In Switzerland the population with an immigration background includes not only foreign citizens who immigrated to Switzerland and their direct descendants who were born in the host country, but also Swiss citizens who acquired Swiss citizenship by birth or by naturalisation and who either immigrated to Switzerland or who have at least one parent born abroad.
The Swiss Labour Force Survey (SLFS) makes it possible to identify the population with an immigration background and to disaggregate it. An individual's immigration status is determined on the basis of a combination of the following individual variables: "country of birth", "citizenship upon birth" and "current citizenship", as well as each parent's "country of birth".
Migration and integration – Data, indicatorsPopulation with an immigration background
Permanent resident population aged 15 or over, by migration status, in 2012
| in 1000's | in % | |
|---|---|---|
| Total | 6736 | 100.0 |
| Population without an immigration background | 4346 | 64.5 |
| Swiss citizens | 4341 | 64.4 |
| of whom naturalised | 16 | 0.2 |
| Persons with foreign citizenship (3rd generation) | 5 | 0.1 |
| Population with an immigration background | 2335 | 34.7 |
| Swiss citizens | 853 | 12.7 |
| of whom naturalised | 766 | 11.4 |
| Persons with foreign citizenship (1st and 2nd generation) | 1483 | 22.0 |
| Persons for whom some relevant data are unavailable | 54 | 0.8 |
In 2012, 34.7% of the permanent resident population aged 15 or over in Switzerland, i.e. 2,335,000 persons, had an immigration background. A third of this population (853,000) have Swiss citizenship. Four fifths of persons with an immigration background are themselves immigrants (first generation foreigners and native-born and naturalised Swiss citizens), whereas one fifth were born in Switzerland (second generation foreigners and native-born and naturalised Swiss citizens).