Switzerland

National Council

Political system
Parliamentary system
Structure of parliament
Bicameral
IPU membership
Yes

About parliament

Basic information such as the official name of parliament and details of its structure and leadership. Also includes the current breakdown of MPs by sex and age, and provisions for quotas and reserved seats.

Parliament name
Bundesversammlung - Assemblée fédérale - Assemblea federale (Federal Assembly)
Chamber name
Nationalrat - Conseil national - Consiglio nazionale (National Council)
Structure & status of parliament
Lower chamber
Parliamentary term (years)
4

IPU membership

Affiliation periods
from 1891
IPU Geopolitical Group/s
Twelve Plus Group

Speaker

Official title
President of the National Council
Speaker
Eric Nussbaumer (Male)
Date of birth: 11 Jul 1960
Term
04 Dec 2023
Additional information

Elected on 4 Dec. 2023.

Speaker terms

No information available

Secretary general

Official title
Secretary General
Secretary General
Philippe Schwab (Male)
Term
01 Jul 2013
Notes

Appointed on 1 July 2013.

Members

Statutory number of members
200
Principal mode of designation of members
Directly elected
Directly elected members
200
Current number of members
200
Men
123
Women
77
Percentage of women
38.5%
Statutory number of members per country 
246
Population (in thousands)
Click for historical data
Inhabitants per parliamentarian
35,329

Age

Data on the age of parliamentarians is collected at the start of the legislature, following the most recent elections. This data is not updated during the legislature, except when parliament notifies the IPU of a change in the youngest or oldest member.

Average age of all members
49.3
(2023-12)
Youngest member
Katja Riem (Female)
Youngest member (years)
26
Oldest member
Daniel Sormanni (Male)
Oldest member (years)
73
Number of members, by age (2023-12)
Breakdown of members by age and gender
18 - 20 21 - 30 31 - 40 41 - 45 46 - 50 51 - 60 61 - 70 71 - 80 81 - 90 91 and over Totals per gender
Male 0 1 16 29 17 39 20 1 0 0 123
Female 0 2 19 11 11 23 11 0 0 0 77
Totals per age interval 0 3 35 40 28 62 31 1 0 0 200
Total <= 45: 78 Total >= 46: 122
Percentage of members, by age
Age at the last election or renewal Overall Male Female
Percentage of MPs 30 years of age or younger
1.5% 0.5% 1.0%
Percentage of MPs 40 years of age or younger
19.0% 9% 10.5%
Percentage of MPs 45 years of age or younger
39.0% 23% 16.0%

Reserved seats and quotas

There are reserved seats in parliament for certain groups
No
Electoral quota for women
Yes

Notes: Voluntary political party quotas.

Sources: C.f. individual party statutes.

Youth quota
No

Links to additional information

Parliamentary website
List of members
Rules of procedure/Standing Orders
Constitution

Historical data for IPU membership

Historical data for IPU membership
Year IPU membership
2020-09
List of values for 2020-09
No
2019-04
List of values for 2019-04
No
2018-06
List of values for 2018-06
No