Growth rate During the 19th and 20th centuries, population growth rate has been at 0.7% to 0.8%, with a doubling time of ca. 90 years. In the later 20th century, the growth rate has fallen below 0.7% (1980s: 0.64%; 1990s: 0.65%), and in the 2000s it has risen again slightly (2000–2006: 0.69%), mostly due to immigration. In 2007 the population grew at a much higher 1.1% rate, again mostly due to immigration. For 2008, the population grew 1.6%, a level not seen since the early 1960s. Total fertility rate 1.46 children born/woman (total) 1.33 children born/Swiss woman 1.86 children born/non-Swiss woman Fertility The total fertility rate is the number of children born per woman. It is based on fairly good data for the entire period. Sources: Our World In Data and Gapminder Foundation. Age structure Data: Swiss Federal Statistics Office As population growth curbs, the percentage of elderly people increases. In July 2015, the Swiss Federal Office of Statistics published a projection estimating that by 2045, the ratio of residents over the retirement age of 65 would climb to 48.1 per 100 residents between 20 and 64 years old, and possibly as high as 50.0 in the highest case. In 2015 that ratio was only 29.1 per 100 residents. Data: Swiss Federal Statistics Office Sex ratio Data: Swiss Federal Statistics Office 2007 Life expectancy According to statistics released by the federal government in 2019, life expectancy stands at 81.9 years for men and 85.6 years for women, for an overall average of 83.8 years for the populace as a whole. Sources: Our World In Data 1850-1950 1950 to 2015 Source: UN World Population Prospects Vital statistics Data according to Statistik Schweiz, United Nations, Our World In Data and Gapminder Foundation. Current vital statistics Nationality Unlike many other OECD countries, the Swiss Federal Statistical Office does not collect any data on racial identity or ethnic identity. Data is collected on country of birth, but as the OECD write "In general, collecting migration-related information on the foreign-born population and their children is a crude method for capturing diversity." Encompassing the Central Alps, Switzerland sits at the crossroads of several major European cultures. Its population includes a two-thirds majority of Alemannic German speakers and a one-quarter Latin minority (French, Italian and Romansh), see linguistic geography of Switzerland. 10% of the population natively speak an immigrant language. Switzerland consistently ranks high on quality of