Switzerland was once a poor country. Only at the end of the 19th century things did begin to change after an economic boom. Then it took just 130 years for the Swiss population to grow from three to eight million.

Population still growing

The number of people living in Switzerland has increased yet again, closing in on the eight million mark in 2011.
The country’s permanent resident population reached 7,952,600 last year, up 82,400 or approximately one per cent more than in 2010.

According to provisional data released by the Federal Statistics Office on Thursday, most cantons recorded higher figures except for Appenzell Outer Rhodes and Basel Country, where numbers were stable, and Uri where they were slightly lower.
 
The number of foreigners living in Switzerland at the end of last year was 1,814,800, or 22.8 per cent of the population, an increase of 48,500.
 
Switzerland is among a number of European countries including France, Italy and Austria where the population rose last year. Other nations such as Germany however recorded decreasing figures.

Source: swissinfo.ch and agencies