Switzerland Is Losing Its Childminders
The number of childminder (Tagesfamilien) care places at kibesuisse member organisations fell from 4,211 (2019) to 3,388 (2023), a drop of 19.5% in four years, exactly as household demand for this form of care was rising sharply.
No other segment of Swiss family-external childcare is moving in this direction: daycare centres and out-of-school care are growing by double digits, while childminder care is shrinking. This study measures the extent of the decline, sets it against rising demand, and uses one Bernese municipality to show what a national percentage means on the ground.
Executive Summary
At the member organisations of kibesuisse, the umbrella association for family-external and out-of-school childcare, the number of childminder (Tagesfamilien) care places fell from a peak of 4,211 places in 2019 to 3,388 in 2023: a drop of 19.5% in just four years. These are care places at accredited organisations, not the number of individual childminders and not the number of children cared for: an important distinction this study maintains throughout.
Over the full decade from 2014 to 2023, the same source and the same member cohort reveal a scissors pattern: childminder places shrank by 8.9%, while daycare-centre places at the same association grew by 71.0% and out-of-school-care places grew by 204.2%. Three forms of care, one decade, three completely different directions.
Supply is not shrinking for lack of demand: the share of Swiss households using a childminder rose from 6.3% (2018) to 9.5% (2023), a relative increase of around 51% (BFS childcare survey EFG; the 2023 figures are only conditionally comparable to 2018 due to a methodology change). In Worb, canton Bern, a regional childminder association shows what these national percentages can mean on the ground: the number of active childminders there fell from 28 to 13, -53.6%. An independent second number, the BFS STATENT employment statistics for the whole Kita industry, confirms the picture from a different angle: full-time jobs in that sector have more than doubled since 2011 (+115.2%).
The decline: one number, a clear trend
The kibesuisse annual reports redraw the same chart year after year, and the figures for overlapping years match exactly between editions: a stable, well-documented dataset. Childminder care places at member organisations peaked in 2019 at 4,211. Since then the curve has fallen almost without interruption: 3,925 (2020), 3,688 (2021), 3,632 (2022), 3,388 (2023).
Care places at kibesuisse member organisations, national (not: the number of childminders, not: children cared for). Peak in 2019 (4,211), then −19.5% by 2023 (3,388). Source: kibesuisse, annual reports 2022 and 2024.
An important point of context: this series counts care places at accredited member organisations, nationally, not broken down by canton. It is therefore a lower bound on the true figure, since it only captures childminders affiliated with a kibesuisse organisation. It says nothing about how many children are cared for or how many people work as childminders, only how many places the organisations offer.
The scissors: three forms of care, one decade
The real story only becomes visible in comparison. Taking the full decade from 2014 to 2023 and indexing all three forms of care to 2014 = 100 produces this study's sharpest picture: childminder places shrink (-8.9%, from 3,721 to 3,388), while daycare-centre places at the same association grow by +71.0% (24,999 to 42,741) and out-of-school-care places grow by as much as +204.2% (16,506 to 50,216).
Same source, same member cohort, three care forms. Childminder places: 3,721→3,388 (−8.9%). Daycare-centre places: 24,999→42,741 (+71.0%). Out-of-school-care places: 16,506→50,216 (+204.2%). Source: kibesuisse, annual reports 2022 and 2024.
All three series come from the same source and the same member cohort, a direct, methodologically clean comparison. It shows a shift within family-external care itself: away from the model of a single childminder's own household, toward institutional forms with fixed infrastructure. Why this shift is happening cannot be settled conclusively from the data available: possible factors range from stricter licensing requirements for childminders, to the general expansion of daycare-centre capacity, to changing parental expectations. This study documents the pattern, not its single cause.
A different source and a different population: BFS business census STATENT, all establishments in industry code 889100 (childcare) nationwide, not only kibesuisse members. Not merged with the childminder series above. 18,506→39,816 FTE, +115.2%. Source: BFS STATENT.
Demand keeps rising anyway
The decline in places is not a mirror of falling demand, quite the opposite. According to the BFS childcare survey (EFG), the share of households with children aged 0 to 12 using a childminder rose from 6.3% in 2018 to 9.5% in 2023, a relative increase of around 51%.
⚠️ Due to a methodology change, the 2023 figures are only conditionally comparable to 2018 (BFS footnote). 6.3% ± 0.8 (2018) → 9.5% ± 1.0 (2023), households with children 0-12. Source: BFS, childcare survey (EFG).
BFS itself notes that the two survey waves are only conditionally comparable due to a methodology change, a caveat this study carries visibly rather than hiding in a footnote. Even with that caveat, the core finding holds: there is no evidence that families want childminder care less. Supply is shrinking while the wish list grows, a textbook sign of a genuine supply gap.
Worb, BE: a percentage becomes a place
National percentages stay abstract until you see what they mean in a single municipality. The regional childminder association (Tageselternverein) of Worb, in canton Bern, disclosed in its own press release how sharply its supply has shrunk: at its peak, 28 childminders served roughly 85 families with family-external care. Most recently there were only 13 active childminders for just over 50 care relationships: a drop of 53.6% in active childminders.
| Peak | Latest | |
|---|---|---|
| Active childminders | 28 | 13 |
| Families served (approx.) | ≈85 | >50 |
Regional Tageselternverein (childminder association) of Worb (BE), not a nationwide survey. −53.6% in active childminders (28→13); families served fell from around 85 to just over 50 care relationships. Important: this row counts childminders (people), not places like the national kibesuisse series above. Source: kibesuisse, press release of 29.01.2025.
The precise meaning of this number matters: the Worb figures count active childminders, meaning people, not places like the national kibesuisse series above. Both measures belong to the same story but cannot be added directly. Worb is a single, well-documented municipality, not a nationwide survey, but it shows, in miniature, how a national trend feels on the ground: for parents looking for a place, and for the remaining childminders now serving more demand each.
What Google search has shown since 2016
An additional, independent signal comes from search behaviour itself. A single Google Trends pull with all four terms together (so all four curves sit on the same comparable scale) shows, for Switzerland: search interest in "Tagesmutter" fell 49% between 2016 and 2026, while interest in "Kita" rose 77%. "Nanny" (-27%) and "Babysitter" (-36%) also lost search interest; "Kita" is the only one of the four categories to gain ground in every single year.
Google Trends, Switzerland, a single pull with all 4 terms together (relative 0-100 scale, so the series are comparable). Own analysis: yearly average, indexed to 2016 = 100; 2026 is January-July only (YTD). Search interest is an attention signal, not a usage measure. Data pulled: 2026-07-24.
Search interest is an attention signal, not a usage measure, and this study treats it with corresponding caution: as a supporting indicator, not proof. Still, it is notable how closely the direction of this public signal tracks the official kibesuisse figures: two datasets, collected entirely independently of one another, pointing the same way.
Figures to Quote
Five print-ready sentences for newsrooms, each with its source.
"The number of childminder care places at kibesuisse member organisations fell from a peak of 4,211 (2019) to 3,388 (2023), a drop of 19.5% in four years."
Source: kibesuisse, annual report 2024
"Over the decade from 2014 to 2023, childminder places at kibesuisse members shrank by 8.9%, while daycare-centre places in the same cohort grew by 71.0% and out-of-school-care places grew by 204.2%."
Source: kibesuisse, annual reports 2022 and 2024
"The share of Swiss households using a childminder rose from 6.3% (2018) to 9.5% (2023), a relative increase of around 51%. The figures are only conditionally comparable to 2018 due to a methodology change (BFS)."
Source: BFS, childcare survey (EFG) 2023
"In the Worb region (canton Bern), the number of active childminders fell from 28 at its peak to 13 most recently, a drop of 53.6%."
Source: kibesuisse, press release of 29 January 2025
"While childminder places shrink, employment in the Swiss Kita industry, measured in full-time equivalents, rose from 18,506 (2011) to 39,816 (2023), a gain of 115.2%."
Source: BFS STATENT
When a childminder place cannot be found
For families who cannot find a childminder place, direct employment of a nanny or carer is often the only alternative. That is legally possible in every one of the 26 cantons, but it commits the family to the same employer duties as any other domestic employment: a written contract, AHV registration from the first franc, accident insurance, occupational pension (LPP) where due.
Without registration
- •No written contract, no AHV contributions
- •No accident cover for the carer
- •An inspection risks back-payments and fines
- •The carer builds up no pension of her own
Legally employed nanny
- •Written contract, AHV/IV/EO from the first franc
- •Accident insurance, LPP where due
- •Monthly payslip and salary certificate
- •The carer builds up a pension, accident cover and rights
Why a payroll platform publishes this data
Clino registers domestic employment, nannies and carers included, in all 26 cantons: a written contract, AHV registration with the cantonal compensation office, accident insurance, LPP where due, monthly payslips and a salary certificate, for CHF 19.90 a month. When a family employs a nanny directly because no childminder place is available, correct registration is not a side detail: it decides whether the carer builds up a pension and is insured.
Switzerland is reshaping its family-external childcare: more daycare, more out-of-school care, fewer childminders, exactly as demand for the latter keeps growing. This gap will not be closed by statistics, but by families who have to find another way.
Surprising findings
Rising demand and shrinking supply, at the same time
Between 2018 and 2023, the share of households wanting to use a childminder rose by around 51% in relative terms, while the number of available places at kibesuisse members fell by nearly a fifth over the same period. Demand and supply moving in opposite directions, a textbook example of a genuine supply gap, not a lack of demand.
Google search flagged the direction early
Search interest in "Tagesmutter" fell by almost half between 2016 and 2026, while "Kita" gained ground every single year. Search interest is not proof of usage, but it is a public attention signal that, over a decade, tracked the exact same direction as the official statistics, long before most of them were published.
-53.6% looks dramatic in a single municipality
A national figure like -19.5% stays abstract. In Worb, BE, the same trend meant that a single regional childminder association lost more than half of its active childminders, from 28 to 13, and the number of families served fell from around 85 to just over 50. What looks like a moderate percentage at the national level can mean the end of an option for many families at the municipal level.
Sources
- kibesuisse: annual report 2024 (2024) — Childminder, daycare-centre and out-of-school-care places at member organisations, nationally, 2016-2023
- kibesuisse: annual report 2022 (2022) — Supplementary figures for 2014-2015 (overlapping years match JB2024 exactly)
- kibesuisse: press release on childminders in canton Bern (2025) — Regional figures from the Tageselternverein Worb, published 29 January 2025
- BFS: childcare survey (EFG) (2023) — Share of households using a childminder, 2018 and 2023, with methodology-change caveat
- BFS: business structure statistics (STATENT) (2023) — Full-time equivalents in industry code 889100 (childcare), Switzerland, 2011-2023
- Google Trends (2026) — Search interest, Switzerland, “Tagesmutter”, “Kita”, “Nanny”, “Babysitter”, own analysis, data pulled 24 July 2026
More studies from the Betreuungsreport 2026
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About Clino
Clino is a Swiss SaaS platform enabling households to legally employ domestic workers — payroll, contracts, social security, and accident insurance included. CHF 19.90/month. All 26 cantons. Founded 2025 in Zurich. clino.ch
