Switzerland

Switzerland

Western Europe

EuropeNon-EUSchengenEFTA
84
Overall score
Excellent overall
Language
German / French / Italian
Currency
CHF
Citizenship
10 years
Personal tax
Cantonal: ~20–40% effective
Cost of living
CHF 3,500 / mo (single)

Top-tier salaries, safety, low cantonal taxes and no capital-gains tax on private wealth, but one of the world's longest, strictest citizenship paths and a very high cost of living.

Pros

  • 0% CGT on private assets
  • Highest salaries in Europe
  • Lump-sum tax deal for wealthy newcomers

Cons

  • 10-year, locally-decided citizenship
  • Very high cost of living
  • Strict non-EU work quotas

Best for

High earners & investorsWealthy relocators (lump-sum)Researchers & executives

Score profile

Status & mobility
Passport
96
Citizenship
64
Residence
88
Money & business
Taxes
72
Corporate tax
66
Business
80
Investment
87
Economy
84
Wealth building
71
Living, study & work
Education
87
Salary & work
77
Cost of living
4
Buying power
68
Quality of life
Safety
87
Healthcare
94
Infrastructure
92
HDI
97

Status & mobility

Passport

Rules change often and depend on your situation. Confirm any travel or visa decision with a qualified professional, or do your own research, before acting.

Passport power
Excellent
96

Passport-index style mobility for the Switzerland passport. The score above is its world reach: the share of 198 destinations reachable without a prior visa.

190 / 198
Mobility
#5
Global rank
Yes
Biometric
  • Visa-free143
  • On arrival38
  • eTA9
  • Visa required8

Passport Index style mobility data (2024–2025 estimate). Placeholder figures; verify current entry rules with each destination’s authority before travelling.

Citizenship

Rules change often and depend on your situation. Confirm any citizenship decision with a qualified professional, or do your own research, before acting.

Citizenship accessibility
Moderate
64
Years required10 years (years 8–9 at half-count for some)
Dual allowedtrue
LanguageLocal language to ~B1/A2 + integration (canton-dependent)
Residence10 years legal residence + C permit + cantonal/communal approval
NotesDecided at federal, cantonal AND communal level: local integration scrutiny is significant.
Residence

Rules change often and depend on your situation. Confirm any residence / visa decision with a qualified professional, or do your own research, before acting.

Openness to residents
Excellent
88
How this score is calculated

Our 0–100 score combines how international the population already is (migrant stock at 45%), governance quality (regulatory quality at 25%), and the curated residence-pathway signal (30%). Available indicators are reweighted; the published values are shown below.

Migrant stock31.1% of population (2024)
Regulatory quality1.77 (−2.5 to 2.5) (2024)

Source: World Bank World Development Indicators

Main pathways
EU/EFTA free movementWork permit (quota for non-EU)Lump-sum taxationStudy
StudentStudent permit; ~15 hrs/week work after 6 months.
WorkEU/EFTA citizens free; non-EU subject to strict annual quotas.
Self-employedEU/EFTA can self-employ; non-EU must prove economic interest.
PermanentC permit (PR) after 5 (EU/US) or 10 years.

Money & business

Taxes

Rules change often and depend on your situation. Confirm any tax decision with a qualified professional, or do your own research, before acting.

Tax friendliness
Good
72
PersonalFederal + cantonal + communal; ~20–40% effective by canton
Corporate~12–21% effective depending on canton (Zug low)
Capital gains0% on private movable assets; real-estate gains taxed cantonally
DividendsPartial taxation (~50–70% included) at marginal rate
Exit taxNone for individuals
Foreign cosNo formal CFC regime
Personal tax

Rules change often and depend on your situation. Confirm any tax decision with a qualified professional, or do your own research, before acting.

Personal tax
Low
27
PersonalFederal + cantonal + communal; ~20–40% effective by canton
FreelanceSelf-employment recognised; AHV social contributions apply
Capital gains0% on private movable assets; real-estate gains taxed cantonally
DividendsPartial taxation (~50–70% included) at marginal rate
Exit taxNone for individuals
Corporate tax

Rules change often and depend on your situation. Confirm any tax decision with a qualified professional, or do your own research, before acting.

Corporate tax
Good
66
Corporate~12–21% effective depending on canton (Zug low)
Capital gains0% on private movable assets; real-estate gains taxed cantonally
DividendsPartial taxation (~50–70% included) at marginal rate
Foreign cosNo formal CFC regime
Business
Business friendliness
Excellent
80
How this score is calculated

Our 0–100 score leans on the two things founders ask about most: the tax burden (headline corporate rate at 20%, broader tax friendliness at 15%, and freedom from exit-tax / CFC rules at 10%) plus the regulatory and bureaucratic environment (regulatory quality 15%, government effectiveness 15%), on top of the curated company-rules signal (25%). Available indicators are reweighted; the values are shown below.

Regulation & bureaucracy
Regulatory quality1.77 (−2.5 to 2.5) (2024)
Government effectiveness1.84 (−2.5 to 2.5) (2024)

Source: World Bank World Development Indicators

Rules & taxes
Foreign co.Yes: foreign ownership allowed; one Swiss-resident signatory needed
Local co.GmbH (CHF 20k) or AG (CHF 100k); notarised
FreelanceSelf-employment recognised; AHV social contributions apply
Corporate tax~12–21% effective depending on canton (Zug low)
Capital gains0% on private movable assets; real-estate gains taxed cantonally
Exit taxNone for individuals
Foreign cosNo formal CFC regime
Investment

Rules change often and depend on your situation. Confirm any investment / tax decision with a qualified professional, or do your own research, before acting.

Investing environment
Excellent
87
How this score is calculated

Our 0–100 score is mostly the investor-tax signal (capital-gains treatment, broker access, wealth tax, and ETF or other taxes on investment, 70%), lightly contextualised by equity-market depth (market cap / GDP at 18%) and credit depth (domestic credit to the private sector / GDP at 12%). Available indicators are reweighted.

Market cap210% of GDP (2024)
Private credit170% of GDP (2016)

Source: World Bank World Development Indicators

Capital gains0% on private securities gains (if non-professional investor)
DividendsData not available yet
ETFs & fundsData not available yet
Wealth taxYes: cantonal wealth tax on net assets
BrokersExcellent: Swissquote, Interactive Brokers, banks
Foreign accessData not available yet
Tax-advantagedData not available yet
Economy
Economic strength
Excellent
84
How this score is calculated

Our 0–100 score combines income level (GDP and GNI per capita, output per worker), growth momentum (real GDP growth), price stability (inflation) and labour utilisation (unemployment). Available indicators are reweighted; the sector split and industry profile below are descriptive, not scored.

Output & income
GDP$936.6B (2024)
GDP / person$103,998 (2024)
GNI / person$91,110 PPP (2024)
GDP growth1.3% / yr (2024)

Source: World Bank World Development Indicators

Stability & labour
Inflation1.1% / yr (2024)
Unemployment4.9% (2025)
Output per worker$150,729 PPP (2024)

Source: World Bank World Development Indicators

Sector composition
Agriculture0.6% of GDP (2024)
Industry24.7% of GDP (2024)
Services72.0% of GDP (2024)

Source: World Bank World Development Indicators

Main industries
Banking & financePharmaceuticalsPrecision machineryWatchmakingChemicals
Top exports
Pharmaceuticals & chemicalsWatches & precision instrumentsMachineryGold
TypeHigh-income, finance- and high-value-manufacturing-led
Key sectorsPrivate banking & wealth management, Life sciences, Luxury manufacturing
SummaryA wealthy, stable economy led by global finance, pharma and high-value precision manufacturing.
CurrencySwiss franc (a global safe-haven currency)
Wealth building

Rules change often and depend on your situation. Confirm any tax / investment decision with a qualified professional, or do your own research, before acting.

Wealth accumulation
Good
71
How this score is calculated

How favourable Switzerland is for building wealth: earnings and business/investment upside, tax drag, and how much a typical income keeps after living costs. Estimated from the factors below.

Salary & work
Excellent
92
Business
Excellent
81
Investment
Excellent
82
Tax friendliness
Good
72
Cost of living
Low
4

Living, study & work

Education
Education score
Excellent
87
How this score is calculated

Our 0–100 score combines attainment (expected schooling at 30% and mean schooling at 25%) with participation (tertiary enrolment at 25%) and public investment (government education spending at 20%). Available indicators are reweighted; tuition and study rules remain separate profile fields below.

Attainment
Expected schooling16.7 years (2023)
Mean schooling13.9 years (2023)

Source: UNDP Human Development Report 2025

Participation & investment
Tertiary enrolment74% gross (2024)
Education spending4.9% of GDP (2022)

Source: World Bank World Development Indicators

TuitionCHF 1,000–4,000 / yr (public)
Public uniLow public tuition (ETH/EPFL world-class)
LanguagesGerman, French, Italian, English (Master's/PhD)
Student work~15 hrs/week during term after 6 months
Salary & work
Labour-market strength
Good
77
How this score is calculated

Our 0–100 score combines output per worker (a proxy for wage potential at 40%), unemployment (35%) and labour-force participation (25%). Available indicators are reweighted; the curated profile fields remain below.

Output per worker$150,729 PPP (2024)
Unemployment4.9% (2025)
Participation66.7% of 15+ (2025)

Source: World Bank World Development Indicators

Mean monthly earnings of employees
Overall$6,425 · $5,378 PPP (2024)
Tech (IT & comms)$9,251 · $7,516 PPP (2024)

Source: ILOSTAT (International Labour Organization)

FreelanceHigh day rates; pharma, finance, deep-tech
Job marketZurich/Geneva/Zug hubs; among the world's highest net pay.
Cost of living
Affordability
Low
4

Our 0–100 affordability score is derived from the local consumer price level (World Bank, US = 100): the cheaper everyday prices are, the higher it scores. Lower price level means your money goes further here.

Price level126 (US = 100) (2024)

Source: World Bank World Development Indicators

RentCHF 1,800–2,800 (1BR Zurich)
MonthlyCHF 3,500
CitiesZurich, Geneva, Zug, Basel, Lausanne
Buying power
Purchasing power score
Good
68
How this score is calculated

Our 0–100 score estimates how far money goes for the typical person here. It combines GNI per capita at PPP (30%) and actual household consumption per person at PPP (15%) with a price-advantage term from the local price level (25%) that rewards lower prices, then adjusts for income equality via the Gini index (20%), so unequal economies don't ride a high average, plus price stability via consumer inflation (10%). Available indicators are reweighted; it is a comparison, not a personal budget estimate.

GNI / person$91,110 PPP (2024)
Consumption / person$42,376 PPP (2023)
Price level126 (US = 100) (2024)
Income inequality33.8 Gini (2022)
Inflation1.1% / yr (2024)

Source: World Bank World Development Indicators

Quality of life

Safety
Safety & stability
Excellent
87
How this score is calculated

Our 0–100 score combines personal safety (intentional homicide rate at 35%), institutional quality (rule of law at 25% and control of corruption at 20%), and political stability and absence of violence (20%). Available indicators are reweighted; the published values are shown below. Always check current government travel and security advice before relocating.

Personal safety
Homicide rate0.6 per 100,000 (2023)

Source: World Bank World Development Indicators

Institutions & stability
Rule of law1.76 (−2.5 to 2.5) (2024)
Control of corruption2.01 (−2.5 to 2.5) (2024)
Political stability0.98 (−2.5 to 2.5) (2024)

Source: World Bank World Development Indicators

Healthcare
Healthcare score
Excellent
94
How this score is calculated

Our 0–100 score combines health outcomes (life expectancy at 25% and under-5 mortality at 20%) with system capacity (physicians at 20% and hospital beds at 15% per 1,000 people) and health spending per capita (20%). Available indicators are reweighted; the published values are shown below.

Outcomes
Life expectancy84.4 years (2024)
Under-5 mortality3.9 per 1,000 births (2024)

Source: World Bank World Development Indicators

Capacity & resourcing
Physicians4.48 per 1,000 (2022)
Hospital beds4.38 per 1,000 (2023)
Health spending$10,602 PPP / person (2023)

Source: World Bank World Development Indicators

System & costs
SystemMandatory private insurance, universal
InsuranceCompulsory basic health insurance for all residents
Avg costCHF 300–450 / mo basic premium
Infrastructure
Infrastructure score
Excellent
92
How this score is calculated

The score combines digital access, resilience and download performance (30%), electricity access and network losses (30%), and transport infrastructure covering rail, logistics and aviation (40%). Available inputs are reweighted, but a country needs both digital and transport data to receive a score.

Digital infrastructure
Internet use97.3% (2025)
Internet resilience81 / 100 (2026)
Fixed speed94 / 100 download index (2026)
Mobile speed74 / 100 download index (2026)

Sources: World Bank World Development Indicators · Internet Society Pulse Internet Resilience Index

Utilities
Electricity access100.0% (2023)
Grid losses5.0% of output (2024)

Source: World Bank World Development Indicators

Transport
Transport quality4.40 / 5 (2022)
Rail density104.3 km / 1,000 km² (2021)
Air connectivity22,769 departures / million people (2023)

Source: World Bank World Development Indicators

HDI
Human development score
Excellent
97
How this score is calculated

The UN Human Development Index is the geometric mean of three dimension indices (a long and healthy life, knowledge, and a decent standard of living), shown on a 0–100 map scale (HDI × 100). The 2023 UNDP inputs behind each dimension are listed below.

HDI0.970 (2023)

Source: UNDP Human Development Report 2025

Long & healthy life
Life expectancy84.0 years (2023)

Source: UNDP Human Development Report 2025

Knowledge
Expected schooling16.7 years (2023)
Mean schooling13.9 years (2023)

Source: UNDP Human Development Report 2025

Standard of living
GNI / person$81,949 PPP (2023)

Source: UNDP Human Development Report 2025

Resources

Mock data for demonstration only. Not legal or tax advice.