Untersteckholz

Untersteckholz
Former municipality of Switzerland
Coat of arms
Untersteckholz
Location of Untersteckholz
Coordinates: 47°13′N 7°51′E / 47.217°N 7.850°E / 47.217; 7.850Coordinates: 47°13′N 7°51′E / 47.217°N 7.850°E / 47.217; 7.850
Country	Switzerland
Canton	Bern
District	Aarwangen
Area
• Total	2.8 km2 (1.1 sq mi)
Elevation	492 m (1,614 ft)
Population (December 2013)
• Total	166
• Density	59/km2 (150/sq mi)
Postal code	4916
SFOS number	0343
Surrounded by	Busswil bei Melchnau, Langenthal, Melchnau, Obersteckholz, Pfaffnau (LU), Roggwil
Website	SFSO statistics

Untersteckholz was a municipality in the district of Aarwangen in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. On 1 January 2010 Untersteckholz merged into Langenthal.^[1]

Geography

Before the merge, Untersteckholz had an area, as of 2009, of 2.83 km² (1.09 sq mi). Of this area, 2.09 km² (0.81 sq mi) or 73.9% is used for agricultural purposes, while 0.59 km² (0.23 sq mi) or 20.8% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 0.16 km² (0.062 sq mi) or 5.7% is settled (buildings or roads).^[2]

Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 2.1% and transportation infrastructure made up 3.2%. 17.7% of the total land area is heavily forested and 3.2% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 56.5% is used for growing crops and 14.1% is pastures, while 3.2% is used for orchards or vine crops.^[2]

Demographics

Untersteckholz has a population (as of 31 December 2013) of 166.^[3] As of 2007, 1.2% of the population was made up of foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years the population has grown at a rate of 5.8%. Most of the population (as of 2000) speaks German (97.6%), with Rhaeto-romance being second most common ( 0.6%) and Russian being third ( 0.6%).

In the 2007 election the most popular party was the SVP which received 65.3% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the FDP (11.3%), the Green Party (11.1%) and the local small left-wing parties (5.9%).

The age distribution of the population (as of 2000) is children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 18.6% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 61.7% and the seniors (over 64 years old) make up 19.8%. In Untersteckholz about 79.7% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either University or a Fachhochschule).

Untersteckholz has an unemployment rate of 0.17%. As of 2005, there were 58 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 14 businesses involved in this sector. 16 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 5 businesses in this sector. 11 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 2 businesses in this sector.^[4]

References