Ochlenberg

Ochlenberg
Country	Switzerland
Canton	Bern
District	Oberaargau
Coordinates	47°9′N 7°44′E / 47.15°N 7.733°E / 47.15; 7.733Coordinates: 47°9′N 7°44′E / 47.15°N 7.733°E / 47.15; 7.733
Population	577 (Dec 2010)[1]
- Density	48 /km2 (124 /sq mi)
Area	12.13 km2 (4.68 sq mi)[2]
Elevation	580 m (1,903 ft)
Postal code	3367
SFOS number	0985
Surrounded by	Bleienbach, Bollodingen, Hermiswil, Leimiswil, Oeschenbach, Rütschelen, Seeberg, Thörigen, Ursenbach, Wynigen
Website	Ochlenberg.ch SFSO statistics
Ochlenberg
Map of Ochlenberg

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

History

Ochlenberg is first mentioned in 1612 as Ochliberg.^[3]

Geography

Ochlenberg has an area, as of 2009^[update], of 12.13 square kilometers (4.68 sq mi). Of this area, 7.61 km² (2.94 sq mi) or 62.7% is used for agricultural purposes, while 3.93 km² (1.52 sq mi) or 32.4% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 0.52 km² (0.20 sq mi) or 4.3% is settled (buildings or roads), 0.02 km² (4.9 acres) or 0.2% is either rivers or lakes.^[4]

Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 2.5% and transportation infrastructure made up 1.7%. Out of the forested land, 31.3% of the total land area is heavily forested and 1.1% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 31.2% is used for growing crops and 29.2% is pastures, while 2.4% is used for orchards or vine crops. All the water in the municipality is in rivers and streams.^[4]

Demographics

Ochlenberg has a population (as of 31 December 2010) of 577.^[1] As of 2007^[update], 1.0% of the population was made up of foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years the population has decreased at a rate of -11.9%. Most of the population (as of 2000^[update]) speaks German (99.4%), with French being second most common ( 0.5%) and Russian being third ( 0.2%).

In the 2007 election the most popular party was the SVP which received 65.6% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the CSP (9.9%), the SPS (6.8%) and the Green Party (6.6%).

The age distribution of the population (as of 2000^[update]) is children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 25.6% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 54.3% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 20.1%. In Ochlenberg about 79.9% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either university or a Fachhochschule).

Ochlenberg has an unemployment rate of 0.55%. As of 2005^[update], there were 212 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 67 businesses involved in this sector. 4 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 3 businesses in this sector. 9 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	666
1850	1,093
1900	914
1950	839
2000	641

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} Ochlenberg 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 21-Jul-2009

External links

• Ochlenberg in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.