France vs Switzerland: Trade union density
Trade union density over time
- France
- Switzerland
How they compare
Switzerland currently reports 12.7 Percentage of employees against 10.1 Percentage of employees in France, a difference of 2.6 Percentage of employees.
That makes Switzerland's figure about 1.3 times France's.
The two have swapped places 1 time across 40 shared years of data; in 1971 it was France ahead.
France ranks 26th and Switzerland ranks 23rd of 31 countries.
Across the 5 decades both report, France averaged higher in 1 and Switzerland in 4.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | France | Switzerland | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 37.77 Percentage of employees | 27.4 Percentage of employees | 10.37 Percentage of employees | France |
| 1980s | 17.23 Percentage of employees | 25.74 Percentage of employees | 8.51 Percentage of employees | Switzerland |
| 1990s | 10.75 Percentage of employees | 22.8 Percentage of employees | 12.05 Percentage of employees | Switzerland |
| 2000s | 10.7 Percentage of employees | 19.89 Percentage of employees | 9.19 Percentage of employees | Switzerland |
| 2010s | 10.68 Percentage of employees | 15.9 Percentage of employees | 5.22 Percentage of employees | Switzerland |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher trade union density, France or Switzerland?
- Switzerland, at 12.7 Percentage of employees against 10.1 Percentage of employees in France as of 2023.
- What is the difference in trade union density between France and Switzerland?
- 2.6 Percentage of employees, with Switzerland ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for France and Switzerland?
- 40 years are reported by both, from 1971 to 2019.
- How do France and Switzerland rank globally for trade union density?
- France ranks 26th and Switzerland ranks 23rd of 31 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, published as Trade union density. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
The database on Institutional Characteristics of Trade Unions, Wage Setting, State Intervention and Social Pacts (ICTWSS) was developed by Prof. Jelle Visser at the University of Amsterdam. It was first released in May 2007. In its initial form, the ICTWSS database combined data from various sources and projects with a main focus on trade union in EU and OECD countries, collective bargaining and employment relations in Europe, and social pacts. In 2021, the ICTWSS database was rebranded as the OECD/AIAS ICTWSS database to reflect the joint effort by the OECD and AIAS-HSI to ensure the continuation of the database following Prof. Visser’s retirement. The OECD/AIAS ICTWSS database is publicly available at: http://www.oecd.org/employment/ictwss-database.htm