A demographer from the University of Geneva has examined life expectancy rates of migrants and concluded that the Portuguese in Switzerland live longer than the Swiss, despite emigrants usually holding lower positions on the social scale that normally indicate earlier death rates.
“The Portuguese living in Switzerland have a life expectancy of 78.9 years for men and 82.8 years for women in 2000, compared with Swiss citizens who register average life expectancies of 76.9 years for men and 82.5 women” said Jonathan Zufferey, a researcher from LIVES research center and author of the thesis.
According to Jonathan Zufferey, the Portuguese communities, along with Turkish migrants and citizens from the former Yugoslavia, enjoy greater longevity compared to the Swiss.
“It is a paradox in the sense that foreigners in Switzerland occupy lower positions on the social scale, which is normally a leading indicator on the issue of mortality,” said the researcher.
The reason behind the results can be attributed to several different factors according to the demographer. “The strongest tend to migrate and those who are less healthy tend to return to their country of origin, cannot work or choose to be with family instead.”
Zufferey adds that cultural factors in migrants also influence longevity, including the fact that migrants tend to be more ambitious in their outlook.