The ageing population is pushing the Swiss healthcare system to its limits. Rising costs, increasing care needs, and a shortage of skilled professionals demand a fundamental rethinking. At the same time, new technologies and a stronger focus on prevention present opportunities for sustainable future care. Our report outlines ways to make care more efficient and sustainable, providing concrete recommendations for action.
This demographic ageing in Switzerland is bringing about fundamental changes and presents challenges in many different areas. Our ‘Ageing Switzerland’ series considers in detail the impact of demographic ageing on business, society and policy-making. This study takes a closer look at health, an area particularly affected by societal ageing.
As we age, we need more medical interventions and more care. This not only drives up costs but also poses structural challenges for the healthcare system. The skills shortage is a particularly urgent problem: many areas of healthcare are already facing shortages of skilled staff, which are likely to become more acute over the coming years.
At the same time, however, Switzerland has new opportunities to make healthcare more efficient and more patient-oriented. Advances in medicine, digital applications, and innovative concepts such as ‘Hospital at Home’ now mean that older people can live independently for longer. There is also a growing emphasis on prevention: greater awareness of a healthy lifestyle, regular health screening, and the increasing focus on longevity all show that ageing can open up new opportunities as well as presenting challenges.
Since the 1970s, a longevity revolution has been taking place in developed countries: thanks to improvements in healthcare, medicine and lifestyle, more and more people are reaching old age, and life expectancy is increasing. At the same time, the birth rate is steadily declining. Accordingly, the structure of the population is also changing. In Switzerland, it is expected that by 2050 there will be only two working age people per pensioner.
These trends – longer life expectancy and falling birth rates – are creating an ageing population in Switzerland. Traditionally, the country’s population pyramid had a broad base of younger generations tapering to a narrow apex of older generations, but this is now being replaced by an urn-shaped curve.
With age, health restrictions and chronic diseases become more common, increasing the need for medical and nursing care. Despite longer life expectancy, there is still a gap between life span and health span: men and women in Switzerland live longer but spend many of the additional years of life with health impairments. This leads to a growing need for medical treatment and care, which will come to a head in the course of demographic ageing.
Healthcare costs in Switzerland are already at a very high level and continue to rise every year. Medical progress and greater demand for healthcare services have contributed to this, but demographic ageing is also an important cost driver. Misguided incentives in the healthcare system and the inefficient use of resources exacerbate cost pressures.
Healthcare costs in Switzerland are rising year on year, with an average annual increase of 6.4% since 1960. At that time, annual spending on health was CHF2 billion or around CHF374 per capita, equivalent to 4.5% of GDP. Now, six decades on, total spending has risen to CHF91 billion or around CHF10,423 per capita (2022 figures), equivalent to 11.7% of GDP.
Although Switzerland has a high supply of health workers by international standards, it is still struggling with a noticeable shortage of health workers, especially nurses and doctors. Due to population growth, the demand for healthcare professionals will continue to increase in the coming years. However, ageing in particular poses an acute challenge, as many older professionals will retire in the next few years. Neighbouring countries are also struggling with demographic change, and the competition for talent is increasing.
Switzerland’s ageing population is already a substantial challenge to the healthcare system. Almost half of doctors in specialist practices (48%) are aged 55 or over. Almost a quarter are already at pensionable age. The figures are slightly lower for those working in hospitals but are still around one-third.
Digital solutions and innovative concepts such as ’Hospital at Home’ can help to make healthcare more efficient and patient-centred. The use of AIsupported diagnostic tools and connected health platforms enables early detection and treatment of diseases. However, there are still many hurdles to overcome: trust in and use of digital applications is low, and the exchange of information and access to health data remain difficult.
One particularly weak area is the electronic patient record (EPR). The 2024 Swiss eHealth Barometer found that only 37% of the surveyed Swiss residents knew about the EPR. However, eHealth Suisse figures show low levels of actual use: by end of February 2025, just 104’407 EPRs had been created, equivalent to less than 1% of the Swiss population.
Many patients are worried that early discharge risks missing possible complications. This is where concepts such as ‘Hospital at Home’ could come in. If a patient needs or would like close monitoring after a procedure, home visits, mobile support and/or digital solutions could help them make the transition from hospital to home.
An increased focus on prevention and healthy lifestyles can help to improve the quality of life. Early detection and disease prevention enable healthy ageing. The market for longevity and prevention solutions is growing rapidly and offers great potential for the financial stability of the healthcare system through cost savings.
If the Swiss healthcare system were to focus more on prevention and digitalisation, healthcare expenditures in 2040 could be CHF30 billion lower. Although spending on prevention and health promotion would be higher compared to today, the costs of therapeutic care and rehabilitation would be halved.
With demographic ageing, the need for medical and nursing services is increasing. This not only drives up costs, but also exacerbates the existing shortage of skilled workers. To counter this, a more efficient use of human and financial resources in the healthcare system is required.
Digitisation in the healthcare sector not only reduces the burden on the workforce, it also creates the basis for the use of innovative technologies such as AI-supported diagnostics and enables the integration of digital care models.
Patient-centred treatment can address more effectively the growing care needs of an ageing population.
In an ageing society in particular, it is becoming increasingly important to detect and prevent health problems at an early stage. This not only enables people not only to live longer, but to live healthier lives. This will also reduce costs in the long term.