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Affoltern am Albis
Affoltern am Albis
Canton	Zurich
District	Affoltern
	47°17′N 8°27′E / 47.283°N 8.45°ECoordinates: 47°17′N 8°27′E / 47.283°N 8.45°E
Population	10,410 (December 2007)
- Density	986 /km2 (2,553 /sq mi)
Area	10.56 km2 (4.08 sq mi)
Elevation	494 m (1,621 ft)
Postal code	8910
SFOS number	0002
Surrounded by	Aeugst am Albis, Hedingen, Jonen (AG), Mettmenstetten, Obfelden, Ottenbach, Stallikon
Website	www.affoltern-am-albis.ch; SFSO statistics
; Affoltern am Albis

For the municipality in the Canton of Bern, see Affoltern im Emmental.

Affoltern

Affoltern am Albis is a municipality in the district of Affoltern in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland. It is the smallest city of Switzerland. In Switzerland a city is defined as having at least 10,000 inhabitants.

[edit] History

Affoltern is first mentioned in 1190 as Afiltre.^[1]

[edit] Geography

Affoltern Church

Affoltern has an area of 10.6 square kilometers (4.1 sq mi). Of this area, 45.7% is used for agricultural purposes, while 28.9% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 25% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (0.5%) is non-productive (rivers, glaciers or mountains).^[2]

The municipality is located west of the Albis hills in the moraine landscape around the Reuss River. It was created in the 19th Century through the merger of Ober- and Unteraffoltern, Zwillikon and Loo-Fehrenbach.

[edit] Demographics

Affoltern has a population (as of 2007^[update]) of 10,410, of which 25.5% are foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years the population has grown at a rate of 9.8%. Most of the population (as of 2000^[update]) speaks German (82.5%), with Italian being second most common ( 5.0%) and Serbo-Croatian being third ( 3.7%).

In the 2007 election the most popular party was the SVP which received 37.5% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SPS (17.3%), the FDP (11.4%) and the CSP (11.3%).

The age distribution of the population (as of 2000^[update]) is children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 25.2% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 62.4% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 12.3%. The entire Swiss population is generally well educated. In Affoltern about 71% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either University or a Fachhochschule).

Affoltern has an unemployment rate of 2.8%. As of 2005^[update], there were 85 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 33 businesses involved in this sector. 1238 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 126 businesses in this sector. 3533 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 441 businesses in this sector.^[2] The historical population is given in the following table:^[1]

year	population
until about 1700	100-250
1736	1,060
1850	1,855
1900	2,779
1950	3,484
2000	10,314

[edit] Transport

Affoltern is a stop respecitvely terminal station of the Zürich S-Bahn on the lines S9 and S15. Its train station is a 29 minute ride from Zürich Hauptbahnhof.

[edit] References

^ ^a ^b Affoltern in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.
^ ^a ^b Swiss Federal Statistical Office accessed 22-Jul-2009

[edit] External links

Official website (German)
Affoltern am Albis in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Affoltern am Albis

[HDS-0] Affoltern in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.

[SFSO-1] Swiss Federal Statistical Office accessed 22-Jul-2009

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