African immigrants to Switzerland
The official Swiss Population Statistics According lived in 2007 a total of 66 599 immigrants from Africa in Switzerland (0.9% of the total population and 4.5% of those living in Switzerland, foreigners).
30 % of individuals living in Switzerland Africans are asylum seekers.
In Switzerland Africans living
In the year 2007 51.867 persons were classified with an African nationality as permanent residents of Switzerland.
This number has increased five-fold from 1980 to 2007 ( average increase of 6% per year, doubling time 12 years).
As in the census no ethnic origin is detected, there is no official data on the number of naturalized Swiss citizen of African origin. For some African countries, there are unofficial estimates. It is estimated that in 1995 more than 1,500 immigrants from the Cape Verde Islands in Switzerland lived.
Distribution
North and East Africans
- North Africa: 19,496 ( 1980: 6,205 )
- East Africa: 9,578 ( 1980: 1,597 )
The largest group of immigrants of North African origin dates from Tunisia.
Sub-Saharan Africans
- Central Africa: 11,006 ( 1980: 860)
- West Africa: 10,187 ( 1980: 1,390 )
- Southern Africa: 1,600 ( 1980: 487)
The reason for the above-average growth originating from Central Africa Swiss population is immigration from Angola, Cameroon and Congo ( Brazzaville).
Immigration
Almost a third of people living in Switzerland Africans are asylum seekers. In addition, living in Switzerland as asylum seekers sans papiers who stayed there after their asylum application was rejected; their number is unknown.
2009, the number of asylum applications from Nigerians rose steeply. In April 2010, the Director of the Federal Office for Migration, Alard du Bois- Reymond an explanation to the large number of unfounded asylum claims by Nigerians gave from possibly. Du Bois -Reymond said that 99.5 % of asylum seekers are criminals of Nigerian origin who wanted to take advantage of the asylum system and entered the country to Switzerland, in order to operate as petty criminals and drug dealers. The Nigerian ambassador in Bern, Martin Ihoeghian Uhomoibhi, condemned Boi - Reymond's declaration as an unjustified generalization.
The issue of repatriation is taken up in Swiss politics regularly in the context of the " immigrant crime ", for example in connection with a wave of crime in the Geneva County Pâquis, at the most Algerians were involved, or in connection with the nationwide activities of Nigeria Connection. Switzerland has concluded several Repatriationsvereinbarungen with African states. Even with Algeria since 2006, there is such an agreement; because of Algeria's refusal to ratify additional protocols, but it is stalled. With Guinea, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Sierra Leone, Switzerland has taken technical readmission agreements for the repatriation of rejected asylum seekers. Even with Nigeria, there is a Repatriationsvereinbarung, but this was suspended by Nigeria after the death of a Nigerian citizen during a forced repatriation in March 2010.
Known emigrants from Africa
Famous immigrants from Africa are to be found especially in sports and especially in football, for example, Gelson Fernandes, Oumar Kondé, Mobulu M'Futi Blaise Nkufo, Cédric Tsimba, Johan Djourou. The first Swiss who has ever played in the NBA, is Thabo Sefolosha, the son of a South African.
Also known is who emigrated from Angola Lumengo Ricardo, who was elected to the Swiss parliamentary elections in 2007 in the National Council.