| Niederstocken | ||||||||||
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| Population | 254 (Dec 2010)[1] | |||||||||
| - Density | 46 /km2 (120 /sq mi) | |||||||||
| Area | 5.48 km2 (2.12 sq mi)[2] | |||||||||
| Elevation | 634 m (2,080 ft) | |||||||||
| Postal code | 3632 | |||||||||
| SFOS number | 0764 | |||||||||
| Surrounded by | Erlenbach im Simmental, Höfen, Oberstocken, Reutigen | |||||||||
| Website | Niederstocken.ch SFSO statistics |
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Niederstocken
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Map of Niederstocken
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Niederstocken is a municipality in the administrative district of Thun in the canton of Bern in Switzerland.
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Niederstocken is first mentioned in 1351 as Stogken.[3]
Niederstocken has an area, as of 2009[update], of 5.48 square kilometers (2.12 sq mi). Of this area, 1.36 km2 (0.53 sq mi) or 24.8% is used for agricultural purposes, while 3 km2 (1.2 sq mi) or 54.7% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 0.2 km2 (0.077 sq mi) or 3.6% is settled (buildings or roads), 0.01 km2 (2.5 acres) or 0.2% is either rivers or lakes and 0.92 km2 (0.36 sq mi) or 16.8% is unproductive land.[4]
Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 2.4% and transportation infrastructure made up 1.3%. Out of the forested land, 50.2% of the total land area is heavily forested and 1.6% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 5.5% is used for growing crops and 16.2% is pastures and 2.9% is used for alpine pastures. All the water in the municipality is in rivers and streams. Of the unproductive areas, 10.4% is unproductive vegetation and 6.4% is too rocky for vegetation.[4]
It is located in the Stockental (Stock Valley). The municipality stretchs from the valley up through forests and into the mountains, finally ending in the Stockhorn chain.
Niederstocken has a population (as of 31 December 2010) of 254.[1] As of 2007[update], 2.1% of the population was made up of foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years the population has decreased at a rate of -0.7%. Most of the population (as of 2000[update]) speaks German (97.6%), with Serbo-Croatian being second most common ( 1.0%) and French being third ( 0.3%).
In the 2007 election the most popular party was the SVP which received 54.9% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SPS (18.9%), the Green Party (10.1%) and the local small left-wing parties (7.3%).
The age distribution of the population (as of 2000[update]) is children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 32% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 54.3% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 13.7%. In Niederstocken about 73.8% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either university or a Fachhochschule).
Niederstocken has an unemployment rate of 0.98%. As of 2005[update], there were 31 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 11 businesses involved in this sector. 10 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 6 businesses in this sector. 50 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 7 businesses in this sector.[5] The historical population is given in the following table:[3]
| year | population |
|---|---|
| 1764 | 126 |
| 1850 | 240 |
| 1900 | 196 |
| 1950 | 259 |
| 2000 | 291 |