| Oberwil im Simmental | ||||||||||
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| Population | 805 (Dec 2010)[1] | |||||||||
| - Density | 18 /km2 (45 /sq mi) | |||||||||
| Area | 46.09 km2 (17.80 sq mi)[2] | |||||||||
| Elevation | 836 m (2,743 ft) | |||||||||
| Postal code | 3765 | |||||||||
| SFOS number | 0766 | |||||||||
| Surrounded by | Boltigen, Därstetten, Diemtigen, Guggisberg, Plaffeien (FR), Rüschegg | |||||||||
| Website | www.oberwil-im-simmental.ch SFSO statistics |
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Oberwil im Simmental
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Map of Oberwil im Simmental
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Oberwil im Simmental is a municipality in the Frutigen-Niedersimmental administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland.
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Oberwil is first mentioned in 1278 as Oberwile.[3]
Oberwil im Simmental has an area, as of 2009[update], of 46.09 square kilometers (17.80 sq mi). Of this area, 23.69 km2 (9.15 sq mi) or 51.4% is used for agricultural purposes, while 15.57 km2 (6.01 sq mi) or 33.8% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 1.16 km2 (0.45 sq mi) or 2.5% is settled (buildings or roads), 0.28 km2 (0.11 sq mi) or 0.6% is either rivers or lakes and 5.3 km2 (2.0 sq mi) or 11.5% is unproductive land.[4]
Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 1.1% and transportation infrastructure made up 1.3%. Out of the forested land, 27.6% of the total land area is heavily forested and 5.6% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 18.8% is pastures and 32.5% is used for alpine pastures. All the water in the municipality is in rivers and streams. Of the unproductive areas, 7.3% is unproductive vegetation and 4.2% is too rocky for vegetation.[4]
Oberwil is a very large and undeveloped area. It includes large patchs of alpine and forested regions on both sides of the valley. The main settlements are the farming settlements (Bäuerten) of Oberwil, Hintereggen, Pfaffenried, Bunschen and Waldried.
Oberwil has a population (as of 31 December 2010) of 805.[1] As of 2007[update], 2.5% of the population was made up of foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years the population has decreased at a rate of -10.9%. Most of the population (as of 2000[update]) speaks German (99.1%), with French being second most common ( 0.1%) and Rhaeto-romance being third ( 0.1%).
In the 2007 election the most popular party was the SVP which received 61.4% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the local small left-wing parties (17.9%), the SPS (7.9%) and the Green Party (5.4%).
The age distribution of the population (as of 2000[update]) is children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 23% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 56.3% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 20.7%. In Oberwil about 49.8% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either university or a Fachhochschule).
Oberwil has an unemployment rate of 0.71%. As of 2005[update], there were 210 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 82 businesses involved in this sector. 66 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 15 businesses in this sector. 49 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 19 businesses in this sector.[5] The historical population is given in the following table:[3]
| year | population |
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| 1764 | 855 |
| 1850 | 1,405 |
| 1900 | 1,225 |
| 1950 | 1,076 |
| 2000 | 803 |
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