«Sustainability initiative» (Limiting the national population)

1. Appenzell Innerrhoden ½✓ Yes majority, Yes share 65.9%, Turnout 65%
2. Schwyz✓ Yes majority, Yes share 63.2%, Turnout 68%
3. Uri✓ Yes majority, Yes share 59.9%, Turnout 63%
4. Glarus✓ Yes majority, Yes share 58.6%, Turnout 58%
5. Obwalden ½✓ Yes majority, Yes share 58.5%, Turnout 68%
6. Nidwalden ½✓ Yes majority, Yes share 58.1%, Turnout 66%
7. Thurgau✓ Yes majority, Yes share 55.3%, Turnout 60%
8. St. Gallen✓ Yes majority, Yes share 53.8%, Turnout 60%
9. Appenzell Ausserrhoden ½✓ Yes majority, Yes share 53.2%, Turnout 64%
10. Aargau✓ Yes majority, Yes share 51.0%, Turnout 60%
11. Solothurn✓ Yes majority, Yes share 50.7%, Turnout 59%
12. Ticino✓ Yes majority, Yes share 50.7%, Turnout 50%
13. Schaffhausen✗ No majority, Yes share 49.2%, Turnout 74%
14. Lucerne✗ No majority, Yes share 49.0%, Turnout 64%
15. Graubünden✗ No majority, Yes share 48.5%, Turnout 59%
16. Zug✗ No majority, Yes share 47.6%, Turnout 68%
17. Valais✗ No majority, Yes share 47.2%, Turnout 57%
18. Fribourg✗ No majority, Yes share 45.1%, Turnout 57%
19. Bern✗ No majority, Yes share 44.6%, Turnout 60%
20. Basel-Landschaft ½✗ No majority, Yes share 44.1%, Turnout 59%
21. Jura✗ No majority, Yes share 40.1%, Turnout 51%
22. Zurich✗ No majority, Yes share 40.0%, Turnout 61%
23. Vaud✗ No majority, Yes share 35.5%, Turnout 54%
24. Geneva✗ No majority, Yes share 34.6%, Turnout 52%
25. Neuchâtel✗ No majority, Yes share 32.7%, Turnout 50%
26. Basel-Stadt ½✗ No majority, Yes share 26.5%, Turnout 62%

✓ Yes majority · ✗ No majority · Turnout %
½ half canton: counts half towards the majority of the cantons.

Sources: Federal Statistical Office (FSO); older votes: Swissvotes, Année Politique Suisse, University of Bern; map base: FSO, GEOSTAT

Cantons by their majority language: Fribourg and Valais count as French-speaking, Bern and Graubünden as German-speaking.

Yes or no?

What exactly is it about?

At the end of 2025, just over 9.1 million people live permanently in Switzerland. Since 2002, when the free movement of persons with the EU was introduced, the population has grown by about 1.7 million, mainly because of immigration according to the Federal Council. The popular initiative «No to a 10 million Switzerland! (Sustainability initiative)» wants to write into the Federal Constitution that the permanent resident population may not exceed 10 million people before 2050. If it exceeds 9.5 million, the Federal Council and Parliament must take measures, in particular on asylum and family reunification. If it exceeds 10 million, agreements that contribute to population growth must be terminated. If the population is still above that limit two years later, the free movement agreement with the EU must also be terminated. The termination can be avoided if safeguard clauses achieve compliance with the limit. According to the Federal Council, the other agreements of the Bilaterals I (agreements with the EU, for example on trade and transport) then lapse as well. A popular initiative needs a majority of voters and a majority of the cantons.

What is disputed?

The initiative committee considers immigration today to be massively too high. It says this leads to housing shortages, higher rents and a landscape covered in concrete. The committee also names traffic jams, crowded trains, an overstretched health system and falling educational quality. In its view the initiative limits immigration to a reasonable level, since around 40,000 people a year could still immigrate. The Federal Council and Parliament recommend a no. They argue that the initiative harms the economy, because companies, hospitals and care homes could recruit workers in the EU only to a limited extent. In their view, terminating free movement endangers the bilateral path with the EU and cooperation under Schengen and Dublin, which would make internal security harder and cost hundreds of millions of francs more per year in the asylum area. They also see the humanitarian tradition at risk if human-rights agreements had to be renegotiated or terminated, and point to their own measures such as building affordable housing.

Party recommendations