Seat allocation
The representative organ of the Fifth Switzerland with a world-wide network
On the one hand, the Council of the Swiss Abroad (CSA) reunites delegates from Swiss expatriates' associations as well as representatives of institutions which provide services for the Fifth Switzerland and, on the other, representatives from the Swiss public sphere.
Members from abroad represent the Swiss expatriates' clubs from around the world - the number of delegates depends on the size of the Swiss community. They are elected every four years by OSA-recognised Swiss expatriates' associations, or respectively, their federations.
Members from home are elected by the Council on recommendation by the Executive Board. They are personalities from the political, business and cultural fields who have the necessary expertise and connections to be able to address the concerns of their compatriots abroad and represent them effectively. Home-based members often have experience of living abroad.
The same seat allocation system as in the Federal Parliament
Seat distribution reflects the size of a given Swiss community. This is periodically adjusted by the CSA on the basis of the current statistics Swiss living abroad drawn up by the Federal Department for Foreign Affairs.
| Europe | 60 |
| America | 30 |
| Africa | 8 |
| Asia | 16 |
| Oceania | 6 |
| Switzerland | 20 |
| TOTAL | 140 |
Seat allocation at the Council of Swiss Abroad for the 2009-2013 term of office
| Continent | Country/Group of countries | Seats |
| Europe | France | 12 |
| Germany | 8 | |
| Italy | 6 | |
| Great Britain | 4 | |
| Spain | 4 | |
| Austria | 3 | |
| Netherlands | 2 | |
| Belgium | 2 | |
| Sweden | 1 | |
| Liechtenstein | 1 | |
| Greece | 1 | |
| Denmark | 1 | |
| Portugal | 1 | |
| Norway | 1 | |
| Turkey | 1 | |
| Hungary | 1 | |
| Finland | 1 | |
| Ireland | 1 | |
| Czech Republic | 1 | |
| Luxembourg | 1 | |
| Monaco | 1 | |
| Eastern Europe | 2 | |
| Balkan | 2 | |
| Russia | 1 | |
| available | 1 | |
| America | USA | 8 |
| Canada | 5 | |
| Argentina | 3 | |
| Brazil | 3 | |
| Mexico | 2 | |
| Chile | 1 | |
| Peru | 1 | |
| Columbia | 1 | |
| Venezuela | 1 | |
| Dominican Republic | 1 | |
| Ecuador | 1 | |
| Costa Rica | 1 | |
| Paraguay | 1 | |
| Guatemala | 1 | |
| Africa | South Africa | 2 |
| Egypt | 1 | |
| Tunisia | 1 | |
| Morocco | 1 | |
| available | 3 | |
| Asia | Israel | 3 |
|
Thailand China |
2 1 |
|
| Philippines | 1 | |
| Singapore | 1 | |
| Japan | 1 | |
| United Arabian Emirates | 1 | |
| South-East-Asia | 2 | |
| India | 1 | |
| Central Asia | 1 | |
| Near East | 1 | |
| available | 1 | |
| Oceania | Australia | 4 |
| New Zealand | 2 | |
| Switzerland | 20 | |
| Total |
140 |
