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Share of the population aged 65 and over, 2021: 18.7%
Share of the population aged 65 and over, 2050: 25.5%
Share of the population aged 80 and over, 2021: 5.3%
Share of the population aged 80 and over, 2050: 10.6%
Adults aged 65 and over rating their own health as good or very good, 2021: 70%
Adults aged 65 and over rating their own health as poor or very poor, by income, 2021
– Lowest quintile: 7%
– Highest quintile: 2%
– Total: 5%
Limitations in daily activities in adults aged 65 and over, 2021: 37%
Share of adults aged 65 and over receiving long-term care, 2021: 24.2%
Estimated prevalence of dementia per 1,000 population, 2021: 15.9%
Estimated prevalence of dementia per 1,000 population, 2040: 22.1%
Total long-term care spending as a share of GDP, 2021: 2.6%
Long-term care workers per 100 people aged 65 and over, 2021: 8.3
Share of informal carers among the population aged 50 and over, 2019
– Daily carers: 6%
– Weekly carers: 9%
Share of long-term care workers who work part time or on fixed contracts, 2021
– Part-time: 61.3%
– Fixed-term contract: 16.3%
Average hourly wages of personal care workers, as a share of economy-wide average wage, 2018
– Residential (facility-based) care: 76%
– Home-based care: 75%
Long-term care beds in institutions and hospitals per 1,000 population aged 65 years and over, 2021
– Institutions: 61.9
– Hospitals: 0.5
Long-term care recipients aged 65 and over receiving care at home, 2021: 83%
Total long-term care spending by provider, 2021
– Nursing home: 79%
– Hospital: 1%
– Home care: 16%
– Households: 4%
– Social providers: 0%
– Other: 0%

Source: OECD (2023), Health at a Glance 2023: OECD Indicators, OECD Publishing, Paris, doi.org/10.1787/7a7afb35-en.

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Population, Midyear 2022: 8,740,472
Population Density (Number of Persons per Square Kilometer): 218.56
Life Expectancy at Birth, 2022: 84.25
Projected Population, Midyear 2030: 9,143,698
Percentage of Total Population Aged 65 and Older, Midyear 2022: 19.31%
Projected Percentage of Total Population Aged 65 and Older, Midyear 2030: 23.04%
Projected Percentage of Total Population Aged 65 and Older, Midyear 2050: 29.26%

Source: United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2023). Data Portal, custom data acquired via website. United Nations: New York. Accessed 12 May 2023.

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Formal Long-Term Care Workers At Home (FTE), 2020: 22,273.8
Formal Long-Term Care Workers In Institutions (FTE), 2020: 62,910.1
Long-Term Care Recipients In Institutions Other Than Hospitals, 2020: 87,409
Long-Term Care Recipients At Home, 2020: 420,793

Source: Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. OECD.Stat. Last accessed Jan. 30, 2023.

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“Long-term care (institutional care and Spitex services) accounted for about 16% of THE [Total Health Expenditure] in 2012. Long-term care financing was reformed in 2011 (see section 6.1.5). Currently, MHI [Mandatory Health Insurance] covers parts of medical long-term care costs, when prescribed by a physician and after needs assessment, independently of whether it is provided at a nursing home or by home care (Spitex) services (Mösle, 2010). The contribution of MHI for care in nursing homes depends on the level of need determined during the needs assessment (and does not necessarily cover total costs), while the amount covered for Spitex services depends on the type and duration of provided care (see section 3.7.1).

“The care level is determined by the long-term care providers and cantons on the basis of instruments that vary across Switzerland. The most important ones are the Resident Assessment Instrument – Resource Utilization Group (RAI-RUG), the BESA (Bedarfsklärungs- und Abrechnungs-System) in the German-speaking part, and the PLAISIR (Planification Informatisée des Soins Infirmiers Requis) instrument in the French-speaking part. Recently, the different assessment instruments were recalibrated in order to lead to more comparable results across Switzerland (GDK/CDS, 2011b). Independent of the instrument, patients are classified into 12 different care levels depending on the planned cumulative care time needed by a patient per day.

“Non-medical costs (e.g. social or recreational services) and hotel costs are not covered by MHI. These costs depend on the level and quality of services and are calculated on a per-diem basis. Patients or their families (spouses and sometimes children, e.g. if a parental donation was received prior to institutionalization) have to cover these costs. However, if household resources are insufficient, additional contributions are available from the old-age and disability insurance (mainly the so-called complementary payments, EL/PC of AHV-IV/AVS-AI, see section 3.6). Finally, cantons generally subsidize construction and running costs of services related to long-term care.”

Source: De Pietro C, Camenzind P, Sturny I, Crivelli L, Edwards-Garavoglia S, Spranger A, Wittenbecher F, Quentin W. Switzerland: Health system review. Health Systems in Transition, 2015; 17(4):1–288

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“As long-term care is mainly organized at the cantonal level there are no national programmes to improve quality but instead there are programmes at the cantonal level. Most cantons are currently applying some form of quality reporting for Spitex services. Recently, a research project supported by the Spitex association developed quality indicators for home care (Gmür & Rüfenacht, 2010; Spitex Verband Schweiz, 2013). Implementation of nationwide quality indicators for home care and nursing homes is planned, although details are still to be determined. The FOPH [Federal Office of Public Health] is currently developing a long-term care strategy for the Federal Council, which will review current and future challenges in the area of long-term care and may propose legislative measures to address these challenges (FOPH, 2015d).”

Source: De Pietro C, Camenzind P, Sturny I, Crivelli L, Edwards-Garavoglia S, Spranger A, Wittenbecher F, Quentin W. Switzerland: Health system review. Health Systems in Transition, 2015; 17(4):1–288.

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World Health Systems Facts is a project of the Real Reporting Foundation. We provide reliable statistics and other data from authoritative sources regarding health systems and policies in the US and sixteen other nations.

Page last updated May 8, 2025 by Doug McVay, Editor.