Estimating the Number of Afro-Descendants in Switzerland

Objective: In many countries, official statistics do not accurately count minority populations because relevant categories do not exist or official classifications do not correspond to the lived reality of minority groups. Switzerland is a case in point, where no ethnic data are collected in official data. Nevertheless, members of minority groups, such as Afro-descendants, call for such data to make their presence visible. Methods: We use data from the population register and estimates from the Labour Force Survey and fertility tables to provide a plausible number of Afro-descendants in Switzerland. Necessary assumptions and limitations – both conceptually and methodologically – are discussed. Results: We estimate the number of Afro-descendants in Switzerland in 2021 to be around 230 to 240 thousand persons (around 2.6% of the resident population). Conclusion: In the absence of official estimates, we can approximate the number of large minority groups, but this approach does not extend to small groups or groups where the majority have been settled in the country for generations, such as Roma.