Switzerland has more cultural businesses than ever, but fewer people work in them

Switzerland had 69,441 cultural businesses in 2024, 1.8 per cent more than the year before and more than at any time since the statistics began in 2011.¹ Employment in the cultural sector, on the other hand, fell for the first time since 2020: to 241,025, down 0.9 per cent.¹

So businesses are getting smaller. In 2011 a cultural business employed an average of 4.1 people; in 2024 the figure was 3.5. Measured in full-time equivalents, it fell from 2.9 to 2.3.¹ Culture's share of total employment dropped from 4.7 per cent (2011) to 4.2 per cent (2024).¹

The Federal Statistical Office (FSO) counted businesses and people in employment, not income. The release gives no separate figure for music. In 2024 the number of businesses grew fastest in audiovisual and multimedia (+6.5 per cent) and in advertising (+6.3 per cent), while the performing arts grew by 3.3 per cent.¹ The Schweizer Musikzeitung picked up the figures on 16 September 2026.²

The number to remember: 3.5 people per cultural business, down from 4.1 in 2011.