Defense Civilian service admissions reach new high
In 2025, more people than ever before were admitted to civilian service in Switzerland. At the same time, the Federal Council and Parliament want to make access more difficult.
24.02.2026, 10:36
SDA
In 2025, 7211 people were admitted to civilian service. This is 6.1 percent more than in the previous year and a new record, as the Federal Office for Civilian Service (Zivi) announced on Tuesday. The previous record was set in 2010 with 6826 registrations.
The number of days of service also reached an all-time high of just under 1.9 million. More than half of this (50.4 percent) was accounted for by social services, followed by education (18.1 percent) and healthcare (14.8 percent).
Just under 1.9 million days of service were performed last year. More than half (50.4 percent) were in the social sector, followed by education (18.1 percent), healthcare (14.8 percent) and environmental and nature conservation (9.6 percent).
At the same time, the number of recognized deployment companies fell by 2.3 percent. However, according to the Federal Office, civilian service is still guaranteed with 15,770 places. The number of disciplinary and criminal cases also fell.
Confederation wants to make access more difficult
In order to make access to civilian service more difficult, a majority of the conservative majority in parliament decided last fall to raise the hurdles for access to civilian service. The army and civil defense should thus have more personnel available.
A committee led by the civilian service association Civiva and the Young Greens has launched a referendum against the change in the law. The amendment to the law will therefore be put to the vote on June 14. Opponents believe that the tightening of the law would reduce civilian service personnel by forty percent and endanger the institution as a whole.
