Switzerland Census

Getting Started

 * Online Course:Swiss Census Records

Time Coverage: Canton Censuses
Each canton was responsible for enumerating its own people. Prior to 1798, most cantons, particularly in eastern and southern Switzerland, did not conduct censuses. After 1815, most cantons set up some form of census until the federal census was fully established in 1850.


 * 1634-1767 Zürich religious census: census registers of the Reformed parishes of the Zürich Synod, covering areas in present-day Zürich, Thurgau, and Sankt Gallen, as well as a few villages in Aargau, Schaffhausen, and Appenzell Ausserrhoden.
 * 1764 Bern City census: The first city census was taken in the city of Bern in 1764. They were taken at 15 year intervals from 1811 to 1850, at 10 year intervals since 1850.
 * 1798 Census, Men of Bern: Transcription of the register of male citizens ages 20 to 69 of the Canton of Bern who took oaths of allegiance in 1798. Search for a copy near you.

Time Coverage: Federal Censuses

 * 1798: Helvetic census; first census covering all of Switzerland, intended to provide the basis for the reform of the country's territorial boundaries.
 * 1836-1838: Federally mandated census to adjust military quotas per canton as well as monetary contributions for national defense. This census took two years to complete, meaning that there may be double counting and gaps in the collection.
 * March 1850: First Federal census, recording detailed information about every resident
 * December 1860: Second Federal Census
 * December 1870: Third Federal Census
 * December 1880: Fourth Federal Census
 * 1888: Federal census, used as the basis for the revision of the constituency division
 * December 1890: Fifth Federal Census
 * December 1900: Sixth Federal Census
 * December 1910: Seventh Federal Census
 * December 1920: Eighth Federal Census
 * December 1930: Ninth Federal Census
 * December 1940: Tenth Federal Census
 * 1941: Military mobilization of May 1940
 * December 1950: Eleventh Federal Census
 * December 1960: Twelfth Federal Census
 * December 1970: Thirteenth Federal Census
 * December 1980: Fourteenth Federal Census
 * December 1990: Fifteenth Federal Census. First census that was geocoded to the hectare level.
 * December 2000: Sixteenth Federal Census. First census primarily cared out by post and via the Internet
 * 2010 onward: Census is no longer enumerated, but is based on an annual register survey from existing data from cantonal and communal registers of residents.

Information in the Census
Information varies by canton and year of census. It can include:


 * names of each family member, including boarders and servants
 * age and sometimes birth or baptism date
 * place of citizenship
 * place of residence
 * occupation
 * religion
 * civil status
 * duration of residence

Aargau

 * 1837 Aargau Bevölkerungstabellen, 1837, images, no index.
 * 1850 Aargau Bevölkerungstabellen, 1850, images, no index.

Appenzell Ausserrhoden

 * 1634-1711 (partial coverage). The Zürich census covers part of Appenzell-Ausserrhoden. It is organized by parish and year. A more detailed article about the Zürich census can be found here.

To see what records are available for your parish, look for the parish page in the FamilySearch Research Wiki. For an example, see here.

Basel-Landschaft

 * 1815-1860 Volkszählungen, 1815-1860, images, no index.

Basel-Stadt

 * 1590-1803 Volkszählungen, 1590-1803, images, no index.
 * 1815-1860 Volkszählungen, 1815-1860, images, no index.

Fribourg

 * 1811 at FamilySearch — images
 * 1818 at FamilySearch — images
 * 1831 at FamilySearch — images
 * 1834 at FamilySearch —index and images
 * 1836 at FamilySearch — images
 * 1839 at FamilySearch — images
 * 1842 at FamilySearch — images
 * 1845 at FamilySearch — images
 * 1850 at FamilySearch — images
 * 1860 at FamilySearch — images
 * 1870 at FamilySearch — images
 * 1880 at FamilySearch — index and images

Genève

 * 1816 Recensement des étrangers, 1816, images, no index.

Graubünden

 * 1835-1850 Volkszählung, 1835-1850, images, no index. Links to these four censuses are available from the individual parish/municipality pages for Canton Graubünden.

Ticino

 * 1808 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images

Valais

 * 1798-1880 Recensement Valaisan, images, no index

Zürich
The Zürich census is organized by parish and year. A more detailed article about the Zürich census can be found here.

To see what records are available for your parish, look for the parish page in the FamilySearch Research Wiki. For an example, see here.