Approximately 18,000 to 20,500 Jews live in Switzerland, representing about 0.2% to 0.25% of the total population. The community is primarily urban, with the largest populations in Zurich, Basel, Geneva, and Lausanne. While the core Jewish population is around 18,500, broader estimates, including extended family, range up to 25,000–31,000.
The Jewish population was fairly well tolerated, self-managed and maintained its own school. In 1862 the Jewish community of Zurich, the Israelitische Cultusgemeinde Zürich (ICZ) was founded, and in 1884 the Synagoge Zürich was built at the Löwenstrasse road.
The Jewish population of Europe in 2010 was estimated to be approximately 1.4 million (0.2% of the European population), or 10% of the world's Jewish population. In the 21st century, France has the largest Jewish population in Europe, followed by the United Kingdom, Germany, Russia and Ukraine.
Italy provided the largest single group of foreigners, accounting for 14.7% of total foreign population, followed closely by Germany (14.0%), Portugal (11.7%), France (6.6%), Kosovo (5.1%), Spain (3.9%), Turkey (3.1%), North Macedonia (3.1%), Serbia (2.8%), Austria (2.0%), United Kingdom (1.9%), Bosnia and Herzegovina ...
About 250,000 German nationals had permanent residence in Switzerland in 2009, rising to some 300,000 five years later. Accounting for multiple citizenships the number of German nationals living in Switzerlands is much higher, at about 450,000 in 2019.
Switzerland's biggest issues revolve around healthcare costs, environmental concerns, retirement security, and immigration/EU relations, with rising costs of living and geopolitical shifts adding pressure, according to recent surveys like the UBS Worry Barometer. Healthcare premiums are a top concern, closely followed by climate change and pension sustainability, while debates on migration and the country's relationship with the EU significantly impact the national mood.
Even before the beginning of World War II, many Jews sought to escape from countries under Nazi control. Between 1933 and 1939, more than 90,000 German and Austrian Jews fled to neighboring countries (France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, Czechoslovakia, and Switzerland).
Budapest's Great Synagogue is the largest synagogue in Europe, capable of seating 3,000 people, and is the heart of Hungary's once much more populous Jewish community. It is also the centre of Neolog Judaism, a conservative part of the Jewish faith.
Center for Fundamental Rights Senior Fellow Bryan Leib has recently attended the Jewish News Syndicate's conference in Jerusalem, Israel, where he explained to the audience why Hungary is the safest place for Jews in Europe.
The Jewish population in the U.S. is largely congregated in major urban areas, such as New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago, with the New York metropolitan area being the city with the second largest Jewish population worldwide, after Tel Aviv, Israel.
Judaism is experiencing a complex demographic shift: the global Jewish population is slowly growing (reaching around 15.7 million recently) but remains smaller than pre-Holocaust numbers, with growth primarily driven by high birth rates in Ultra-Orthodox (Haredi) communities in Israel and the U.S.. While Israel's Jewish population is expanding rapidly, many secular and non-Orthodox Jews in the diaspora are seeing declines, leading to significant internal cultural and political changes, with Israel projected to become the world's largest Jewish center.
Switzerland has historically supported a two-state solution on the basis of the 1967 borders, regarding the resolution of the Israel-Palestinian Conflict, a stance it reaffirmed in May of 2024.
Like in any other country, many rules have been introduced to reinforce common sense. Rules that may be included in your rental contract, like 'no flushing and no shower after 10pm' are there to enforce common sense and stress the fact that you should not bother your neighbours.
Jews obtained full civil rights in 1874 and established communities in about 20 localities, in some of them building impressive synagogues. Today about 17,000 Jews live in Switzerland.
What is the largest immigrant group in Switzerland?
By the end of 2024, 1,578,629 EU/EFTA na- tionals and 789,735 third-country nationals were permanently residing in Switzerland. Italians (346,981) remain the largest foreign population group in Switzerland, followed by Germans (332,132), Portuguese (263,028), and French (173,353) nationals.
Hitler pledged to restore prosperity, create civil order (by crushing industrial strikes and street demonstrations by communists and socialists), eliminate the influence of Jewish financiers, and make the fatherland once again a world power.
Judaism came first, with its origins tracing back to Abraham (c. 2nd millennium BCE) and Moses (c. 1200 BCE), establishing the first monotheistic faith, while Islam emerged much later, in the 7th century CE, with the Prophet Muhammad in Arabia, building on the same Abrahamic tradition but as a distinct religion. Muslims view Adam as the first Muslim, but historically, Judaism was practiced in pre-Islamic Arabia for centuries before Islam's founding.
Donald Trump identifies as a Christian, having grown up Presbyterian but now describes himself as a nondenominational Christian, influenced by "positive thinking" teachings from his time at Marble Collegiate Church. His faith journey involves a blend of traditional Christianity and a charismatic, "anointed by God" narrative, resonating strongly with many white evangelical Christians who see him as a defender of faith, despite his personal religious observance being a topic of discussion.
If you want to settle in Switzerland, the main question to ask yourself is whether your salary can keep up with the cost of living. With such high salaries, Switzerland is also characterized by a very high cost of living. Living in Switzerland under these conditions can be truly difficult for many people.
The “King of the Skies” reaches a wingspan of up to 2.2 metres. The Golden Eagle is the only large predator in Switzerland to have survived the days of ruthless persecution during which the Bearded Vulture, the lynx, the wolf and the brown bear were exterminated.
