Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of in Switzerland
Switzerland: Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of was 4.87 units per square kilometre in 2023. ◆ Volatile
Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of in Switzerland, 1961–2023
Source: Statizoid (derived). Measured in units per square kilometre.
Analysis
In 2023, refugees under the mandate of the unhcr by country or territory of in Switzerland stood at 4.87 units per square kilometre. That is the highest value across all 63 years on record.
The figure is up 5.5% on the previous year and up 267.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, refugees under the mandate of the unhcr by country or territory of in Switzerland peaked at 4.87 units per square kilometre in 2023 and was at its lowest, 0.506 units per square kilometre, in 1961.
That places Switzerland 13th out of 179 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top 10%.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of in Switzerland, year by year
| Year | units per square kilometre | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 0.506 units per square kilometre | — |
| 1962 | 0.506 units per square kilometre | +0.0% |
| 1963 | 0.506 units per square kilometre | +0.0% |
| 1964 | 0.506 units per square kilometre | +0.0% |
| 1965 | 0.506 units per square kilometre | +0.0% |
| 1966 | 0.5186 units per square kilometre | +2.5% |
| 1967 | 0.5313 units per square kilometre | +2.4% |
| 1968 | 0.6578 units per square kilometre | +23.8% |
| 1969 | 0.759 units per square kilometre | +15.4% |
| 1970 | 0.7843 units per square kilometre | +3.3% |
| 1971 | 0.759 units per square kilometre | -3.2% |
| 1972 | 0.8854 units per square kilometre | +16.7% |
| 1973 | 0.8854 units per square kilometre | +0.0% |
| 1974 | 0.8854 units per square kilometre | +0.0% |
| 1975 | 0.8854 units per square kilometre | +0.0% |
| 1976 | 0.8854 units per square kilometre | +0.0% |
| 1977 | 0.759 units per square kilometre | -14.3% |
| 1978 | 0.759 units per square kilometre | +0.0% |
| 1979 | 0.7589 units per square kilometre | -0.0% |
| 1980 | 0.8095 units per square kilometre | +6.7% |
| 1981 | 1.01 units per square kilometre | +25.0% |
| 1982 | 0.8451 units per square kilometre | -16.5% |
| 1983 | 0.8174 units per square kilometre | -3.3% |
| 1984 | 0.7893 units per square kilometre | -3.4% |
| 1985 | 0.7773 units per square kilometre | -1.5% |
| 1986 | 0.7929 units per square kilometre | +2.0% |
| 1987 | 0.8021 units per square kilometre | +1.2% |
| 1988 | 0.8082 units per square kilometre | +0.8% |
| 1989 | 0.93 units per square kilometre | +15.1% |
| 1990 | 1.04 units per square kilometre | +11.4% |
| 1991 | 1.15 units per square kilometre | +11.4% |
| 1992 | 1.31 units per square kilometre | +13.8% |
| 1993 | 1.43 units per square kilometre | +9.0% |
| 1994 | 1.9 units per square kilometre | +33.1% |
| 1995 | 2.1 units per square kilometre | +10.2% |
| 1996 | 2.14 units per square kilometre | +1.8% |
| 1997 | 2.11 units per square kilometre | -1.4% |
| 1998 | 2.07 units per square kilometre | -1.6% |
| 1999 | 2.08 units per square kilometre | +0.5% |
| 2000 | 1.46 units per square kilometre | -30.0% |
| 2001 | 1.48 units per square kilometre | +1.5% |
| 2002 | 1.37 units per square kilometre | -7.5% |
| 2003 | 1.27 units per square kilometre | -7.3% |
| 2004 | 1.21 units per square kilometre | -4.9% |
| 2005 | 1.21 units per square kilometre | +0.7% |
| 2006 | 1.23 units per square kilometre | +1.0% |
| 2007 | 1.16 units per square kilometre | -5.9% |
| 2008 | 1.17 units per square kilometre | +1.1% |
| 2009 | 1.17 units per square kilometre | +0.2% |
| 2010 | 1.24 units per square kilometre | +5.6% |
| 2011 | 1.28 units per square kilometre | +3.3% |
| 2012 | 1.28 units per square kilometre | +0.7% |
| 2013 | 1.33 units per square kilometre | +3.4% |
| 2014 | 1.58 units per square kilometre | +19.4% |
| 2015 | 1.86 units per square kilometre | +17.1% |
| 2016 | 2.09 units per square kilometre | +12.7% |
| 2017 | 2.35 units per square kilometre | +12.5% |
| 2018 | 2.63 units per square kilometre | +11.8% |
| 2019 | 2.79 units per square kilometre | +5.9% |
| 2020 | 2.93 units per square kilometre | +5.1% |
| 2021 | 3.01 units per square kilometre | +2.6% |
| 2022 | 4.62 units per square kilometre | +53.6% |
| 2023 | 4.87 units per square kilometre | +5.5% |
Switzerland compared with similar countries
- Switzerland's 4.87 units per square kilometre is above the median for high income countries, which is 0.3175 units per square kilometre, 15.3× the median. (65 countries reporting)
- Switzerland's 4.87 units per square kilometre is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 0.8355 units per square kilometre, 5.8× the median. (50 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of in Switzerland changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | +53.6% | 3.01 units per square kilometre | 4.62 units per square kilometre |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 0.5552 units per square kilometre | 0.506 units per square kilometre | 0.759 units per square kilometre | 9 |
| 1970s | 0.8247 units per square kilometre | 0.7589 units per square kilometre | 0.8854 units per square kilometre | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.8384 units per square kilometre | 0.7773 units per square kilometre | 1.01 units per square kilometre | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.73 units per square kilometre | 1.04 units per square kilometre | 2.14 units per square kilometre | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.27 units per square kilometre | 1.16 units per square kilometre | 1.48 units per square kilometre | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.84 units per square kilometre | 1.24 units per square kilometre | 2.79 units per square kilometre | 10 |
| 2020s | 3.86 units per square kilometre | 2.93 units per square kilometre | 4.87 units per square kilometre | 4 |
Countries ranked near Switzerland
- 10 Luxembourg 5.34 units per square kilometre compare
- 11 Armenia 5.32 units per square kilometre compare
- 12 Czechia 4.89 units per square kilometre compare
- 14 Montenegro 4.81 units per square kilometre compare
- 15 Rwanda 4.69 units per square kilometre compare
- 16 Cyprus 4.23 units per square kilometre compare
More social development data for Switzerland
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 208,287 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 6 (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 1 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, gaps filled 1 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 6 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0229 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is refugees under the mandate of the unhcr by country or territory of in Switzerland?
- Refugees under the mandate of the unhcr by country or territory of in Switzerland was 4.87 units per square kilometre in 2023, according to Statizoid (derived).
- What is the highest refugees under the mandate of the unhcr by country or territory of recorded in Switzerland?
- The highest recorded value was 4.87 units per square kilometre in 2023.
- What is the lowest refugees under the mandate of the unhcr by country or territory of recorded in Switzerland?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.506 units per square kilometre in 1961.
- How does Switzerland rank for refugees under the mandate of the unhcr by country or territory of?
- Switzerland ranks 13th out of 179 countries with data for 2023.
- Is refugees under the mandate of the unhcr by country or territory of rising or falling in Switzerland?
- Over the last ten years it is up 267.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Switzerland data come from?
- The figures come from Statizoid (derived), published as part of Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of asylum, per square kilometre. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 63 observations, free to reuse under Derived by Statizoid from the sources named on the page.
How this figure is calculated
Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of asylum divided by Land area (sq. km), matched on country and year. Neither publisher issues this ratio as a series; it is computed here from both.
Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of asylum ÷ Land area (sq. km)
Computed from
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of Refugee Population Statistics Database, UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
- Land area FAOSTAT, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
Statizoid computes this series; the underlying measurements belong to the publishers named above. The arithmetic is applied to every country and year where both inputs report, and nothing is estimated unless the page says so.
About this data
Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of asylum divided by Land area (sq. km), matched on country and year. Neither publisher issues this ratio as a series; it is computed here from both.