Residents of Switzerland have become less content over the past two years, as shown by the new Swiss Personal Satisfaction Survey from moneyland.ch. Participants of the representative online survey rated their overall contentment with their lives at 7.3 out of 10 points, on average. In 2021, the average satisfaction rating was 7.6 points. A rating of 10 indicates complete satisfaction, while a rating of 0 indicates complete dissatisfaction.
In certain points, the decline in contentment is much more notable (see table 1). Resident’s satisfaction with their children declined from 8.4 points to 7.7 points, while contentment with parents declined from 8 to 7.4 points. Swiss are also substantially less satisfied with their education this year (7.2 points) than they were in 2021 (7.8 points).
Compared to 2021, levels of contentment among Swiss are lower across nearly all points. The only points with which participants are somewhat more satisfied now than they were two years ago are church (5.8 points) and postal buses (6.3 points). Personal satisfaction with the SBB/CFF have remained unchanged since 2021.
Table 1: Personal contentment in Switzerland (top 10)
| Satisfaction with: |
2023 |
2021 |
| Children |
7.7 |
8.4 |
| Parents |
7.4 |
8 |
| Life in general |
7.3 |
7.6 |
| Education |
7.2 |
7.8 |
| Relationship |
7.2 |
7.7 |
| Living space |
7.2 |
7.4 |
| Doctor* |
7.1 |
- |
| Coworkers |
6.9 |
7.4 |
| Bank |
6.9 |
7.3 |
| Internet service provider* |
6.9 |
- |
* The 2021 Swiss Personal Satisfaction Survey did not include doctors and Internet service providers.
Discontentment with politics, churches, and finances
Although personal satisfaction with one’s family has declined, children and parents are still the things which Swiss are most satisfied with. Contentment with children is exceptionally high among women, at 7.9 points, compared to 7.6 points for men’s satisfaction with their children. Contentment with one’s parents is also generally high, at 7.4 points, but is higher among residents of rural regions (7.7 points) than urban regions (7.3 points).
The lowest satisfaction is seen in political and religious aspects (see table 2). Swiss politicians, the Federal Council, and one’s church all received less than 6 points. However, satisfaction in urban areas is more than half a point higher than it is in rural areas. “Residents or rural areas are notably less satisfied with politics,” observes moneyland.ch CEO Benjamin Manz.
Table 2: Personal contentment in Switzerland (lowest ratings)
| Satisfaction with: |
2023 |
2021 |
| Swiss politicians |
5.3 |
5.4 |
| Federal Council |
5.5 |
5.9 |
| Church |
5.8 |
5.7 |
| Financial situation |
5.9 |
6 |
| Salary |
6 |
6.1 |
| Postal buses |
6.3 |
6.2 |
| SBB/CFF |
6.3 |
6.3 |
| Employer |
6.5 |
6.8 |
| Municipality |
6.5 |
6.8 |
| Public transportation |
6.5 |
6.6 |
Contentment with personal finances is also below average (5.9 points). “Personal finances are one of the biggest worries right across Switzerland’s population,” clarifies Manz. The 2023 Swiss Worry Study shows that 45 percent of residents are worried or very worried about their financial situations.
Women (5.8 points) are slightly less satisfied with their financial situations then men (6.1 points). The same pattern is seen with regards to salaries: Men gave their salaries a 6.1 rating, while the rating from women was 5.9 points.
Doctors top, public transportation flops
In terms of satisfaction with companies and service providers (table 3), the highest ratings were given by residents to their doctors, at 7.1 points. Next in line were banks and Internet service providers, both of which receive 6.9 points. “Many financial service providers have satisfied customers,” says Manz. “But there are differences in satisfaction levels between individual service providers.”
Postal buses and the SBB/CFF, on the other hand, received particularly low ratings (6.3 points each). “Public transportation providers have not been able to boost customer satisfaction – and the SBB’s planned price hikes will likely make doing so even more difficult,” says Manz.
Here too, there is a noticeable difference between urban and rural dwellers. At 5.9 points for the SBB/CFF and 6.1 points for public transportation in general, ratings from residents living in rural areas were have a point lower than ratings from urban dwellers.
Table 3: Personal contentment with companies and services
| Satisfaction with: |
2023 |
2021 |
| Doctor* |
7.1 |
- |
| Bank |
6.9 |
7.3 |
| Internet service provider* |
6.9 |
- |
| Insurance |
6.8 |
7 |
| Swiss hotels |
6.6 |
6.8 |
| Swiss restaurants |
6.6 |
7 |
| Public transportation (general) |
6.5 |
6.6 |
| Postal buses |
6.3 |
6.2 |
| SBB/CFF |
6.3 |
6.3 |
* The 2021 Swiss Personal Satisfaction Study did not include doctors and Internet service providers.
Older residents are more content
Older residents are generally more satisfied than younger adults (see table 4). Survey participants between the ages of 50 and 74 years old rated their life in general with 7.7 points. Residents between the ages of 26 and 49 rate their life in general with 7.1 points, and young adults between 18 and 25 years old with 6.9 points. Adults above the age of 50 are also more exceptionally content with their doctors, education, and homes.
Young adults show above-average satisfaction with their children, their doctors, their salaries, and their jobs. Adults aged 26 to 49 are slightly more content with Swiss politics than those in other age groups.
Table 4: Personal contentment by age (top 10)
| Satisfaction with: |
Age 18-25 |
Age 26-49 |
Age 50-74 |
| Children |
6.5 |
7.6 |
8.1 |
| Parents |
7.4 |
7.4 |
7.5 |
| Life in general |
6.9 |
7.1 |
7.7 |
| Education |
6.9 |
6.9 |
7.6 |
| Living space |
6.8 |
6.9 |
7.6 |
| Relationship |
6.9 |
7.1 |
7.4 |
| Doctor |
6.5 |
6.9 |
7.5 |
| Internet service provider |
6.9 |
6.8 |
7 |
| Bank |
6.8 |
6.8 |
7 |
| Coworkers |
6.9 |
6.9 |
6.8 |
Big regional differences
The study shows major differences in personal satisfaction levels between linguistic regions (see table 5). Although ratings for contentment with life in general are identical across French- and German-speaking Switzerland, at 7.3 points, ratings differ substantially on some points.
Postal buses, the SBB/CFF, and public transportation in general all received much worse ratings in the Romandie than in German-speaking Switzerland. The differences are around half a point. Ratings for coworkers and insurance were also lower in French-speaking Switzerland. Residents of French-speaking regions, for their part, are somewhat more satisfied with their children and their churches.
Table 5: Biggest differences between linguistic regions
| Satisfaction with: |
German-speaking Switzerland |
French-speaking Switzerland |
| Postal buses |
6.5 |
6 |
| Coworkers |
7 |
6.6 |
| Insurance |
6.9 |
6.5 |
| SBB/CFF |
6.4 |
6 |
| Public transportation (general) |
6.6 |
6.2 |
| Children |
7.7 |
8 |
| Salary |
6.1 |
5.8 |
| Church |
5.7 |
6 |
| Relationship |
7.3 |
7.1 |
| Internet service provider |
6.9 |
6.7 |
Swiss are generally content
While the personal contentment of Swiss has gone down, that does not mean that Switzerland’s residents are generally discontent. At 7.3 points, the average rating for life in general is still relatively high. Satisfaction with life in general is one of the highest-rated points in this year’s study – only children and parents received better ratings.
“Swiss are exceptionally unhappy with certain companies and with politics,” concludes Manz. “But they are content on the whole.”
You can find the detailed results of the 2023 Swiss Personal Satisfaction Study here.
Methodology:
The 2023 Swiss Personal Satisfaction Study is based on a representative survey carried out by market research institute Ipsos for moneyland.ch in March, 2023. A total of 1538 residents across French- and German-speaking Switzerland were asked how content they are with various situations and institutions. They could rate their satisfaction on a scale of 1 (completely unsatisfied) to 10 (completely satisfied). They could also abstain.
Figures for 2021 are taken from the 2021 Swiss Personal Satisfaction Study, which was carried out by moneyland.ch in August 2021. The 2021 study did not include satisfaction with doctors, and participants rated satisfaction with telecom service providers rather than Internet service providers. moneyland.ch did not conduct a Swiss Personal Satisfaction Study in 2022.
The results shown can vary slightly from each other due to rounding.
