Oeschenbach

Oeschenbach
Country Switzerland Canton Bern District Oberaargau 47°6′N 7°45′E / 47.1°N 7.75°E / 47.1; 7.75Coordinates: 47°6′N 7°45′E / 47.1°N 7.75°E / 47.1; 7.75
Population	241 (Dec 2010)[1]
- Density	62 /km2 (160 /sq mi)
Area	3.9 km2 (1.5 sq mi)
Elevation	650 m (2,133 ft)
Postal code	4943
SFOS number	0335
Surrounded by	Ochlenberg, Ursenbach, Walterswil, Wynigen
Website	Oeschenbach.ch SFSO statistics
Oeschenbach
View map of Oeschenbach

Oeschenbach is a municipality in the Oberaargau administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland.

Geography

Oeschenbach has an area, as of 2009^[update], of 3.9 square kilometers (1.5 sq mi). Of this area, 2.51 km² (0.97 sq mi) or 64.4% is used for agricultural purposes, while 1.17 km² (0.45 sq mi) or 30.0% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 0.2 km² (0.077 sq mi) or 5.1% is settled (buildings or roads), 0.02 km² (4.9 acres) or 0.5% is either rivers or lakes.^[2]

Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 3.1% and transportation infrastructure made up 1.8%. Out of the forested land, all of the forested land area is covered with heavy forests. Of the agricultural land, 18.5% is used for growing crops and 44.1% is pastures, while 1.8% is used for orchards or vine crops. All the water in the municipality is in rivers and streams.^[2]

Demographics

Oeschenbach has a population (as of 31 December 2010) of 241.^[1] As of 2007^[update], 1.1% of the population was made up of foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years the population has decreased at a rate of -13.6%. Most of the population (as of 2000^[update]) speaks German (98.6%), with Albanian being second most common ( 0.7%) and French being third ( 0.4%).

In the 2007 election the most popular party was the SVP which received 69.9% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the CSP (14.5%), the Small right-wing parties (6.2%) and the SPS (5.5%).

The age distribution of the population (as of 2000^[update]) is children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 29% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 54.1% and the seniors (over 64 years old) make up 16.8%. In Oeschenbach about 63.7% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either university or a Fachhochschule).

Oeschenbach has an unemployment rate of 1.18%. As of 2005^[update], there were 68 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 22 businesses involved in this sector. 16 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 5 businesses in this sector. 28 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 7 businesses in this sector.^[3]

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 29-May-2009