Fourteen referendums were held in Switzerland in 1978. The first four were held on 26 February on a popular initiative "for more co-decisions of the Federal Assembly and the People on national road making" (rejected), an amendment to the federal law on aged and bereaved insurance (approved), a popular initiative to lower the retirement age (rejected) and amending the article on the economic cycle in the Swiss Federal Constitution (approved). The next five referendums were held on 28 May on a law on time (rejected), an amendment to the tariff law (approved), a new federal law banning abortion (rejected), a federal law on promoting research and universities (rejected) and a popular initiative "for 12 Sundays a year free from motor vehicles" (rejected).
A tenth referendum was held on 24 September on creating a new canton named Jura, which was approved. The final set of referendums was held on 3 December on a resolution on dairy farming (approved), an animal protection law (approved), a federal law on security (rejected) and a federal law on vocational education (approved).