When parents call to Emma on the playground in a few years, more than one head will turn: Emma was once again the most popular first name for newborns in 2022. The number of Emmas rose to 11,637. Noah tops the list for boys. And yet, the 82,371 births last year mean there is a huge variety of first names in Switzerland. (Source: Federal Statistical Office)
Anyone looking for cooler weather in the Alps this summer would have noticed: the zero-degree line was often well above the highest peaks – on 20 August it was 5,299 metres above sea level, its highest level since records began. (Source: MeteoSwiss)
Switzerland leads the world when it comes to popular votes. The people have decided on 622 issues since 1900. If cantonal votes were included, the number would easily be ten times higher. In second place after Switzerland is New Zealand (117 referendums), then Liechtenstein (115) followed by – would you have guessed? – the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in the Pacific Ocean (110). (Source: Centre for Democracy Studies, Aarau)
Amid the hot weather, the results of a major survey of 57,000 people on the level of satisfaction among the Swiss emerged in election year. The general picture: the majority are basically satisfied. 61 out of 100 respondents said they are doing well. (Source: gfs Bern)
So, what are the flies in the ointment for the otherwise content Swiss? 69% of respondents cited climate change as the main issue. Other hotly debated election issues were met with indifference by many: “wokeness” and “gender” are seen as pseudo-issues. Immigration, neutrality and equality are only of moderate interest in most cases.
One last finding from the survey: the vast majority of all respondents wait a month or more before changing their bed linen. What that tells us about happiness in the country is anybody’s guess.
Comments