The “15-minute city”External link is a concept used by scientists and urban planners. Sprawling North American cities with a high dependency on cars, such as Dallas, Atlanta and Detroit, ranked poorly.

“Zurich feels extraordinarily walkable to me, coming from the US,” Luke Harris, a landscape architect from Portland, Oregon, told The Guardian newspaper. “Most of the things you need are within walking distance – and if they’re not, it’s easy to take public transport.”

Zurich regularly features in global rankings and is a popular destination for foreign workers. In Mercer’s 2023 Quality of Living survey for expatriatesExternal link, Zurich bagged second spot behind Vienna and ahead of Auckland. Zurich was hailed for its political stability and high-quality infrastructure. Geneva took fifth place.

High salaries but…

Despite recent challenges such as the Covid-19 pandemic, Switzerland, with its population of nine million, recently retained the top spot for a second consecutive yearExternal link in the UN Human Development Index (HDI), which focuses on global living standards. The Swiss score was boosted by high incomes ($69,433 in gross national income per person) and long life expectancies (85.9 years for women, 82.5 for men (2022)).

The small Alpine state is certainly one of the richest countries in the world. The UBS Global Wealth Report estimates that the average wealth of a Swiss adult (excluding debts) amounts to $709,612 (CHF638,012), ahead of Luxembourg ($607,524) and Hong Kong ($582,000).

Salaries are high, but living costs are steep. Cities such as Zurich, Geneva, Basel and Bern are among the most expensive in the world; and Switzerland leads The Economist magazine’s Big Mac IndexExternal link, which measures the cost of a Big Mac hamburger in different countries and indicates the difference in purchasing power parity between them. When you factor in taxes and pension contributions, rent (average CHF1,412 per apartment in 2022), public transport and rising health insurance premiums (CHF360 per month), those impressive salaries start to lose their allure.

Swiss salaries: high, stable, yet not enough for many

This content was published on Mar 20, 2024 How far does almost CHF7,000 ($7,850) go in Switzerland? New statistics make the median salary sound mouth-watering, but there are big variations across sectors and incomes.

The Swiss live longer partly thanks to the country’s health system. In 2022 Switzerland was rated firstExternal link in a global ranking of the access to and the quality of healthcare systems. But it is expensive: 11.3% of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2022, above the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) average of 8.8%. An ageing population and medical-technical advances are pushing up costs.

Good at maths

The UN’s human development index External linkalso takes into account education. Here Switzerland also scored highly in the latest ranking with the second-highest average number of years of schooling (13.9 years for people aged 25 and older), equal with Canada but just behind Germany (14.3).

The OECD’s latest PISA survey, published in 2023, found that Swiss 15-year-olds scored 508 points on the PISA scale in 2022, compared with an average of 472 points. Six countries scored better, all in East Asia. Swiss 15-year-olds scored well for mathematics. They are also above average for science and reading. But a quarter of Swiss pupils failed to reach the minimum level in reading.

Swiss universities such as the federal technology institute ETH Zurich also do well in global surveys. Switzerland has the highest concentration of top study programmes in the world, according to the British higher education consultancy Quacquarelli Symonds (QS).

Are Swiss universities victims of their success?

This content was published on Feb 23, 2024 A look at the booming growth of Swiss universities and international student admissions.

Swiss universities’ reputation for excellence, international environment and relatively low tuition fees attracts a large number of foreign graduates. They now account for roughly a third of all enrolments. The percentage of foreign graduates in Switzerland is higher than in other OECD member statesExternal link. Some institutions are thus considering capping numbers and increasing tuition fees.

Global business powerhouse

Switzerland’s healthy business environment regularly gets good marks. It took the top spot in the US News & World Report’s annual Best Countries rankingsExternal link, published in September, and scored highly in categories such as open for business, quality of life, and entrepreneurship. “The country’s strong economy is powered by low corporate tax rates, a highly developed service sector led by financial services and a high-tech manufacturing industry,” the reportExternal link said.

Swiss economy outperforms weak European industry

This content was published on Sep 3, 2024 Swiss economy benefits from strong chemical and pharmaceutical industry expansion in the second quarter of 2024.

Thanks to its vibrant trade, stable currency, financial centre and the presence of numerous international organisations, it again featured at the top of a league of globalised countries. It is also viewed as one of the most competitiveExternal link and most innovative. The overall business environment, the use of new technologies, patents and technical know-how has enabled it to top the UN World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)’s annual ranking for 13 consecutive years.

Expensive housing and no friends

But despite the strong economy, healthy job market and low taxes, Switzerland is less popular than ever with foreign professionals, according to a survey by the expat platform Internations published in June. Switzerland was ranked 34th out of a total of 53 countries, compared to 23rd last year. It continued to score points for its quality of life and wage levels. But the lack of affordable accommodation remains a constant headache. Many skilled workers also complain about their social lives and say they struggle to make friends in Switzerland.

The highs and lows of living and working in Switzerland

This content was published on Dec 2, 2021 Have foreign residents cracked how to befriend the allegedly surly Swiss? The Expat City Ranking 2021 lists their latest praise and peeves.

Finally, when it comes to rankings shouldn’t forget the Economist Intelligence Unit’s democracy indexExternal link, where in 2023, neutral Switzerland slipped one place to eighth behind Norway, New Zealand, Iceland, Sweden, Finland, Denmark and Ireland. Or then again press freedom: Switzerland now occupies ninth place in the most recent Reporters Without Borders chart, up from 12th place last year.

There are a few other clouds. The Alpine nation also ranks sixth in Transparency International’s 2023 Public Sector Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI). Shortcomings are particularly evident in the fight against money laundering, corruption in the private sector, the prosecution of companies and the protection of whistleblowers, said Transparency International.

Swiss climate policy also continues to disappoint. Last December it stagnated in 20th spot in the annual Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI) that assesses the climate protection efforts of 63 countries plus the European Union – the largest emitters responsible for 90% of global greenhouse gas emissions.

Edited by Reto Gysi von Wartburg/ts

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SWI swissinfo.ch – the international service of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC). Since 1999, swissinfo.ch has fulfilled the federal government’s mandate to distribute information about Switzerland internationally, supplementing the online offerings of the radio and television stations of the SBC. Today, the international service is directed above all at an international audience interested in Switzerland, as well as at Swiss citizens living abroad.

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