The ballot is the popular initiative "No to a Switzerland with 10 million! (Sustainability Initiative)", according to the Swiss federal authorities. The proposal comes from the Swiss People's Party, or SVP, and must be approved by both a majority of voters and a majority of cantons to pass, AP reported.
The Federal Council says about 9.1 million people lived in Switzerland at the end of 2025. It says the population has grown by about 1.7 million since free movement of persons was introduced in 2002, mainly because of immigration tied to the labour market. That implies a population of about 7.4 million in 2002, before the rise shown in the chart below.
Swiss population before the 10 million vote. Source: Swiss Federal Council, 2026.
The initiative would add a hard population target to Swiss policy. If the permanent resident population exceeds 9.5 million before 2050, the Federal Council and Parliament would have to take measures, especially in asylum and family reunification, according to the federal explainer. The same page says the government would have to invoke or negotiate exemptions and safeguard clauses in international agreements that contribute to population growth.
The most consequential trigger is the 10 million threshold. The Federal Council says that if the permanent resident population exceeds that level, Switzerland would have to terminate relevant agreements after two years, including the EU agreement on free movement of persons. It says the termination would also make the other Bilateral Agreements I null and void and would call Switzerland's Schengen and Dublin participation into question.
Supporters present the measure as a response to population pressure. On its campaign page, the SVP argues that immigration has overburdened infrastructure, damaged nature and pushed up rents. SWI swissinfo.ch reported that co-initiator and SVP parliamentarian Thomas Matter said many people increasingly felt like strangers in their own country, while SVP president Marcel Dettling argued that the benefits of growth were not reaching the population.