A recent survey calculates 60.1% of Switzerland’s population was middle class in 2015, a figure that has remained broadly stable since 1998, reaching its highest in 2009 (61.3%) and lowest in 2013 (56.8%).
© Iakov Filimonov | Dreamstime.com
But what is middle class in Switzerland?
According to Switzerland’s Federal Statistical Office, it is anyone living in a household with a gross income between 70% and 150% of the gross median income.
In 2015, the most recent year, to be considered middle class, a couple with two children under 14 would have needed gross income of between CHF 99,044 (US$105,008) and CHF 212,236 (US$225,017).
A single person would have needed gross income between CHF 47,164 (US$50,004) and CHF 101,065 (US$107,151) to qualify.
Being middle class did not guarantee freedom from financial difficulty. Among the lower middle class one in four encountered money problems, while among the upper middle class one in ten did.
More on this:
Swiss Federal Statistical Office report(in French)–Take a 5 minute French test now
For more stories like this on Switzerland follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
