Breakfast Show 6:30am - 10:00am

Listen Live

Search

English becoming more important

Wednesday, 19 February 2025 06:30

English is becoming more and more important in Switzerland – but not to the detriment of the national languages.

The latest figures from the Federal Statistics Office show the number of Swiss residents who use English as their main language is up from 4% at 6% in the last ten years.

In addition, more workplaces are using English as their primary operational language. 

Across the country, English is mainly used in 23% of workplaces – which is almost as much as French at 28%.

In canton Vaud, a quarter of workers use English habitually at work – in Zurich, it’s 36%. 

But homelife is different. Only 1.5% of households never use a national language.

Share

More from Bitesize News

  • Govt looks to cut forest protection

    The Federal Council is scrapping the CHF 25 million a year that Parliament voted to help forests adapt to climate change, despite two clear parliamentary decisions.

  • Federal Councillors heckled by protestors

    Federal Councilors were out across the country marking National Day on Saturday - but not without controversy.

  • Further pressure on Swiss football head

    Pressure is mounting on Zurich-based FIFA and its Italo-Swiss president Gianni Infantino after North America's football body demanded a complete overhaul of his presidency.

  • Politicians carry stereotypes

    Elected politicians in Switzerland carry more gender stereotypes than the voters they represent, a new University of Geneva and University of Lausanne study finds.

  • Illegal rave hits pastures

    A thousand young people left a mountain pasture in the Vaud Jura unsuitable for grazing after an illegal rave.

  • More Swiss firefighters head to France

    A second team of 33 firefighters from French speaking Switzerland will travel to south-western France this weekend to relieve colleagues battling the wildfires.

Follow WRS

Download our app

  • Available on the App Store
  • Available on Google Play