Public finances of Switzerland: the official accounts 2024
This page shows public accounts. It is not financial, investment or tax advice and not an assessment of any public body’s creditworthiness.
The Confederation closed 2025 with 0.53 bn (revenue 90.16 bn, expenditure 89.63 bn); its gross debt stood at 129.53 bn. The 26 cantons together: revenue 109.19 bn, expenditure 109.60 bn, result −0.41 bn (2024). Per capita, cantonal net debt ranges from Zug −CHF 15'651 to Geneva CHF 24'537. Below: every canton, spending by task, the communes and the trend since 1990.
Tap a canton.
Cantons compared (2024)
Per resident, cantonal government accounts (excluding communes). Net debt = liabilities minus financial assets; a negative value means net assets. Sorted by net debt per capita. Context figures: the split of tasks between canton and communes differs a lot, which is why the consolidated view (canton + communes) is in the CSV.
| # | Canton | Revenue /cap. | Spending /cap. | Result /cap. | Net debt /cap. | Gross debt /cap. | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zug | CHF 15'471 | CHF 13'464 | CHF 2'007 | −CHF 15'651 | CHF 4'043 | Rechnung |
| 2 | Grisons | CHF 13'871 | CHF 13'657 | CHF 214 | −CHF 10'274 | CHF 5'398 | Rechnung |
| 3 | Schaffhausen | CHF 11'382 | CHF 11'299 | CHF 83 | −CHF 5'465 | CHF 4'290 | Rechnung |
| 4 | Schwyz | CHF 10'005 | CHF 9'520 | CHF 485 | −CHF 5'182 | CHF 2'634 | Rechnung |
| 5 | Appenzell Inner Rhodes | CHF 10'556 | CHF 11'209 | −CHF 653 | −CHF 4'239 | CHF 4'115 | Rechnung |
| 6 | Vaud | CHF 14'344 | CHF 14'824 | −CHF 480 | −CHF 2'519 | CHF 5'615 | Rechnung |
| 7 | Glarus | CHF 9'459 | CHF 10'237 | −CHF 778 | −CHF 2'024 | CHF 6'449 | Rechnung |
| 8 | Lucerne | CHF 10'056 | CHF 9'528 | CHF 527 | −CHF 1'050 | CHF 4'976 | Rechnung |
| 9 | Fribourg | CHF 12'276 | CHF 12'378 | −CHF 102 | −CHF 810 | CHF 2'029 | Rechnung |
| 10 | Aargau | CHF 8'645 | CHF 8'387 | CHF 258 | −CHF 795 | CHF 2'222 | Rechnung |
| 11 | St. Gallen | CHF 9'538 | CHF 9'879 | −CHF 341 | −CHF 741 | CHF 2'578 | Rechnung |
| 12 | Nidwalden | CHF 10'738 | CHF 9'925 | CHF 813 | −CHF 602 | CHF 7'090 | Rechnung |
| 13 | Obwalden | CHF 9'269 | CHF 9'831 | −CHF 562 | CHF 588 | CHF 3'277 | Rechnung |
| 14 | Appenzell Outer Rhodes | CHF 9'607 | CHF 10'653 | −CHF 1'046 | CHF 951 | CHF 4'327 | Rechnung |
| 15 | Basel-Stadt | CHF 28'933 | CHF 28'685 | CHF 248 | CHF 1'011 | CHF 20'146 | Rechnung |
| 16 | Thurgau | CHF 7'364 | CHF 8'343 | −CHF 980 | CHF 2'131 | CHF 2'953 | Rechnung |
| 17 | Valais | CHF 12'481 | CHF 12'277 | CHF 204 | CHF 2'427 | CHF 8'544 | Rechnung |
| 18 | Zurich | CHF 10'742 | CHF 11'025 | −CHF 283 | CHF 2'512 | CHF 5'055 | Rechnung |
| 19 | Solothurn | CHF 9'196 | CHF 9'146 | CHF 50 | CHF 3'692 | CHF 7'509 | Rechnung |
| 20 | Bern | CHF 12'617 | CHF 12'787 | −CHF 169 | CHF 5'099 | CHF 6'380 | Rechnung |
| 21 | Jura | CHF 13'834 | CHF 13'639 | CHF 195 | CHF 5'818 | CHF 8'406 | Rechnung |
| 22 | Uri | CHF 12'011 | CHF 13'097 | −CHF 1'087 | CHF 6'935 | CHF 10'669 | Rechnung |
| 23 | Ticino | CHF 12'012 | CHF 12'538 | −CHF 526 | CHF 7'366 | CHF 13'755 | Rechnung |
| 24 | Neuchâtel | CHF 14'606 | CHF 14'439 | CHF 167 | CHF 7'532 | CHF 20'546 | Rechnung |
| 25 | Basel-Landschaft | CHF 10'911 | CHF 10'623 | CHF 288 | CHF 7'766 | CHF 14'182 | Rechnung |
| 26 | Geneva | CHF 23'010 | CHF 22'340 | CHF 670 | CHF 24'537 | CHF 34'730 | Rechnung |
Where the money goes (2024)
Expenditure shares by task group (functional classification of the financial statistics), Confederation and all cantons together.
| Task group | Confederation | Cantons | Communes |
|---|---|---|---|
| General administration | 7.7% | 5.4% | 10.2% |
| Public order and security, defense | 8.6% | 8.8% | 5.9% |
| Education | 9.2% | 28.3% | 28.7% |
| Culture, sport and leisure, church | 2.5% | 1.9% | 6.8% |
| Health | 0.4% | 14.9% | 5.2% |
| Social security | 33.8% | 23.5% | 18.1% |
| Transportation and telecommunications | 13.1% | 6.5% | 8.9% |
| Protection of the environment and spatial planning | 1.3% | 1.7% | 9.0% |
| National economy | 7.8% | 4.9% | 4.0% |
| Finances and taxes | 15.6% | 4.3% | 3.2% |
Communes of 5,000+ residents (2024)
435 communes in the dataset; for 185 cities the FFA publishes official debt figures. Below: the cities with the lowest and the highest gross debt per capita (official FFA values). All communes with revenue, expenditure, result and derived debt are in the CSV.
Lowest gross debt per capita
| Commune | Canton | Residents | Revenue /cap. | Spending /cap. | Gross debt /cap. | Net debt /cap. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Appenzell 2024 | AI | 6'096 | CHF 1'490 | CHF 1'571 | CHF 82 | −CHF 6 |
| Zollikofen 2024 | BE | 11'591 | CHF 4'489 | CHF 4'256 | CHF 164 | −CHF 2'449 |
| Steffisburg 2024 | BE | 16'581 | CHF 5'146 | CHF 4'800 | CHF 271 | −CHF 4'529 |
| Cham 2024 | ZG | 18'273 | CHF 7'686 | CHF 6'012 | CHF 636 | −CHF 7'117 |
| Zug 2024 | ZG | 32'122 | CHF 14'281 | CHF 10'563 | CHF 669 | −CHF 19'552 |
| Risch 2024 | ZG | 11'674 | CHF 6'057 | CHF 6'415 | CHF 759 | −CHF 4'703 |
| Brig-Glis 2024 | VS | 14'085 | CHF 4'656 | CHF 4'326 | CHF 929 | −CHF 4'313 |
| Onex 2024 | GE | 18'915 | CHF 3'706 | CHF 3'334 | CHF 1'056 | −CHF 1'938 |
| Sarnen 2024 | OW | 10'862 | CHF 6'227 | CHF 6'144 | CHF 1'149 | −CHF 2'272 |
| Münchenbuchsee 2024 | BE | 10'696 | CHF 4'544 | CHF 4'473 | CHF 1'404 | −CHF 1'309 |
Highest gross debt per capita
| Commune | Canton | Residents | Revenue /cap. | Spending /cap. | Gross debt /cap. | Net debt /cap. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bern 2024 | BE | 137'995 | CHF 9'788 | CHF 10'345 | CHF 25'170 | CHF 2'522 |
| Lausanne 2024 | VD | 144'873 | CHF 9'982 | CHF 10'760 | CHF 20'953 | CHF 16'837 |
| Zürich 2024 | ZH | 436'551 | CHF 14'827 | CHF 16'392 | CHF 20'692 | CHF 10'677 |
| Lugano 2024 | TI | 63'629 | CHF 7'554 | CHF 8'436 | CHF 17'890 | CHF 10'302 |
| Biel 2024 | BE | 56'896 | CHF 8'039 | CHF 8'112 | CHF 15'789 | CHF 1'317 |
| Winterthur 2024 | ZH | 120'376 | CHF 11'120 | CHF 11'890 | CHF 15'061 | CHF 8'883 |
| La Chaux-de-Fonds 2024 | NE | 37'600 | CHF 6'445 | CHF 6'957 | CHF 14'995 | CHF 9'530 |
| Chiasso 2024 | TI | 7'564 | CHF 7'764 | CHF 8'336 | CHF 14'942 | CHF 8'733 |
| Neuchâtel 2024 | NE | 45'309 | CHF 7'062 | CHF 7'811 | CHF 14'767 | CHF 4'963 |
| Nyon 2024 | VD | 23'351 | CHF 8'152 | CHF 9'628 | CHF 14'719 | CHF 12'191 |
Trend since 1990
Confederation and all cantons together, in CHF.
Frequently asked questions
Did the Confederation run a surplus or a deficit in 2025?
0.53 bn: revenue 90.16 bn, expenditure 89.63 bn (accounts 2025, FFA). 2024: 0.16 bn.
Which canton has the lowest debt per capita?
Net debt per capita 2024: lowest Zug (−CHF 15'651), highest Geneva (CHF 24'537). Gross debt: Fribourg CHF 2'029 to Geneva CHF 34'730. Cantons split tasks between canton and communes differently: part of the gap is structural, not fiscal.
What do cantons spend the most on?
Education: 28.3% of all cantons’ expenditure (2024)
How high is spending per capita?
Cantons 2024: from Thurgau CHF 8'343 to Basel-Stadt CHF 28'685 per resident (cantonal accounts excluding communes).
Where do these figures come from?
From the Federal Finance Administration's financial statistics (FS model, data.finance.admin.ch), publication 2026-08-27: standard evaluation, debt workbooks and communal finances of 5,000+ residents. Audited years; forecast years are labelled as such.
Sources: EFV Finanzstatistik, FS-Daten · data.finance.admin.ch · Retrieved 2026-09-05 (EFV 2026-08-27) · Archive release SLI-2026-10-03.32 · Cantons as CSV · Communes as CSV. Raw payloads (verbatim) archived under data/raw/public-finance/.
Go deeper
Net debt per capita, canton ranking · Fiscal balance · Taxes by canton
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