Switzerland is due to vote this summer on a proposal to limit the country’s population to 10 million, the latest move by the country’s main right-wing party to curb immigration.

this Swiss People’s Party The Senior Vice President (SVP), who holds the most seats in parliament, called the referendum on Wednesday after gaining enough support through petition signatures.

The measure will go to a national vote on June 14, when the population approaches 9.1 million, according to the Federal Statistical Office.

The anti-immigration movement comes as officials point out foreign born residents Now accounts for about 27% of the population.

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On January 19, 2020, the hills around Davos, Switzerland were covered with snow. (AP Photo/Marcus Schreiber, File)

More than 1 million immigrants from the European Union (EU) will come to Switzerland in 2024, the senior vice-president, who has long campaigned to curb rising immigration, said.

The party calls the situation “uncontrolled migration” and says “the majority of the Swiss population” suffers from increased demands on environmental resources and infrastructure.

“Our small country is already overwhelmed,” the party said. “Nature is being paved over. There are more and more traffic jams on the roads, public transport is overburdened, schools are overburdened, Housing shortage and rising rentscrime rates increased significantly and costs to Swiss taxpayers soared. “

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A large group of people waved multiple Swiss flags in Adelboden, Switzerland, on January 10, 2026. (Christopher Parrott/Agence Zoom/Getty Images)

If the measure is written into law, the combined population of Swiss citizens and foreign residents will be limited to 10 million by 2050.

If the population reaches 9.5 million before then, the government is likely to take steps to curb growth, introducing asylum and family reunification measures, noting that many migrants – mainly Muslim men from North Africa, the Middle East and Afghanistan – enter via asylum claims.

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Outside the senior vice-president, Switzerland’s main political parties, including centrist, left-wing and liberal groups, have reportedly rejected the initiative.

Critics warn that passing such measures could create pressure Switzerland’s relations with its European neighborsas most foreign-born residents come from other EU countries.

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At dusk on November 27, 2019, in front of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, the flags of EU member states fluttered in the wind. (Thierry Monas/Getty Images)

In response, the senior vice president said lawmakers “couldn’t be more clear that they don’t care about the concerns of a population increasingly plagued by uncontrolled immigration.”

They also stressed that they did not intend to end the Free Movement of Persons Agreement with the EU, which allows European citizens to move and work freely across borders, and said canceling such an agreement would remain a last resort if the Federal Council failed to restrict immigration.