The population of Switzerland has surpassed the nine-million mark for the first time, according to government statistics on Thursday.
The Federal Statistical Office reported 9,002,763 people were living in Switzerland at the end of June.
Some 27 per cent of them hold a foreign passport, with Italians and Germans the first and second biggest groups.
The right-wing Swiss People’s Party (SVP), which wants immigration reduced and asylum rules toughened, organised a voter initiative called “No to 10 million Swiss.’’
The initiative demanded that permanent residents’ population not exceed 10 million before 2050.
It took 12 years for the population to grow from eight million to nine million.
When the population reached 9.5 million, the SVP wanted immigration and naturalisation of foreigners to be drastically restricted.
As is common in Switzerland, a popular vote will decide the SVP’s plan. There is no date yet set for the referendum.
(dpa/NAN)