Municipal waste recycling rate in Switzerland
Switzerland: Municipal waste recycling rate was 31.91 Percentage in 2015. ▲ Rising
Latest (2015)
31.91 Percentage
Change on year
down 2.2%
World rank
6th
of 31 countries
All-time high
35.02 Percentage
in 2005
All-time low
22.21 Percentage
in 1990
Years of data
26
1990–2015
Municipal waste recycling rate in Switzerland, 1990–2015
Source: OECD (2018) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in Percentage.
Analysis
In 2015, municipal waste recycling rate in Switzerland stood at 31.91 Percentage.
The figure is down 2.2% on the previous year and down 8.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, municipal waste recycling rate in Switzerland peaked at 35.02 Percentage in 2005 and was at its lowest, 22.21 Percentage, in 1990.
Switzerland ranks 6th of 31 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 26 years of available data.
Municipal waste recycling rate in Switzerland, year by year
| Year | Percentage | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 22.21 Percentage | — |
| 1991 | 23.48 Percentage | +5.7% |
| 1992 | 24.09 Percentage | +2.6% |
| 1993 | 24.64 Percentage | +2.3% |
| 1994 | 27.89 Percentage | +13.2% |
| 1995 | 29.25 Percentage | +4.9% |
| 1996 | 30.77 Percentage | +5.2% |
| 1997 | 31.2 Percentage | +1.4% |
| 1998 | 32.19 Percentage | +3.2% |
| 1999 | 31.73 Percentage | -1.4% |
| 2000 | 31.71 Percentage | -0.1% |
| 2001 | 33.04 Percentage | +4.2% |
| 2002 | 31.97 Percentage | -3.2% |
| 2003 | 32.47 Percentage | +1.6% |
| 2004 | 33.48 Percentage | +3.1% |
| 2005 | 35.02 Percentage | +4.6% |
| 2006 | 33.49 Percentage | -4.4% |
| 2007 | 33.94 Percentage | +1.4% |
| 2008 | 33.49 Percentage | -1.3% |
| 2009 | 34.26 Percentage | +2.3% |
| 2010 | 33.75 Percentage | -1.5% |
| 2011 | 34.59 Percentage | +2.5% |
| 2012 | 34.77 Percentage | +0.5% |
| 2013 | 33.62 Percentage | -3.3% |
| 2014 | 32.63 Percentage | -2.9% |
| 2015 | 31.91 Percentage | -2.2% |
Switzerland compared with similar countries
- Switzerland's 31.91 Percentage is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 26.24 Percentage, 1.2× the median. (27 countries reporting)
- Switzerland's 31.91 Percentage is above the median for high income countries, which is 26.13 Percentage, 1.2× the median. (29 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 27.74 Percentage | 22.21 Percentage | 32.19 Percentage | 10 |
| 2000s | 33.29 Percentage | 31.71 Percentage | 35.02 Percentage | 10 |
| 2010s | 33.55 Percentage | 31.91 Percentage | 34.77 Percentage | 6 |
Countries ranked near Switzerland
More environment data for Switzerland
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -0.2925 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -0.4333 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.458 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 2.33 °C (2025)
- Wood-based panels — Production, annual growth rate 11.97 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 0.2741 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per unit 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per capita 0 Mt CO2e per person (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), annual growth rate 0.0914 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is municipal waste recycling rate in Switzerland?
- Municipal waste recycling rate in Switzerland was 31.91 Percentage in 2015, according to OECD (2018) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest municipal waste recycling rate recorded in Switzerland?
- The highest recorded value was 35.02 Percentage in 2005.
- What is the lowest municipal waste recycling rate recorded in Switzerland?
- The lowest recorded value was 22.21 Percentage in 1990.
- How does Switzerland rank for municipal waste recycling rate?
- Switzerland ranks 6th out of 31 countries with data for 2015.
- Is municipal waste recycling rate rising or falling in Switzerland?
- Over the last ten years it is down 8.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Switzerland data come from?
- The figures come from OECD (2018) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Municipal waste recycling rate. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 26 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Municipal (including household) waste recycling rates, measured as the percentage of total waste generated that is recycled.