Niederstocken

Niederstocken
Country Switzerland Canton Bern District Thun 46°42′N 7°35′E / 46.7°N 7.583°E / 46.7; 7.583Coordinates: 46°42′N 7°35′E / 46.7°N 7.583°E / 46.7; 7.583
Population	254 (Dec 2010)[1]
- Density	46 /km2 (120 /sq mi)
Area	5.5 km2 (2.1 sq mi)
Elevation	634 m (2,080 ft)
Postal code	3632
SFOS number	0764
Surrounded by	Erlenbach im Simmental, Höfen, Oberstocken, Reutigen
Website	Niederstocken.ch SFSO statistics
Niederstocken
View map of Niederstocken

Niederstocken is a municipality in the administrative district of Thun in the canton of Bern in Switzerland.

History

Niederstocken is first mentioned in 1351 as Stogken.^[2]

Geography

Niederstocken has an area, as of 2009^[update], of 5.48 square kilometers (2.12 sq mi). Of this area, 1.36 km² (0.53 sq mi) or 24.8% is used for agricultural purposes, while 3 km² (1.2 sq mi) or 54.7% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 0.2 km² (0.077 sq mi) or 3.6% is settled (buildings or roads), 0.01 km² (2.5 acres) or 0.2% is either rivers or lakes and 0.92 km² (0.36 sq mi) or 16.8% is unproductive land.^[3]

Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 2.4% and transportation infrastructure made up 1.3%. Out of the forested land, 50.2% of the total land area is heavily forested and 1.6% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 5.5% is used for growing crops and 16.2% is pastures and 2.9% is used for alpine pastures. All the water in the municipality is in rivers and streams. Of the unproductive areas, 10.4% is unproductive vegetation and 6.4% is too rocky for vegetation.^[3]

It is located in the Stockental (Stock Valley). The municipality stretchs from the valley up through forests and into the mountains, finally ending in the Stockhorn chain.

Demographics

Niederstocken has a population (as of 31 December 2010) of 254.^[1] As of 2007^[update], 2.1% of the population was made up of foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years the population has decreased at a rate of -0.7%. Most of the population (as of 2000^[update]) speaks German (97.6%), with Serbo-Croatian being second most common ( 1.0%) and French being third ( 0.3%).

In the 2007 election the most popular party was the SVP which received 54.9% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SPS (18.9%), the Green Party (10.1%) and the local small left-wing parties (7.3%).

The age distribution of the population (as of 2000^[update]) is children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 32% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 54.3% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 13.7%. In Niederstocken about 73.8% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either university or a Fachhochschule).

Niederstocken has an unemployment rate of 0.98%. As of 2005^[update], there were 31 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 11 businesses involved in this sector. 10 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 6 businesses in this sector. 50 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 7 businesses in this sector.^[4] The historical population is given in the following table:^[2]

year	population
1764	126
1850	240
1900	196
1950	259
2000	291

External links

• Niederstocken 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} Niederstocken 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 10-Jul-2009