The song form was selected for inclusion on the UN body UNESCO's list of "intangible cultural heritage of humanity" during a high-level meeting in New Delhi.
The news is likely to please Switzerland's nearly 12,000 yodelers, many of them members of one of the country's more than 700 yodeling clubs.
"The song is a symbol of Switzerland, it encompasses a range of artistic expressions and is deeply rooted in the population," said a statement from the Ministry of Culture in Bern, which promoted the candidacy.
Yodeling is thought to have originated as a way of communicating, primarily between shepherds in the mountains of the Alps. The characteristic singing form is also found in Austria and Germany.
