Conscription in Switzerland

Switzerland has mandatory military service (German: Militärdienst; French: service militaire; Italian: servizio militare) in the Swiss Army for all able-bodied male citizens, who are conscripted when they reach the age of majority, though women may volunteer for any position. In 2016, an expert commission that the Swiss government charged with reviewing the country's conscription system recommended that women be included in the military draft in order to meet its annual demand of 18,000 new soldiers a year.

People determined unfit for service, where fitness is defined as "satisfying physically, intellectually and mentally requirements for military service or civil protection service and being capable of accomplishing these services without harming oneself or others", are exempted from service but pay an additional 3% of annual income tax until the age of 30, unless they are affected by a disability.

Almost 20% of all conscripts were found unfit for military or civilian service in 2008; the rate is generally higher in urban cantons such as Zurich and Geneva than in the rural ones.Swiss citizens living abroad are generally exempted from conscription in time of peace, while dual citizenship by itself does not grant such exemption.

On September 22, 2013, a referendum was held that aimed to abolish conscription in Switzerland. However, the referendum failed with over 73% of the electorate voting against it, showing strong support for conscription in Switzerland.

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