Wassen

Wassen

Coat of arms
Wassen
Coordinates: 46°42′N 8°35′E / 46.700°N 8.583°ECoordinates: 46°42′N 8°35′E / 46.700°N 8.583°E
Country Switzerland
Canton Uri
District n.a.
Area[1]
 • Total 96.89 km2 (37.41 sq mi)
Elevation 930 m (3,050 ft)
Population (Dec 2013[2])
 • Total 429
 • Density 4.4/km2 (11/sq mi)
Postal code 6484
SFOS number 1220
Surrounded by Attinghausen, Engelberg (OW), Erstfeld, Gadmen (BE), Göschenen, Gurtnellen
Website www.wassen.ch
SFSO statistics

Wassen is a municipality in the canton of Uri in Switzerland.

Geography

Double loop curved tunnel on the Gotthardbahn rail line near Wassen

Wassen has an area, as of 2006, of 97 km2 (37 sq mi). Of this area, 12.5% is used for agricultural purposes, while 18.2% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 1.1% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (68.1%) is non-productive (rivers, glaciers or mountains).[3] In the 1993/97 land survey, 9.6% of the total land area was heavily forested, while 6.8% is covered in small trees and shrubbery. Of the agricultural land, 2.5% is used for orchards or vine crops and 10.1% is used for alpine pastures. Of the settled areas, 0.2% is covered with buildings, and 0.8% is transportation infrastructure. Of the unproductive areas, 0.1% is unproductive standing water (ponds or lakes), 1.2% is unproductive flowing water (rivers), 48.5% is too rocky for vegetation, and 18.3% is other unproductive land.[4]

It is on the Gotthard line and the rail line makes a double loop near Wassen to help the trains deal with the climb. The Susten Pass connects Wassen with Innertkirchen.

Demographics

Wassen in 1845

Wassen has a population (as of 31 December 2013) of 429.[2] As of 2007, 7.2% of the population was made up of foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years the population has decreased at a rate of -16%. Most of the population (as of 2000) speaks German (94.2%), with Serbo-Croatian being second most common (2.4%) and Italian being third (1.3%).[3] As of 2007 the gender distribution of the population was 51.8% male and 48.2% female.[5]

In the 2007 federal election the FDP party received 85.9% of the vote.[3]

In Wassen about 53% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either university or a Fachhochschule).[3]

Wassen has an unemployment rate of 0.64%. As of 2005, there were 43 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 18 businesses involved in this sector. 34 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 7 businesses in this sector. 121 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 18 businesses in this sector.[3]

The historical population is given in the following table:[6]

year population
1970 764
1980 671
1990 545
2000 465
2005 466
2007 456

References

  1. ↑ Arealstatistik Standard - Gemeindedaten nach 4 Hauptbereichen
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Swiss Federal Statistics Office – STAT-TAB Ständige und Nichtständige Wohnbevölkerung nach Region, Geschlecht, Nationalität und Alter (German) accessed 18 August 2014
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Swiss Federal Statistical Office accessed 09-Sep-2009
  4. ↑ Canton Uri - Ground use statistics (German) accessed 8 September 2009
  5. ↑ Uri Population statistics (German) accessed 8 September 2009
  6. ↑ Uri in Numbers 2009/10 edition (German) accessed 8 September 2009
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