About half a million immigrants from the former Yugoslavia lived in Switzerland as of 2009, corresponding to roughly 6.5% of total Swiss population.
During the 1960s to 1970s, immigration began to pick up noticeably with the influx of migrant workers, with 24,971 Yugoslav citizens registered in 1970 and 60,916 in 1980.
[1] Registration under the successor states of Yugoslavia began gradually after 1992, but the problem remained unresolved until the year 2000.
[citation needed] The number of foreign residents from former Yugoslavia naturalized as Swiss citizens in 2009 was at 14,780 (Serbia, Montenegro and Kosovo: 8,879; Bosnia and Herzegovina: 2,408; North Macedonia: 1,831; Croatia: 1,599; Slovenia: 63).
[citation needed] In terms of ethnicity, these populations consist mostly of Albanians, Bosniaks, Serbs, Croats and Macedonians.
They cannot be expected to have better than single-digit accuracy, but nevertheless give an overview of the general situation; such estimates[clarification needed] amount to roughly 250,000 Albanians,[4][unreliable source?
The main purpose of this organisation was to encourage and spread Macedonian ideals, culture, language, and tradition.
[8] As the largest group, they tend to be the most visible, besides the factor of prejudice against Islam, and the perceived link between immigration and crime.
In a 2010 statistic, young males of the former Serbia and Montenegro (which to a large extent corresponds to the Kosovo Albanians in Switzerland) were found to have a crime rate of 310% of the young males in Swiss population, while those from Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Macedonia had crime rates of 230%–240% of the Swiss value.
[9] Immigrants from the historical Republic of Yugoslavia prior to its disintegration (1943–1990) and its predecessor states (until 1918 part of Austria-Hungary): More recent Swiss celebrities of Former Yugoslav origin are found mostly in sports, especially football.
Examples include: To a lesser extent, the group is represented in other sports, e.g. Goran Bezina (hockey); Petar Majstorovic, Xhavit Bajrami and Azem Maksutaj (kickboxing); Nuri Seferi (boxing).