Research shows: Solidarity has increased in Switzerland

Solidarity has increased significantly in Switzerland since the Covid-19 pandemic. Differences arise between language regions and in times of crisis.

In principle, there is strong solidarity among the Swiss people across all generations, Swiss Solidarity announced on Monday. Solidarity is slightly greater among women than among men. In German- and French-speaking Switzerland, solidarity mainly means helping each other within the family and the neighborhood. In Italian-speaking Switzerland it is about supporting people in need.

The Swiss people see a sense of duty and the desire for social cohesion as the most important motives for acting in solidarity, the report said. In the Italian-speaking area, individual motivation is even more pronounced. Modesty and discretion are highly regarded in all parts of the country.

According to Swiss Solidarity, solidarity has increased since the end of the Covid-19 pandemic. However, the majority of perceptions of interpersonal interaction in Switzerland remain negative. Swiss Solidarity wrote that there was also a wave of solidarity during the war in Ukraine. However, this has decreased significantly over time.

There were also differences between 2021 and 2023 when it comes to the willingness to donate to a good cause. According to the solidarity barometer, a third of respondents indicated that they would donate “quite spontaneously” this year. Two years ago that was 42 percent. This year, however, just over a quarter gave on a “fairly regular” basis; two years ago it was still a fifth.

The Solidarity Barometer is based on a survey by the SRG. More than 3,000 people from different language areas of Switzerland took part between August 20 and September 12. The barometer was evaluated by the Sotomo Research Institute and the Center for Philanthropy Studies of the University of Basel. (sda)