Switzerland Census

Getting Started

 * Online Course:Swiss Census Records

Time Coverage
The time periods of the census range from 1634-1750. There will be different years available for different communities.


 * The first city census was taken in the city of Bern in 1764. They were taken at 15 year intervals from 1811 to 1850, at 10 year intervals since 1850.
 * The first federal census was dated from April 1836 to February 1838 and was very incomplete.
 * In 1841 a more general census was taken.
 * In 1850 the census took account only of the population with rights of residence and not those actually present.
 * In 1860 the census information was more complete and it was improved in 1870 and 1880.

Information in the Census
Information varies by canton and year of census. It can include:


 * names of each family member, including boarders and servants
 * age and sometimes birth or baptism date
 * place of citizenship
 * place of residence
 * occupation
 * religion
 * civil status
 * duration of residence

Aargau

 * 1837 Aargau Bevölkerungstabellen, 1837, images, no index.
 * 1850 Aargau Bevölkerungstabellen, 1850, images, no index.

Appenzell Ausserrhoden

 * 1634-1711 (partial coverage). The Zürich census covers part of Appenzell-Ausserrhoden. It is organized by parish and year. A more detailed article about the Zürich census can be found here.

To see what records are available for your parish, look for the parish page in the FamilySearch Research Wiki. For an example, see here.

Basel-Landschaft

 * 1815-1860 Volkszählungen, 1815-1860, images, no index.

Basel-Stadt

 * 1590-1803 Volkszählungen, 1590-1803, images, no index.
 * 1815-1860 Volkszählungen, 1815-1860, images, no index.

Fribourg

 * 1811 at FamilySearch — images
 * 1818 at FamilySearch — images
 * 1831 at FamilySearch — images
 * 1834 at FamilySearch —index and images
 * 1836 at FamilySearch — images
 * 1839 at FamilySearch — images
 * 1842 at FamilySearch — images
 * 1845 at FamilySearch — images
 * 1850 at FamilySearch — images
 * 1860 at FamilySearch — images
 * 1870 at FamilySearch — images
 * 1880 at FamilySearch — index and images

Genève

 * 1816 Recensement des étrangers, 1816, images, no index.

Graubünden

 * 1835-1850 Volkszählung, 1835-1850, images, no index. Links to this census are available from the parish/municipality pages for Canton Graubünden.

Ticino

 * 1808 Censimento, 1808-1837, images, no index. Links to this census are available from the parish/municipality pages for Canton Ticino.

Valais

 * 1798-1880 Recensement Valaisan, images, no index

Zürich
The Zürich census is organized by parish and year. A more detailed article about the Zürich census can be found here.

To see what records are available for your parish, look for the parish page in the FamilySearch Research Wiki. For an example, see here.