Zurich’s city council has adopted a new set of integration goals for 2026–2030, giving the prevention of discrimination its own strategic focus for the first time. The plan, titled “Zurich Is Diversity in Practice,” also takes account of digitalisation as the city updates its approach to serving a population shaped by international migration.
Racism Cases in Switzerland Remain High in 2025, Report Says
The number of reported racial discrimination cases stayed elevated in 2025.
Switzerland recorded 1,245 cases of racial discrimination in 2025, a 3% increase on the previous year. The most frequently reported grounds remained racism against Black people (33% of cases) and xenophobia.
Anti-Muslim racism rose in 2025. A report by the Federal Commission against Racism (FCR) and a network of advice centres for victims of racism. The commission’s annual figures track reports to those centres, not all incidents that may occur.
The 2025 total follows a sharp rise in 2024, when the FCR said documented cases increased by about 20% to 1,211. That year, most incidents were reported from schools, workplaces and public spaces, with xenophobia and anti-Black racism cited most often. Anti-Islamic racism grew the most in 2024, accounting for 17% of cases.
Zurich Adds Anti-Discrimination Focus: Foreign Nationals Account For 33.9% Of City
The new strategy contains 20 goals organised under five priorities: access to city services, participation in economic and civic life, a culture of welcome and recognition, prevention of discrimination, and responding to challenges in how residents live together. City departments and administrative units will be responsible for implementing the goals, with support available from Zurich’s Diversity, Integration and Anti-Racism Office.
For residents, the aims include making municipal services and information accessible, encouraging participation in community life and tackling exclusion and unequal treatment. The announcement describes strategic goals, rather than a new set of eligibility rules or a newly funded service. It does not specify a budget or timetable for individual measures.
Zurich says almost 45% of its residents were born abroad and around 17,000 people move directly to the city from other countries each year. Being born abroad is not the same measure as holding foreign citizenship: at the end of 2025, foreign nationals accounted for 33.9% of the city’s 452,421 residents.
The new strategy builds on the city’s previous four-year programme. Earlier goals already addressed access to services and racism; the change is that discrimination prevention now has a separate, explicit priority. The city says a review of its previous work found numerous measures had been implemented, while challenges had also been identified and addressed. The announcement does not provide a numerical assessment of their impact.
The practical test will be how departments translate the 20 goals into changes residents can see—for example, easier access to information and services—and how the city measures their effects over the next four years.
