The number of non-Swiss citizens visiting Switzerland for an Assisted Voluntary Death (AVD) has more than doubled in the past ten years.
In 2013 and 2014 almost all AVDs from abroad were handled by Dignitas and Lifecircle. Dignitas, conducted 426 over those two years. Lifecircle, then very new, conducted about 70. Their overall annual average was therefore around 250. There were other providers, such as EX International, but their contribution is estimated to have been very small.
Last year, Dignitas handled 280 and is on course to handle 300 in 2025. Lifecircle closed its membership to new members in 2022 but is understood nonetheless to have conducted around 12 in 2024. However, Pegasos (which does not publish its figures) is believed to have carried out 230 in 2024. That means over 520 AVDs in total – and increase of more than 100%.
This striking increase is all the more surprising because several major countries such as Australia, Canada, Ireland, Spain and New Zealand all legalized assisted dying during that time. It may simply be that the increasing tempo of political debate about the subject spurred a greater awareness of the possibilities in Switzerland.
For 2025, we can expect a big further increase. Athanasios have arrived on the scene and are expecting to handle between 80 and 100 in their first year. The capacity of Pegasos is now over 300. We could, therefore be looking at a total of around 700 per year,
Where are they coming from ? All over, it seems, but there has been a huge increase from the USA, Dignitas, for example, conducted 22 AVDs upon American citizens in 2013 and 2014. In 2023 and 2024 that number reached almost 100.
