| Gals | ||||||||||
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| Population | 718 (Dec 2010)[1] | |||||||||
| - Density | 92 /km2 (237 /sq mi) | |||||||||
| Area | 7.86 km2 (3.03 sq mi)[2] | |||||||||
| Elevation | 445 m (1,460 ft) | |||||||||
| Postal code | 3238 | |||||||||
| SFOS number | 0494 | |||||||||
| Mayor | Andres Schreyer | |||||||||
| Surrounded by | Cornaux (NE), Cressier (NE), Erlach, Gampelen, La Neuveville, Le Landeron (NE), Thielle-Wavre (NE), Tschugg | |||||||||
| Website | www.gals.ch SFSO statistics |
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Gals
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Map of Gals
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Gals (French: Chules) is a municipality in the Seeland administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland.
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Gals is first mentioned in 1185 as Galles. In French it was known as Chules.[3]
Gals has an area, as of 2009[update], of 7.86 km2 (3.03 sq mi). Of this area, 4.19 km2 (1.62 sq mi) or 53.3% is used for agricultural purposes, while 2.67 km2 (1.03 sq mi) or 34.0% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 0.64 km2 (0.25 sq mi) or 8.1% is settled (buildings or roads), 0.4 km2 (0.15 sq mi) or 5.1% is either rivers or lakes and 0.01 km2 (2.5 acres) or 0.1% is unproductive land.[4]
Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 4.1% and transportation infrastructure made up 3.4%. 32.4% of the total land area is heavily forested and 1.5% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 46.1% is used for growing crops and 5.5% is pastures, while 1.8% is used for orchards or vine crops. All the water in the municipality is in rivers and streams.[4]
The municipality lies between the Zihl Canal (Thielle), Lake Biel and Jolimont. It includes the sections Bethlehem, Zihlbrücke and the Massnahmenzentrum St. Johannsen.
Gals has a population (as of 31 December 2010) of 718.[1] As of 2007[update], 7.3% of the population was made up of foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years the population has grown at a rate of 12.2%. Most of the population (as of 2000[update]) speaks German (79.0%), with French being second most common (15.5%) and Spanish being third ( 0.7%).
In the 2007 election the most popular party was the SVP which received 36.1% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SPS (24.8%), the FDP (11.4%) and the Green Party (10.8%).
The age distribution of the population (as of 2000[update]) is children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 18.4% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 65.6% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 16%. The entire Swiss population is generally well educated. In Gals about 76.5% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either university or a Fachhochschule).
Gals has an unemployment rate of 0.8%. As of 2005[update], there were 63 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 19 businesses involved in this sector. 187 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 8 businesses in this sector. 229 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 22 businesses in this sector.[5] The historical population is given in the following table:[3]
| year | population |
|---|---|
| 1764 | 221 |
| 1850 | 476 |
| 1900 | 637 |
| 1920 | 757 |
| 1950 | 636 |
| 2000 | 689 |