Oppligen

Oppligen
Country Switzerland Canton Bern District Bern-Mittelland 46°49′N 7°36′E / 46.817°N 7.6°E / 46.817; 7.6Coordinates: 46°49′N 7°36′E / 46.817°N 7.6°E / 46.817; 7.6
Population	665 (Dec 2010)[1]
- Density	196 /km2 (507 /sq mi)
Area	3.4 km2 (1.3 sq mi)
Elevation	560 m (1,837 ft)
Postal code	3629
SFOS number	0622
Surrounded by	Brenzikofen, Heimberg, Herbligen, Kiesen, Wichtrach
Website	www.oppligen.ch SFSO statistics
Oppligen
View map of Oppligen

Oppligen is a municipality in the Bern-Mittelland administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland.

History

Oppligen is first mentioned in 1234 as Oppelingen.^[2]

Geography

Oppligen has an area, as of 2009^[update], of 3.41 square kilometers (1.32 sq mi). Of this area, 1.86 km² (0.72 sq mi) or 54.5% is used for agricultural purposes, while 1.09 km² (0.42 sq mi) or 32.0% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 0.41 km² (0.16 sq mi) or 12.0% is settled (buildings or roads), 0.04 km² (9.9 acres) or 1.2% is either rivers or lakes.^[3]

Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 5.0% and transportation infrastructure made up 4.4%. Power and water infrastructure as well as other special developed areas made up 1.8% of the area Out of the forested land, 29.9% of the total land area is heavily forested and 2.1% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 39.0% is used for growing crops and 14.1% is pastures, while 1.5% is used for orchards or vine crops. All the water in the municipality is in rivers and streams.^[3]

The municipality is located in the lower Kiesental and Rotachental (Kiesen and Rotachen Valleys) and includes the village of Oppligen and the hamlet of Rotachen.

Demographics

Oppligen has a population (as of 31 December 2010) of 665.^[1] As of 2007^[update], 3.7% of the population was made up of foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years the population has grown at a rate of 8.5%. Most of the population (as of 2000^[update]) speaks German (97.1%), with French being second most common (0.5%) and Portuguese being third (0.5%).

In the 2007 election the most popular party was the SVP which received 38.5% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the Green Party (16.8%), the SPS (16.4%) and the FDP (11.9%).

The age distribution of the population (as of 2000^[update]) is children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 28.1% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 59% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 12.9%. In Oppligen about 82.7% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either university or a Fachhochschule).

Oppligen has an unemployment rate of 0.98%. As of 2005^[update], there were 48 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 12 businesses involved in this sector. 63 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 3 businesses in this sector. 40 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 11 businesses in this sector.^[4] The historical population is given in the following table:^[2]

year	population
1764	219
1850	504
1900	433
1950	453
2000	590

External links

• Oppligen 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} Oppligen in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.
3. ^ ^{a b} Swiss Federal Statistical Office-Land Use Statistics 2009 data (German) accessed 25 March 2010
4. ^ Swiss Federal Statistical Office accessed 06-Jul-2009