In a statement, the department said there are now enough day care (Kita) places to meet demand.

With spots available for 80.5 percent of pre-school aged children (up to six-years old) in the city, waiting lists are now a thing of the past, the head of Zurich’s Social Welfare department, Raphael Golta told the media.

Golta added there were also enough subsidized spots to cover requirements.

A screen grab of an interactive map showing the locations of Zurich's city-run Kitas. 

Zurich’s 329 Kitas offered a total of 10,680 spots last year. Most of these Kitas are private, but 12 are run by the city. These 12 centres offer special services to parents working shifts.

Zurich spent 86.5 million Swiss francs (€77.7 million) on Kitas last year including subsidies for private facilities. Part of this outlay went towards subsidies for parents of children with special needs who might not otherwise receive financial assistance.

Future city plans include boosting the quality of childcare and improving employment conditions for Kita staff.

Switzerland 'least-family friendly'

The news from Zurich comes in the wake of a recent study from Unicef which named Switzerland as the least family-friendly country in Europe.

The study, based on data from 2016, took into account national policies on paid parental leave for mothers and fathers, accessibility of childcare services for pre-school aged kids, and breast-feeding rates. 

It found that 29.8 percent of children aged under three were enrolled in kindergarten while this figure was 66 for children aged from three to compulsory school age.

Read also: Opinion – the benefits of raising children in Switzerland