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Switzerland is characterised by significant flows of migrants from different countries of origin and with different levels of education. More than half of recent migrants have reported experiencing prejudice or discriminatory practices in the last 24 months.

International labour migration in post-industrial countries raises numerous questions. A wide range of studies have been published on the impact of immigration on the labour market but only few studies take into account both arrivals (immigrations) and departures (emigrations), rather than only the role of newcomers on the labour market. This paper is based on a Swiss Longitudinal Demographic Database which links data from Population and Household Registers, administrative registers, and surveys. In particular, the Swiss Population Register provides the date of arrival or departure of immigrants/emigrants while the Structural Survey provides information on their characteristics and position on the labour market. Based on these data, this paper compares the socioeconomic characteristics of both immigrants and emigrants arrived in Switzerland during the period 2011-2013 or having left the country during the same period, a time span characterized by a yearly net migration of + 80,000 and a rapid economic growth. In terms of level of education, every category is characterized by a positive migration balance, which is not surprising: the economic growth observed in Switzerland during the period led to a demand on the labour market for both skilled and unskilled migrants. More precisely, migratory flows counterbalanced the erosion of the low and averagely skilled working-age non-migrating population and contributed to approximately one third of the increase in the number of highly skilled workers in the labour market. Concerning the occupations, the impact of the migration balance is highest among managers and sales workers. The paper also demonstrates that the migratory flows contribute to balance the decrease in the low and averagely skilled positions and to partially fulfil the economy’s demand for highly skilled workers.

Abstract: Objectives: To test whether maternal mortality was higher among immigrant women than Swiss women.Methods: All maternal deaths and live births in Switzerland from 1969 to 2006 from official vital statistics were considered. We calculated maternal mortality ratios (MMRs) in four time intervals (1969–1979, 1980–1989, 1990–1999, 2000–2006) for both Swiss and immigrant women overall, and for Italian, Spanish and Turkish women. We also computed the odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals of maternal mortality over the four time periods, considering maternal deaths as cases, and live births as controls. Results: From 1969 to 2006 there were 279 maternal deaths, 204 of Swiss women and 75 of immigrant women. Women’s age, marital status and cause of death were similar in the two groups. For immigrant women, the crude odds ratio of a pregnancy ending with maternal death, not homogeneous across the four periods, was 4.38 (95% CI 1.88–10.55) in 2000–2006. Conclusions: Immigrant women have a higher risk of maternal mortality than Swiss women. A closer scrutiny of risk factors and quality of care is necessary to identify opportunities for prevention.

Abstract: Switzerland is from the end of World War II an immigration country. After three decades of labour migration, in the early 1980s, family reunification progressively became the most important reason for immigration. At the time of the 2000 Census, there were 1.5 million documented foreigners living in Switzerland. This represented 20% of the resident population, one of the highest proportions of foreigners in any country in Europe. Approximately 39% of children in Switzerland were members of families of foreign origin with at least one foreign-born parent. This paper statistically describes the living conditions and socioeconomic environment of those children, by computing indicators according to the origin. It shows the huge diversity of situations regarding the socioeconomic position of parents and the social background. In particular, children from Western Europe and the United States live in highly skilled families whereas children from Portugal and the Balkans live in families with a very low level of qualification. Such results justify the formulation of integration and school policies that take into account the characteristics of each migration flow.

Summary.Cohort mortality from 1880-1980 in Switzerland Objectives: Seek to explain the declining mortality rates observed in Switzerland using a different approach from conventional period analyses. Methods: Analysis of the mortality rates for cohorts born between 1880 and 1980 in Switzerland. Results: While the mortality transition was a constant feature of the 20^th century, mortality receded most sharply among the 1900 to 1940 birth cohorts. Life expectancy gains were much lower for the pre-1900 cohorts, while early trends for the post-1940 cohorts point to a slowdown in the rate of mortality decline. These findings may be connected with the social and health conditions in which the different cohorts lived. Conclusion: In contrast to the cross-sectional analysis, the longitudinal approach shows that the decline in mortality suddenly stops with the 1940 cohort.

Summary

Data from the three Norwegian censuses of 1960, 1970 and 1990 combined with information on migration status and survival between 1970 and 1985 have permitted the estimation, though logistic modelling, of the predictive abilities of different socio-economic indicators on the risk of death by cause.

Not only are there few data on sub-Saharan migrant populations, but relatively little information is available on cancer patterns in Africa. This report presents cancer mortality patterns among the 290,000 sub-Saharan African migrants in France. Risks of mortality from different cancers in migrants born in West, Central, East, and ‘Other’ parts of Africa have been compared with that observed in the local-born population, using mortality data from the period 1979–85 and population data from the 1982 French census. Relative risks were adjusted for important confounding factors such as social class and area of residence. Compared with natives, overall mortality from cancer is lower in sub-Saharan African migrants. Higher cancer mortality risks, however, are observed among males for several sites: liver in Central and West Africans; bladder in West Africans; and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in Other African migrants. For females, risks were elevated for nasopharyngeal cancers in Other African and liver in West African migrants. The results are, for the most part, consistent with the few available data on cancer patterns in Africa, and with the patterns observed in African migrants to England and Wales (UK).

Au cours des années 1980, la Suisse a vu son espérance de vie à la naissance augmenter dans tous les cantons, mais à des rythmes très différents. Ces caractéristiques cantonales du niveau et de l'évolution de la mortalité sont décrites par des méthodes de décomposition développées par Pollard et Arriaga. Les rythmes d'évolution des cantons sont comparés et les spécificités observées sont expliquées par une répartition des différences entre les tables de mortalité, selon l'âge et la cause de décès qui contribuent à ces différences. Les résultats montrent notamment le rôle prépondérant des âges actifs et avancés sur l'évolution récente de la mortalité, et l'importance du SIDA et des morts violentes sur les disparités cantonales. L'analyse se conclut par une discussion des principaux résultats obtenus. During the 1980s, expectation of life at birth increased in all the Swiss cantons, but at very different tempi. The characteristics of the level and trends of mortality in the cantons are described here by the decomposition methods developed by Pollard and Arriaga. The pace of the development of mortality in the cantons is compared, and the particular characteristics observed are accounted for by life table analysis according to age and cause of death. The results show in particular the dominant role played at economically active ages and beyond in recent mortality trends, and the importance of AIDS and of violent deaths in accounting for differences between cantons. The analysis is concluded by a discussion of the main results obtained.

Background Data on cancer mortality in North African migrants to France (the largest foreign-born community in the country) are presented, providing useful insights both into cancer patterns in North Africa and their changes following migration. Methods The cancer mortality in migrants from North Africa (Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia and Egypt) resident in France relative to that of the local-born population, is estimated from mortality data for the period 1979–1985, and population data from the 1982 French census. Risks of death from different cancers were adjusted for important confounding factors such as social status and area of residence. Results The risks are quite similar for Algerian, Tunisian and Moroccan migrants. Compared to the local-born, those Maghrebian migrants of one or both sexes have higher risks of death from cancer of the nasopharynx, gallbladder and bladder (in Algerians only). Conversely, Maghrebian migrants have lower risks of death from cancer of the oral cavity, other pharynx, oesophagus, stomach, colon, rectum, lung, larynx, melanoma (in Algerians only), kidney and nervous system (except in Tunisians), breast, ovary, and cervix uteri (except in Moroccans). For Egyptian migrants, because of small numbers, few of the estimates are statistically significant. They are at lower risk of death from lung cancer and at higher risk for lymphoma and leukaemia. Conclusion The findings provide confirmatory evidence of the unusual cancer patterns among North African populations, who have low risks for most cancer sites, and high risks for certain cancers, such as of the nasopharynx and bladder.