Demographics of Switzerland

Population of Switzerland, 1970–2005
Population	8,121,830 (July 2015 est.)
Density	198/km2 (65th) 477.4/sq mi
Growth rate	0.71% (2015 est.)
Birth rate	10.5 births/1,000 population (2015 est.)
Death rate	8.13 deaths/1,000 population (2015 est.)
Life expectancy	82.5 years
• male	80.22 years
• female	84.92 years (2015 est.)
Fertility rate	1.55 children born/woman (2015 est.)
Infant mortality rate	3.67 deaths/1,000 live births
Net migration rate	4.74 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2015 est.)
0–14 years	15.09% (male 630,944/ female 594,465)
15–64 years	11.29% (male 468,036/ female 449,309)
65 and over	17.76% (male 631,204/ female 811,621) (2015 est.)
Total	0.97 male(s)/female (2015 est.)
At birth	1.06 male(s)/female
Under 15	1.05 male(s)/female
15–64 years	1.02 male(s)/female
65 and over	0.78 male(s)/female
Nationality	Swiss
Official	German, French, Italian, Romansh
Spoken	English, Portuguese, Albanian, Serbo-Croatian, Spanish, other

This article is about the demographic features of the population of Switzerland, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.

Switzerland had a population of 8.02 million as of 2012. Its population quadrupled over the period 1800 to 1990 (average doubling time 95 years). Population growth was steepest in the period after World War II (1.4% per annum during 1950-1970, doubling time 50 years), it slowed down during the 1970s to 1980s and has since again picked up to 1% during the 2000s (doubling time 70 years).

More than 75% of the population live in the central plain, which stretches between the Alps and the Jura Mountains and from Geneva in the southwest to the Rhine River and Lake Constance in the northeast. Foreigners with permanent residency (which does not include temporary foreign workers) make up about 23% of the population.

The Federal Population Census (German: Eidgenössische Volkszählung, French: Recensement fédéral de la population, Italian: Censimento federale della popolazione, Romansh: Dumbraziun federala dal pievel) has been carried out every 10 years starting in 1850. The census was initiated by Federal Councillor Stefano Franscini, who evaluated the data of the first census all by himself after Parliament failed to provide the necessary funds. The census is now being conducted by the Swiss Federal Statistical Office, which makes most results available on its website.