Voters across Switzerland have rejected the 'No to ten million' immigration initiative in a nationwide referendum.

It was likened to a 'Swiss Brexit' but was rejected by the majority of cantons.

According to the final results, 54.8% of voters said no and 45.2% said yes.

The turnout was 58%, a rate very high compared to previous referendums.

Turnout was high in Swiss cities.

In Neuchatel, 67.3% of voters said 'no' to the initiative, while the figure was 65.4% in Geneva and 64.5% in canton Vaud.

German-speaking Basel city rejected the initiative with 73.5%. 

By contrast, the small canton of Appenzell in northeastern Switzerland voted 'yes' by a 65.9% majority.

The population of Zurich has voted against the initiative, rejecting it by 60.03% of the votes, according to final figures.

The initiative was put forward by the right-wing Swiss People's Party which claimed that "immigration is causing Switzerland to grow far too quickly causing overcrowded trains, congested roads, rising crime and a tight housing market".

In cities like Geneva, the housing shortage is a real problem.

Le Lignon is a housing development on the outskirts of Geneva, which today accommodates some 6500 residents.

Sonja, originally from Eastern Switzerland, has been living there for 20 years.

She says that "it's very hard to find something".

"Sometimes you have to wait for two, three or five years, it depends what you need.

"I've been looking for another apartment for one year, but until now I didn't have one positive answer."

The 'no to 10 million' initiative was opposed by the Swiss government and by many businesses who say that the economy needs foreign workers.

Opponents to the proposal said it would jeopardise Switzerland's prosperity and Switzerland's crucial access to Europe's single market.

It was a particular concern for sectors such as healthcare, construction, hospitality and tourism. 

Marie-Claud Borget-Dia has been managing Cafe Art's in Geneva for 28 years.

Like for many others in the sector, half of her workforce are foreign.

She said she was against the immigration cap and that for her, it "didn't matter where the people she employed were from, only what they brought to the cafe". 

Switzerland is home to about 9.1 million people, with almost 28% made up by foreigners. 

The population has grown by 23% since the agreement on free movement with the European Union came into force in 2002.

Following the referendum, some politicians said "the vote had opened a debate on how to manage population growth, which in Switzerland has outpaced that of neighboring countries".