Farewell to the phone book! 142 The event is not marked by any great fanfare, but is nonetheless momentous: after 142 years, the Swiss telephone directory is no more. Millions upon millions of these hefty volumes have been printed on their signature thin paper. But the most recent edition will be the last. Is this a threat to the richness of Swiss culture? Not in the sense that the rather literarily limited book (‘many characters, little plot’) is disappearing, but because the traditional ‘Fötzeliregen’ confetti of Shrove Tuesday celebrations in Lucerne is under threat: for decades, the little strips of paper used in this tradition have been made from old telephone directories. 15 % Carefully chosen statistics can generate juicy headlines, such as: more and more young Swiss women want to perform military service. The number has risen by 15 percent in a year. Sounds impressive. In absolute terms, however, the situation is less impressive: the 2022 summer recruit school saw 244 women sign up, 32 more than in the previous year. 31 % Looking for an example of an actually significant change? How about this? In 1960, 1 percent of all Swiss people said they did not belong to any religion. In 2020, that figure had risen to 31 percent. Those without any religious affiliation are today the second largest “denomination” – behind Catholics and ahead of Protestants. More info on the subject: revue.link/religion 120 In many areas of Switzerland, last summer was the hottest and driest since records began. Hosepipe bans were in force, especially in Ticino. However, this didn’t stop the number of private swimming pools in Switzerland rising. The leader of the pack is clearly the Ticino municipality of Brione sopra Minusio, with 120 pools for 465 inhabitants, or one pool for every 3.8 people. The trend is rising. 9.9 Contrary to religious matters, Switzerland’s faith in chocolate is unshakeable. The Swiss get through 9.9 kilos of the stuff per person every year. If you eat that many sweets but don’t want to get fat, you’ll have to jog for almost 1,000 kilometres to burn off all those calories. You could also try doing nothing: there are enough calories in that much chocolate to let you snooze in front of the telly for over a month – without any other drinks or snacks. STATISTICS RESEARCH: MARC LETTAU “Swiss Review”, the magazine for the Swiss Abroad, is in its 48th year of publication and is published six times a year in German, French, English and Spanish in 13 regional editions. It has a total circulation of 431,000, including 253,000 electronic copies. “Swiss Review”’s regional news appears four times a year. The ordering parties are fully responsible for the content of advertisements and promotional inserts. This content does not necessarily represent the opinion of either the editorial office or the publisher. All Swiss Abroad who are registered with a Swiss representation receive the magazine free of charge. Anyone else can subscribe for an annual fee (Switzerland: CHF 30 / abroad: CHF 50). ONLINE EDITION www.revue.ch EDI TORS Marc Lettau, Editor-in-Chief (MUL) Stéphane Herzog (SH) Theodora Peter (TP) Susanne Wenger (SWE) Paolo Bezzola (PB, FDFA representative) FDFA OFFICIAL COMMUNICATIONS The editorial responsibility for the “Notes from the Federal Palace” section is assumed by the Consular Directorate, Innovation and Partnerships, Effinger- strasse 27, 3003 Berne, Switzerland. kdip@eda.admin.ch | www.fdfa.admin.ch EDI TORI AL ASSISTANT Sandra Krebs (KS) TRANSL AT ION SwissGlobal Language Services AG, Baden L AYOUT Joseph Haas, Zürich PRINT Vogt-Schild Druck AG, Derendingen PUBL ISHER The “Swiss Review” is published by the Organisation of the Swiss Abroad (OSA). The postal address of the publisher, the editorial office and advertising department is: Organisation of the Swiss Abroad, Alpenstrasse 26, 3006 Berne. revue@swisscommunity.org Phone: +41 31 356 61 10 Bank details: CH97 0079 0016 1294 4609 8 / KBBECH22 COPY DEADLINE FOR THIS EDITION 20 October 2022 CHANGES TO DEL IVERY Please advise your local embassy or consulate. The editorial team cannot access your address and administrative data. Thank you. Swiss Review / December 2022 / No.6 23 Switzerland in figures Imprint
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