- Oberwil im Simmental
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Oberwil im Simmental Country Switzerland 
Canton Bern District Frutigen-Niedersimmental 46°39′N 7°26′E / 46.65°N 7.433°ECoordinates: 46°39′N 7°26′E / 46.65°N 7.433°E 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
Oberwil im SimmentalMap of Oberwil im Simmental
Oberwil im Simmental is a municipality in the Frutigen-Niedersimmental administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland.
Contents
History
Oberwil is first mentioned in 1278 as Oberwile.[3]
Geography
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.
Demographics
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 1764 855 1850 1,405 1900 1,225 1950 1,076 2000 803 References
- ^ a b Swiss Federal Statistical Office - STAT-TAB, online database – Datenwürfel für Thema 01.2 - Bevölkerungsstand und -bewegung (German) accessed 29 September
- ^ Arealstatistik Standard - Gemeindedaten nach 4 Hauptbereichen
- ^ a b Oberwil in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.
- ^ a b Swiss Federal Statistical Office-Land Use Statistics 2009 data (German) accessed 25 March 2010
- ^ Swiss Federal Statistical Office accessed 10-Jul-2009
External links
- Oberwil in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.
Media related to Oberwil im Simmental at Wikimedia Commons
Adelboden | Aeschi bei Spiez | Därstetten | Diemtigen | Erlenbach im Simmental | Frutigen | Kandergrund | Kandersteg | Krattigen | Oberwil im Simmental | Reichenbach im Kandertal | Spiez | Wimmis
Canton of Bern | Districts of Canton Bern | Municipalities of the canton of Bern
Categories:- Municipalities of Bern
- Municipalities of Switzerland
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