Switzerland/ 4.2 Specific policy issues and recent debates  

4.2.3 Cultural/creative industries: policies and programmes

Until 2003, there was little comprehensive information or data available about the culture industries in Switzerland. The empirical findings of several studies by Zurich University of the Arts show that in 2008 more than 200 000 persons were employed in around 40 000 establishments in the cultural and creative industries in Switzerland. This corresponds to 10% of all establishments in the country and to 5% of all gainfully employed persons in Switzerland.

The number of gainfully employed persons in terms of the average of all submarkets increased by 8% between 2005 and 2008; in the same period, the number of establishments grew by 4%. Thus, the cultural and creative industries as a sector grew at a similar pace to Switzerland's economy as a whole – in Zurich developments were probably even more dynamic.

Compared to the backward trend of the previous survey, the latest figures clearly evidence a change in trend, since in 2005 both indicators were negative.

The cultural and creative industries in Switzerland generate a gross added value of CHF 20 574 million and a turnover of CHF 87 967 million. Thus, its share of the gross domestic product (GDP) amounts to around 4.2%. The Cultural Message issued by the federal government assigns to the cultural and creative industries a pioneering role on the country's path toward becoming a knowledge-based economy and society. One of the federal government's five core objectives is to establish favourable conditions for the further growth of the cultural and creative industries. In this respect, the Federal Office of Culture, together with the leading Swiss Federal Institute for Intellectual Property, is fully committed to further developing the Intellectual Property Law in a forward-looking fashion.

Your Comments on this Chapter?