BERN, Switzerland, June 14, 2026 — The radical right's proposal to limit Switzerland's population, with the clear aim of restricting immigration, was rejected in the country following the elections held this Sunday.
Swiss voters rejected a far-right initiative to limit the population to 10 million by 2050 in a referendum on Sunday, with national projections indicating a victory for the "no" vote, according to state broadcaster SRF.
The proposal, promoted by the Democratic Union of the Center (UDC), called for the introduction of restrictions on immigration if the population exceeded certain thresholds before 2050 .
Among the measures were limitations on asylum, family reunification, and residence permits, and could even jeopardize the agreement on the free movement of people between Switzerland and the European Union.
The Swiss government, as well as trade unions and business associations, opposed the initiative , warning of economic impacts and the worsening shortage of skilled labor.
The European People's Party group in the European Parliament, an ally of the UDC, considered the referendum defeat a "decision that must be respected," while the Swiss party highlighted the high voter turnout, arguing that the issue of the population limit deserves further discussion.
The referendum once again highlighted the division between urban and rural areas , particularly in the canton of Appenzell Innerrhoden in the northeast, where few foreigners reside and approximately 66% of voters approved the proposal.
A quarter of the population of 9.1 million are foreigners.
According to official data, the Swiss population is currently estimated at around 9.1 million inhabitants, with more than a quarter of foreign origin.
The initiative stipulated that, should the country reach 9.5 million inhabitants before 2050 , the government would be obliged to adopt corrective measures in its immigration policy.
Switzerland holds federal referendums regularly, usually four times a year, allowing voters to decide directly on legislative and constitutional initiatives.
Immigration has been a recurring theme in Swiss political debate, with several restrictive proposals put forward in recent decades, although few have been approved.