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Regions and Cities at a Glance 2018 – SWITZERLAND http://www.oecd.org/regional
Economic trends in regions
Regional gap in GDP per capita, 2000-15 Index of regional disparity in GDP per capita, 2016
Top 20 % richest over bottom 20% poorest regions GDP per capita in USD PPP 2016 2000 Ratio 4 80 000 Small regions Large regions Highest region (TL3) (TL2) 70 000 Zurich 66 646 USD 3 60 000 Switzerland 52 323 USD 50 000 Lowest region 2 Eastern Switzerland 40 000 47 868 USD 1 30 000 2008 2011 2015
Country (number of regions considered) Regional disparities in terms of GDP per capita have slightly decreased in Switzerland over the last sixteen years, with Eastern Switzerland having a GDP per capita equivalent to 72% of Zurich’s GDP per capita in 2015. Regional economic disparities in Switzerland are among the lowest among OECD countries. With a productivity growth of 1.7% per year over the period 2008-14, Ticino not only had the highest level of productivity in 2014 but also recorded the largest growth among Swiss regions. Following a significantly lower productivity growth (0.1% per year), Zurich was replaced by Ticino as the frontier region in terms of productivity in Switzerland in 2010. With a youth unemployment of 15.6% in 2017 that was similar to the OECD average, Lake Geneva had the highest youth unemployment in the country. Youth unemployment in Central Switzerland only amounted to 4.1%, 11.5 percentage points below the youth unemployment rate in Lake Geneva.
Productivity trends, most and least dynamic regions, 2008-14 Youth unemployment rate, 15-24 years old, 2007-17
GDP per worker in USD PPP rate (%) 130 000 Ticino: highest 25 125 000 productivity in 2016 and Highest rate highest productivity 20 Lake Geneva Region 120 000 growth (+1.7% average OECD Ticino: highest 15 15.6% 115 000 annual growth over productivity growth 2008-14) Switzerland 110 000 (+1.7% annually) 10 Zurich: lowest 8.1% 105 000 productivity growth 5 Lowest rate (+0.1% annually) 100 000 0 Central Switzerland 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2007 2012 2017 4.1%
Source: OECD Regional Database. Notes: (1) Figure on regional gap in GDP per capita: OECD regions refer to the administrative tier of subnational government (large regions, Territorial Level 2); Switzerland is composed of 7 large regions. (2) Figure on index of regional disparity: top (bottom) 20% regions are defined as those with the highest (lowest) GDP per capita until the equivalent of 20% of national population is reached, this indicator provides a harmonised measure to rank OECD countries, using data for small regions (Territorial Level 3) when available. (3) Productivity is measured as GDP per employee at place of work in constant prices, constant Purchasing Power Parities (reference year 2010). Updated the 5th of March 2019 Differences in well-being across regions
Top region Bottom region Zurich Regions (Grandes régions)
Eastern Central Northwestern Eastern Ticino Switzerland Switzerland Switzerland Switzerland
Zurich Zurich top top 20% Zurich Espace
Mittelland (1 to 402) to (1 Ticino Ticino Ticino Eastern Lake Geneva Switzerland Region Eastern Switzerland Lake Geneva middle middle 60% Lake Geneva Region Region Ticino Ticino Lake Geneva Ranking Ranking OECD of regions Region Ticino
Lake Geneva Region bottom bottom 20%
Community Jobs Environment Safety Life Education Housing Health Access to Income Civic Satisfaction services Engagement Relative ranking of the regions with the best and worst outcomes in the 11 well-being dimensions, with respect to all 402 OECD regions. The eleven dimensions are ordered by decreasing regional disparities in the country. Each well-being dimension is measured by the indicators in the table below.
All seven Swiss regions rank among the top 20% of OECD regions in health, and among the bottom 20% for civic engagement (voter turnout). The largest regional disparities are found in the well-being dimensions community, jobs and environment. The best performing Swiss regions fare better than the OECD median region in all 13 well-being indicators except for air pollution and voter turnout. The life expectancy at birth is 83 years in the low performing Swiss regions, almost three years higher than the OECD median.
Country OECD median Sw iss regions Average region Top 20% Bottom 20% Community Perceived social netw ork support (%), 2013 94.7 91.4 95.7 92.7 Jobs Employment rate 15 to 64 years old (%), 2017 78.6 67.7 82.0 70.9 Unemployment rate 15 to 64 years old (%), 2017 5.0 5.5 3.5 8.0 Environment Level of air pollution in PM 2.5 (µg/m³), 2015 13.9 12.4 12.7 15.8 Safety Homicide Rate (per 100 000 people), 2016 0.5 1.3 0.2 0.9 Life Satisfaction Life satisfaction (scale from 0 to 10), 2013 7.6 6.8 7.8 7.4 Education Labour force w ith at least upper secondary education (%), 2017 85.9 81.7 88.2 82.9 Housing Rooms per person, 2016 1.5 1.8 1.8 1.5 Health Life Expectancy at birth (years), 2016 83.7 80.4 84.4 83.1 Age adjusted mortality rate (per 1 000 people), 2016 6.4 8.1 6.0 6.8 Access to services Households w ith broadband access (%), 2017 90.0 78.0 90.9 86.7 Income Disposable income per capita (in USD PPP), 2016 24 113 17 695 26 970 22 185 Civic engagement Voters in last national election (%), 2017 or lastest year 48.5 70.9 51.9 47.0 Source: OECD Regional Database. Visualisation: https://www.oecdregionalwellbeing.org. Notes: (1) OECD regions refer to the first administrative tier of subnational government (large regions, Territorial Level 2); Switzerland is composed of 7 large regions. (2) Household income per capita data are based on USD constant PPP, constant prices (year 2010).
Updated the 5th of March 2019 Metropolitan areas in the national economy
OECD population is concentrated in cities* Percentage of population in cities, 2016
SwitzerlandUnited States OECD average people in cities with population people above 500 000 outside cities 30% people in cities 30% 1.2 billion 8.3 million with population people - 49% people - 70% 55% people 51% above 500 000 live in cities people in cities with live in cities outside cities people in cities with population between 6% population between 10% 250 000 and 500 000 50 000 and 250 000 9% 9% people in cities with population between people in cities with population between 250 000 and 500 000 50 000 and 250 000 Source: OECD Metropolitan Database. Number of cities: 10 in Switzerland and 1 138 in the OECD.
In Switzerland, 49% of the population lives in cities of more than 50 000 inhabitants. The share of population in cities with more than 500 000 people is 30% compared to 55% in the OECD area.
Importance of metropolitan areas Contribution of metropolitan areas to GDP growth Cities above 500 000 people, 2016 Cities above 500 000 people, 2008-15
% Switzerland OECD average % Switzerland OECD average 80 80 68% 70 63% 70 58% 60 55% 60 50 50 35% 40 30% 40 28% 30 25%
30 areas 20 20
10 327metropolitan
10 Zurich 0 0 1 2 % of national % of national % of national All metropolitan areas Largest contributor GDP employment population
Metropolitan areas in Switzerland account for 35% of national GDP and 28% of employment. Between 2008 and 2015, the Swiss metropolitan areas generated 25% of the national GDP growth. In terms of GDP per capita, the three metropolitan area of Switzerland are among the richest 10% of the 327 OECD metropolitan areas, with Basel ranking 9th, above all other Swiss metropolitan areas. When considering people’s exposure to PM 2.5, Basel and Geneva have higher levels of air pollution than the OECD median. OECD Metropolitan areas ranking Cities above 500 000 people
GDP per capita, USD PPP 100 000 2016 80 000 (or latest available 60 000 40 000 year, Switzerland 20 000 2015) 0 Top 20% richest Bottom 20% poorest metropolitan areas metropolitan areas Lev el of air pollution in PM 2.5 (µg/m³) 30 Air pollution 20 (PM2.5), 2017 10 0 Top 20% least polluted Bottom 20% most polluted metropolitan areas metropolitan areas
Source: OECD Metropolitan Database. Number of metropolitan areas with a population of over 500 000: 3 in Switzerland compared to 327 in the OECD. . * Note: Cities are defined here as functional urban areas, which are composed by high-density urban centres of at least 50 000 people and their areas of influence (commuting zone). For more information, see: http://www.oecd.org/cfe/regional-policy/functionalurbanareasbycountry.htm.
Updated the 5th of March 2019 Subnational government finance
Subnational government expenditure by function As a share of total subnational government expenditure, 2016
Switzerland 00 OECD average
Education 27% 11 25% Education
Social protection 20% 22 14% Social protection
General public services 16% 33 14% General public services
Other 15% 44 15% Other
Economic affairs 13% 55 14% Economic affairs
Health 10% 66 18% Health
Subnational expenditure per capita: USD 13 467 77 USD 6 817
Subnational government expenditure amounts to USD 13 467 per capita in Switzerland compared to an OECD average of USD 6 817. In Switzerland, this is equivalent to 61.4% of total public expenditure and to 21.1% of GDP. In comparison, across the OECD, subnational government expenditure accounts for 40.4% of total public expenditure and for 16.2% of GDP. Education and social protection are the two largest spending items for subnational governments in the Switzerland. Together they represent 47% of subnational expenditure compared to 39% in the OECD area. In Switzerland, 69.7% of total public investment was carried out by subnational governments, compared to an OECD average of 56.9%. Role of subnational governments in public investment Subnational government public investment per capita, 2016
USD per capita Switzerland OECD average 2 500
2 000 Total public investment 1 500 USD 1 991 per capita 3.1% of GDP Total public investment USD 1 278 per capita 1 000 3.0% of GDP
Subnational government Subnational government 500 investment investment USD 1 388 per capita USD 727 per capita 0 69.7% of public invest. 56.9% of public invest.
Source: OECD Subnational Government Structure and Finance Database. Note: The function ‘Other’ includes housing and community amenities, recreation, culture and religion; environment; public order and safety.
OECD Regions and Cities at a Glance 2018 The 2018 edition of OECD Regions and Cities at a Glance shows how regions and cities contribute to national growth and the well-being of societies. It updates its regular set of region-by-region indicators, examining a wide range of policies and trends and identifying those regions that are outperforming or lagging behind in their country. Consult this publication on line: https://oe.cd/pub/2n9
Updated the 5th of March 2019