Author: switzerlandtimes.ch

Switzerland still has one of the stronger school systems in the rich world. Its 15-year-olds score above the OECD average in PISA. But the ranking conceals a less reassuring trend: Swiss pupils are getting worse at some of the basic things schools are meant to teach. In the latest results Switzerland scored 499 points in mathematics and 470 in reading, down by about 4% from 521 and 492 respectively in 2015. Science has held up better, slipping only from 503 to 501. In a new test of model-based problem-solving, which assesses pupils’ ability to use digital tools to analyse data…

Switzerland’s housing market tightened further in 2026 to reach a vacancy rate below 1% for the first time since 2013. On June 1st, 45,493 homes stood empty, according to the Federal Statistical Office (FSO), equivalent to 0.93% of the housing stock. That was 0.07 percentage points lower than a year earlier. The number of vacant homes fell by 2,962, or 6.1%. It was the sixth consecutive annual decline in the vacancy rate, which has fallen by 0.79 percentage points since 2021. The squeeze has coincided with a sharp rise in rents and a marked shift in the ownership of rental…

Switzerland may one day charge employers an “entry fee” for recruiting workers from the European Union. The idea, long dismissed as anti-business and potentially incompatible with the country’s agreements with Brussels, is gaining support in Parliament. The Federal Council now backs it too. The proposal forms part of Parliament’s debate over Switzerland’s new package of agreements with the EU. It would not create a permanent immigration tax. Instead, the levy could be imposed only if immigration from the EU rose far enough for Switzerland to activate a new safeguard clause. That clause is designed to give Switzerland more room to…

Swiss households will get some relief from high electricity bills next year. Prices in the regulated basic-supply market will fall by a median 4% in 2027, according to ElCom, the federal electricity regulator. A typical household consuming 4,500kWh a year will pay about CHF 1,194, CHF 53 less than in 2026. The decline is being driven mainly by cheaper energy procurement. The energy component of the tariff will fall by 6.3%, from 12.11 centimes per kilowatt-hour to 11.35 centimes. Some expensive supply contracts signed during the energy crisis are now expiring, allowing utilities to replace them with cheaper purchases. That…

On September 27th voters in Vaud will decide whether to cut cantonal income and wealth taxes by 12%. Business groups say the measure would ease the tax burden and bolster purchasing power. The cantonal government, left-wing parties and trade unions warn that it would blow a hole in the public finances. The initiative is one of Vaud’s most fiercely contested cantonal votes in recent years. It was launched by three business organisations: the Vaud Employers’ Association, the Chamber of Real Estate and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry. In 2023 they collected more than 28,000 signatures, over twice the number…

This week, a 58.4MW battery-storage plant has opened in Gurtnellen, in the canton of Uri, reported Axpo. It is the largest of its kind in Switzerland, though probably not for long. What is it? Switzerland’s biggest battery-storage facility has been connected to the grid in Gurtnellen. The project was developed jointly by Axpo and Energie Uri and inaugurated on Wednesday. Axpo’s share has a capacity of 50MW; Energie Uri’s adds another 8.4MW. Axpo says its facility will serve the national grid, while Energie Uri’s will primarily meet cantonal needs. Why Gurtnellen? The site at Plattischachen is already an important electricity…

Each autumn Switzerland’s cattle leave their high pastures for the valleys. The journey, known as a désalpe in French-speaking Switzerland and an Alpabzug in German-speaking areas, has become one of the country’s most photogenic rural traditions. Here is what it is, where it came from and where to see one in 2026. Autumn announces itself noisily in the Swiss Alps. Cows wearing enormous bells and crowns of flowers make their way down from summer pastures, accompanied by farmers and their families, often in traditional dress. The procession is known as a désalpe in French-speaking Switzerland and an Alpabzug or Alpabfahrt…

Switzerland has endured its hottest summer since records began 162 years ago in 1864. Between June and August 2026 the national average temperature reached 17.2°C, MeteoSwiss said on Thursday, 0.4°C above the previous record set in 2003. The summer average was also 3.4°C above the 1991-2020 norm. The heat was especially intense in north-western Switzerland, where temperatures were 4°C above the long-term average—see map here. On July 30th the temperature at Basel-Binningen reached 39.7°C, matching the record high north of the Alps, set at Geneva-Cointrin on July 7th 2015, according to MeteoSwiss’s summer climate bulletin. Many places registered unprecedented temperatures.…

Switzerland’s gender pay gap narrowed again in 2024. Women earned 15.7% less than men on average, down from 16.2% in 2022, according to the Federal Statistical Office (FSO). The unexplained difference narrowed to 6.5%. The trend is longstanding. Across the economy, including both the private and public sectors, the gap stood at 19.0% in 2018 and 18.0% in 2020. The figures are based on gross monthly wages standardised to a full-time workload. Part of the difference reflects observable characteristics of men and women in the labour market, including education, tenure and seniority. Men and women are not distributed evenly across…

Zurich’s cantonal parliament has backed a proposal to ban headscarves in public schools and kindergartens, instructing the cantonal government to draft legislation, reported SRF. The motion, proposed by the Swiss People’s Party (UDC/SVP), passed on Monday by 87 votes to 82, with six abstentions. It would prohibit female pupils and teachers from wearing religious head coverings in public educational institutions. The UDC/SVP cited France, where conspicuous religious symbols, including Islamic headscarves, have been banned in state schools since 2004. The motion claimed that the French policy had improved the integration and academic performance of Muslim girls. The proposal was supported…