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Building age in Basel

Municipality in the canton of Basel-Stadt · FSO no. 2701

Building register (GWR) export of September 2026, parcel data of July 2025.

Key figures

Parcels with a building
15’731
15’698 of them with a known construction year
Median construction year
1932Canton: 1936Switzerland: 1976
Median building age
94 yearsCanton: 90 yearsSwitzerland: 50 years
Built 1960 or earlier
78.2%Canton: 71.8%Switzerland: 32.5%
Built after 2000
4.5%Canton: 5.9%Switzerland: 23.3%

About the building stock in Basel

The parcel data lists 15’731 parcels with a building in Basel. For 15’698 of them (99.8%) the federal building register (GWR) gives a construction year, taken from the newest building on the parcel. The median construction year is 1932, so the median parcel with a building is 94 years old. 78.2% of the parcels with a known year were built in 1960 or earlier and 4.5% after 2000. The largest period is 1920-1945 with 35.0%. For comparison, the median construction year is 1936 in the canton of Basel-Stadt and 1976 in Switzerland. 33 parcels with a building have no usable construction year and are left out of the shares.

Construction-year histogram

Parcels with a building by construction period, as a share of the 15’698 parcels with a known year. The periods are not equally long, so read the bars as shares of the stock, not as building activity per year.

  1. 29.5%before 1920: 29.5%, 4’631 parcels
  2. 35.0%1920-1945: 35.0%, 5’494 parcels
  3. 13.7%1946-1960: 13.7%, 2’157 parcels
  4. 12.8%1961-1980: 12.8%, 2’011 parcels
  5. 4.5%1981-2000: 4.5%, 699 parcels
  6. 1.8%2001-2010: 1.8%, 287 parcels
  7. 1.9%2011-2020: 1.9%, 294 parcels
  8. 0.8%2021 and later: 0.8%, 125 parcels

Building age distribution

The same parcels grouped by the age of their newest building in 2026.

  • 66 years or older (built 1960 or earlier)78.2%12’282 parcels
  • 46 to 65 years (built 1961-1980)12.8%2’011 parcels
  • 26 to 45 years (built 1981-2000)4.5%699 parcels
  • Up to 25 years (built 2001 or later)4.5%706 parcels

How to read these figures

The parcel data links every parcel to the federal building register (GWR). A parcel counts once, with the construction year of its newest building. Where the register gives only a construction period, the middle of the period is used.

The figures count parcels with a building, not individual buildings. A parcel with several buildings counts once, and a parcel without a building is not counted.

Building age is 2026 minus the construction year. Every share divides by the parcels with a known construction year.

See it on the map

roots colors every parcel by construction year, from deep red for the oldest buildings to pale cream for the newest.

Open the roots map in Basel

Other large municipalities in the canton of Basel-Stadt