Oberurnen

Oberurnen
Country Switzerland Canton Glarus District n.a. 47°6′N 9°3′E / 47.1°N 9.05°E / 47.1; 9.05Coordinates: 47°6′N 9°3′E / 47.1°N 9.05°E / 47.1; 9.05
Population	1,955 (December 2009)
- Density	152 /km2 (395 /sq mi)
Area	12.82 km2 (4.95 sq mi)
Elevation	430 m (1,411 ft)
Postal code	8868
SFOS number	1623
Surrounded by	Innerthal (SZ), Mollis, Näfels, Niederurnen, Schübelbach (SZ)
Website	www.oberurnen.ch SFSO statistics
Oberurnen
Map of Oberurnen

Oberurnen is a former municipality in the canton of Glarus in Switzerland. Effective from 1 January 2011, Oberurnen is part of the municipality of Glarus Nord.

History

Oberurnen is first mentioned in 1340 as Obern Urannen.^[1]

Geography

Oberurnen has an area, as of 2006^[update], of 12.8 km² (4.9 sq mi). Of this area, 45.2% is used for agricultural purposes, while 40.6% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 4.1% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (10.2%) is non-productive (rivers, glaciers or mountains).^[2]

Oberurnen is located in the Glarner Unterland.

Demographics

Oberurnen Catholic Church

Oberurnen has a population (as of 31 December 2009) of 1,955.^[3] As of 2007^[update], 24.2% of the population was made up of foreign nationals.^[4] Over the last 10 years the population has grown at a rate of 0.5%. Most of the population (as of 2000^[update]) speaks German (79.8%), with Italian being second most common ( 8.2%) and Albanian being third ( 3.6%).^[2]

In the 2007 federal election the most popular party was the SPS which received 44.9% of the vote. Most of the rest of the votes went to the SVP with 44.2% of the vote.^[2]

The entire Swiss population is generally well educated. In Oberurnen about 56.9% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either University or a Fachhochschule).^[2]

Oberurnen has an unemployment rate of 2.46%. As of 2005^[update], there were 53 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 21 businesses involved in this sector. 82 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 19 businesses in this sector. 129 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 42 businesses in this sector.^[2]

The historical population is given in the following table:^[1]

year	population
1850	691
1900	862
1950	1,181
2000	1,811

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Oberurnen in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.
2. ^ ^{a b c d e} Swiss Federal Statistical Office accessed 14-Sep-2009
3. ^ Swiss Federal Statistical Office (German) accessed 4 April 2011. Numbers are from December 2009 but cover the new municipal borders from 2011.
4. ^ Canton Glarus population growth (German) accessed 9 September 2009