Swiss municipalities are getting bigger - but remain small

The more than 2100 Swiss municipalities rate themselves as efficient - but spatial planning, asylum seekers and digitalization are causing them problems. They are also challenged by the succession of ageing "village leaders".

These challenges have led to mergers, according to the municipal monitoring presented by the Zurich University of Applied Sciences and the University of Lausanne on Tuesday: As of January 1, 2024, there were still 2131 municipalities - around a fifth fewer than in 2010.

Nevertheless, many still remain small. Half of all municipalities have fewer than 1693 inhabitants. One major challenge facing the municipalities is filling political offices. The members of the municipal executives are getting older.

In addition, almost one in three municipalities has problems in the areas of spatial and zoning regulations (32%), the care of asylum seekers (31%) and the approval of planning applications (29%).

SDA