Cormoret

Cormoret
Country Switzerland Canton Bern District Jura bernois 47°11′N 7°3′E / 47.183°N 7.05°E / 47.183; 7.05Coordinates: 47°11′N 7°3′E / 47.183°N 7.05°E / 47.183; 7.05
Population	509 (Dec 2010)[1]
- Density	38 /km2 (98 /sq mi)
Area	13.43 km2 (5.19 sq mi)
Elevation	706 m (2,316 ft)
Postal code	2612
SFOS number	0432
Surrounded by	Villeret, Nods, Courtelary, Les Breuleux (JU)
Website	www.cormoret.ch SFSO statistics
Cormoret
View map of Cormoret

Cormoret is a municipality in the Jura bernois administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. It is located in the French-speaking Bernese Jura (Jura Bernois).

History

Cormoret is first mentioned in 1178 as Cormoret. By the end of the 12th Century Cormoret was owned by the town of Saint-Imier. In 1317 Rodolphe IV., count of Neuchâtel granted the village and inhabitants to Jean Compagnet de Courtelary, under the authority of the Prince-Bishop of Basel. Cormoret belonged to the Barony of Erguel. In 1530 the village adopted the Reformed faith.

Geography

Cormoret has an area, as of 2009^[update], of 13.49 km² (5.21 sq mi). Of this area, 7.31 km² (2.82 sq mi) or 54.2% is used for agricultural purposes, while 5.7 km² (2.2 sq mi) or 42.3% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 0.45 km² (0.17 sq mi) or 3.3% is settled (buildings or roads), 0.03 km² (7.4 acres) or 0.2% is either rivers or lakes and 0.02 km² (4.9 acres) or 0.1% is unproductive land.^[2]

Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 1.4% and transportation infrastructure made up 1.7%. 36.8% of the total land area is heavily forested and 5.5% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 8.5% is used for growing crops and 9.6% is pastures and 36.0% is used for alpine pastures. All the water in the municipality is in rivers and streams.^[2]

Demographics

Cormoret has a population (as of 31 December 2010) of 509.^[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 -7.1%. Most of the population (as of 2000^[update]) speaks French (86.6%), with German being second most common (11.7%) and Russian being third ( 0.4%).

In the 2007 election the most popular party was the SVP which received 42.9% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the Green Party (21.1%), the SPS (17.8%) and the FDP (9.8%).

The age distribution of the population (as of 2000^[update]) is children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 28.5% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 52.1% and the seniors (over 64 years old) make up 19.4%. The entire Swiss population is generally well educated. In Cormoret about 72% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either University or a Fachhochschule).

Cormoret has an unemployment rate of 1.45%. As of 2005^[update], there were 32 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 12 businesses involved in this sector. 44 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 9 businesses in this sector. 41 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 11 businesses in this sector.^[3] The historical population is given in the following table:^[4]

year	population
1800	275
1850	478
1900	669
1950	663
2000	530

External links

• http://www.cormoret.ch Official website
• Cormoret in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.

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. ^ ^{a b} Swiss Federal Statistical Office-Land Use Statistics 2009 data (German) accessed 25 March 2010
3. ^ Swiss Federal Statistical Office accessed 04-Jun-2009
4. ^ Cormoret in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.