Oberthal, Switzerland

Oberthal
Country Switzerland
Canton Bern
District Bern-Mittelland
Coordinates
Population 786 (Dec 2010)[1]
- Density 75 /km2 (193 /sq mi)
Area  10.54 km2 (4.07 sq mi)[2]
Elevation 822 m (2,697 ft)
Postal code 3531
SFOS number 0620
Surrounded by Arni, Bowil, Grosshöchstetten, Lauperswil, Signau, Zäziwil
Website www.oberthal.ch
SFSO statistics
Oberthal

Oberthal is a municipality in the Bern-Mittelland administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland.

Contents

History

Oberthal is first mentioned in 1275 as mons Obertal.[3]

Geography

Oberthal has an area, as of 2009, of 10.54 square kilometers (4.07 sq mi). Of this area, 6.65 km2 (2.57 sq mi) or 63.1% is used for agricultural purposes, while 3.39 km2 (1.31 sq mi) or 32.2% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 0.57 km2 (0.22 sq mi) or 5.4% is settled (buildings or roads).[4]

Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 3.1% and transportation infrastructure made up 2.1%. Out of the forested land, 30.8% of the total land area is heavily forested and 1.3% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 20.4% is used for growing crops and 41.5% is pastures, while 1.2% is used for orchards or vine crops.[4]

The municipality lacks a central village, instead it is made up of scattered settlements and farm houses on the Blasenfluh above the Kiesental (Kiesen Valley).

Demographics

Oberthal has a population (as of 31 December 2010) of 786.[1] As of 2007, 1.9% of the population was made up of foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years the population has decreased at a rate of -5.8%. Most of the population (as of 2000) speaks German (99.4%), with French being second most common ( 0.3%) and English being third ( 0.3%).

In the 2007 election the most popular party was the SVP which received 63% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the Green Party (8.3%), the FDP (7.6%) and the SPS (6.8%).

The age distribution of the population (as of 2000) is children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 26% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 59.3% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 14.8%. In Oberthal about 70.3% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either university or a Fachhochschule).

Oberthal has an unemployment rate of 0.38%. As of 2005, there were 175 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 64 businesses involved in this sector. 78 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 9 businesses in this sector. 98 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 595
1850 1,089
1900 866
1950 880
2000 800

External links

References

  1. ^ a b Swiss Federal Statistical Office - STAT-TAB, online database – Datenwürfel für Thema 01.2 - Bevölkerungsstand und -bewegung (German) accessed 29 September
  2. ^ Arealstatistik Standard - Gemeindedaten nach 4 Hauptbereichen
  3. ^ a b Oberthal in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.
  4. ^ a b Swiss Federal Statistical Office-Land Use Statistics 2009 data (German) accessed 25 March 2010
  5. ^ Swiss Federal Statistical Office accessed 06-Jul-2009