ZUG, Switzerland—This Alpine nation has long relied on its geography to keep the world at bay. But with its valleys filling up, some here are pushing to replace natural barriers with something even more unyielding: a population cap.
Disgruntled by rising living costs and disillusioned by unfulfilled economic and social promises, the Swiss are at the vanguard of industrialized countries questioning the benefits of immigration, even the high-skilled workers many vie to attract. On Sunday, they will vote in a referendum to put a hard ceiling on the country’s population.
Since 2000, the number of foreign-born residents has jumped from around one in five to one in three—the second-highest level among rich countries next to tiny Luxembourg, and compared with one in six in the U.S. That represents an enormous demographic shift for a small, mountainous country.
