Switzerland: cities by population
Switzerland has a population of 9,007,798 (UN estimate, 2026), with Bern as its capital. The 50 largest of its 1,477 recorded towns and cities, ranked.
+25%
since 2000 (7,184,007)
+4%
projected by 2050 (9,342,586)
225
people per km²
Figures are the latest available in GeoNames (CC BY 4.0), which draws on national censuses of varying dates — treat them as recent, not same-year. Country totals are UN World Population Prospects 2024 (medium variant) where the UN lists the country separately; the handful it reports under a parent state keep a GeoNames figure and are marked as such. Sources & method.
Largest cities in Switzerland
| # | Place | Region | Population |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zürich | Zurich | 415,367 |
| 2 | Geneva | Geneva | 201,741 |
| 3 | Basel | Basel-City | 177,595 |
| 4 | Lausanne | Vaud | 139,111 |
| 5 | Bern | Bern | 121,631 |
| 6 | Winterthur | Zurich | 111,840 |
| 7 | Luzern | Lucerne | 81,691 |
| 8 | Sankt Gallen | Saint Gallen | 75,833 |
| 9 | Lugano | Ticino | 63,185 |
| 10 | Biel/Bienne | Bern | 55,120 |
| 11 | Thun | Bern | 43,723 |
| 12 | Bellinzona | Ticino | 43,220 |
| 13 | Köniz | Bern | 41,784 |
| 14 | Fribourg | Fribourg | 38,365 |
| 15 | La Chaux-de-Fonds | Neuchâtel | 37,942 |
| 16 | Schaffhausen | Schaffhausen | 36,587 |
| 17 | Chur | Grisons | 35,373 |
| 18 | Rapperswil | Saint Gallen | 34,776 |
| 19 | Uster | Zurich | 34,715 |
| 20 | Sitten | Valais | 34,708 |
| 21 | Neuchâtel | Neuchâtel | 33,475 |
| 22 | Emmen | Lucerne | 30,926 |
| 23 | Zug | Zug | 30,542 |
| 24 | Yverdon-les-Bains | Vaud | 30,157 |
| 25 | Vernier | Geneva | 30,086 |
| 26 | Montreux | Vaud | 25,984 |
| 27 | Frauenfeld | Thurgau | 25,607 |
| 28 | Kriens | Lucerne | 25,010 |
| 29 | Wetzikon | Zurich | 24,764 |
| 30 | Wil | Saint Gallen | 23,955 |
| 31 | Bulle | Fribourg | 23,438 |
| 32 | Horgen | Zurich | 22,662 |
| 33 | Kreuzlingen | Thurgau | 21,997 |
| 34 | Opfikon | Zurich | 21,554 |
| 35 | Aarau | Aargau | 21,503 |
| 36 | Renens | Vaud | 20,927 |
| 37 | Dietikon | Zurich | 20,893 |
| 38 | Baar | Zug | 20,546 |
| 39 | Bülach | Zurich | 20,443 |
| 40 | Riehen | Basel-City | 20,000 |
| 41 | Vevey | Vaud | 19,891 |
| 42 | Dübendorf | Zurich | 19,882 |
| 43 | Meyrin | Geneva | 19,772 |
| 44 | Carouge | Geneva | 19,344 |
| 45 | Baden | Aargau | 19,340 |
| 46 | Reinach | Basel-Landschaft | 19,216 |
| 47 | Olten | Solothurn | 18,362 |
| 48 | Martigny-Ville | Valais | 18,301 |
| 49 | Wettingen | Aargau | 18,191 |
| 50 | Allschwil | Basel-Landschaft | 18,189 |
Twenty years earlier: Switzerland in the 2005 World Gazetteer — population then 7,452,101.
Common questions
What is the population of Switzerland?
Switzerland has a population of 9,007,798, the UN World Population Prospects estimate for 2026. The UN's medium-variant projection for 2050 is 9,342,586 — a forecast, not a measurement.
What is the capital of Switzerland?
Bern. The largest place we record there is Zürich, with 415,367 people.