Niederösch

Niederösch
Country Switzerland Canton Bern District Emmental 47°7′N 7°37′E / 47.117°N 7.617°E / 47.117; 7.617Coordinates: 47°7′N 7°37′E / 47.117°N 7.617°E / 47.117; 7.617
Population	241 (Dec 2010)[1]
- Density	52 /km2 (136 /sq mi)
Area	4.63 km2 (1.79 sq mi)[2]
Elevation	485 m (1,591 ft)
Postal code	3424
SFOS number	0417
Surrounded by	Alchenstorf, Koppigen, Oberösch, Rumendingen, Utzenstorf
Website	Niederösch.ch SFSO statistics
Niederösch
Map of Niederösch

Niederösch is a municipality in the administrative district of Emmental in the canton of Bern in Switzerland.

History

Niederösch is first mentioned in 886 as Osse and is mentioned in 1310 as villa Öschge inferioris.^[3]

Geography

Niederösch has an area, as of 2009^[update], of 4.63 km² (1.79 sq mi). Of this area, 3.16 km² (1.22 sq mi) or 68.3% is used for agricultural purposes, while 1.23 km² (0.47 sq mi) or 26.6% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 0.23 km² (0.089 sq mi) or 5.0% is settled (buildings or roads).^[4]

Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 3.0% and transportation infrastructure made up 1.7%. 26.3% of the total land area is heavily forested. Of the agricultural land, 54.6% is used for growing crops and 12.7% is pastures.^[4]

Niederösch consists of the Straßendorf (a village that lies almost entirely along a single road) of Ober- (Upper Village) and Unterdorf (Lower Village) on the Ösch river and the farm Rychebrunne.

Demographics

Niederösch has a population (as of 31 December 2010) of 241.^[1] As of 2007^[update], 1.4% of the population was made up of foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years the population has grown at a rate of 3.3%. Most of the population (as of 2000^[update]) speaks German (97.1%), with French being second most common ( 1.4%) and Italian being third ( 1.0%).

In the 2007 election the most popular party was the SVP which received 61.5% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SPS (11.9%), the Green Party (7.7%) and the FDP (5.9%).

The age distribution of the population (as of 2000^[update]) is children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 22.4% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 62.4% and the seniors (over 64 years old) make up 15.2%. In Niederösch about 78.9% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either university or a Fachhochschule).

Niederösch has an unemployment rate of 0.35%. As of 2005^[update], there were 53 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 17 businesses involved in this sector. 6 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 2 businesses in this sector. 21 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 4 businesses in this sector.^[5] The historical population is given in the following table:^[3]

year	population
1764	195
1850	362
1900	346
1950	324
2000	210

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