Lichtensteig

Coat of arms

The blazon of the municipal coat of arms is Per pale Gules and Sable overall a letter L Or

Demographics

Lichtensteig has a population (as of 31 December 2013) of 1,949. As of 2007, about 19.1% of the population was made up of foreign nationals. Of the foreign population, (as of 2000), 31 are from Germany, 82 are from Italy, 113 are from ex-Yugoslavia, 13 are from Austria, 43 are from Turkey, and 91 are from another country. Over the last 10 years the population has decreased at a rate of -5.4%. Most of the population (as of 2000) speaks German (89.6%), with Italian being second most common ( 2.7%) and Serbo-Croatian being third ( 2.0%). Of the Swiss national languages (as of 2000), 1,697 speak German, 5 people speak French, 52 people speak Italian, and 1 person speaks Romansh.

The age distribution, as of 2000, in Lichtensteig is; 188 children or 9.9% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old and 247 teenagers or 13.0% are between 10 and 19. Of the adult population, 268 people or 14.2% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 328 people or 17.3% are between 30 and 39, 261 people or 13.8% are between 40 and 49, and 214 people or 11.3% are between 50 and 59. The senior population distribution is 176 people or 9.3% of the population are between 60 and 69 years old, 140 people or 7.4% are between 70 and 79, there are 62 people or 3.3% who are between 80 and 89, and there are 9 people or 0.5% who are between 90 and 99.

In 2000 there were 371 persons (or 19.6% of the population) who were living alone in a private dwelling. There were 433 (or 22.9%) persons who were part of a couple (married or otherwise committed) without children, and 926 (or 48.9%) who were part of a couple with children. There were 94 (or 5.0%) people who lived in single parent home, while there are 4 persons who were adult children living with one or both parents, 22 who lived household made up of unrelated persons, and 43 who are either institutionalized or live in another type of collective housing.

In the 2007 federal election the most popular party was the SVP which received 28.1% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the CVP (22.4%), the FDP (19.5%) and the SP (14.6%).

The entire Swiss population is generally well educated. In Lichtensteig about 69.2% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either university or a Fachhochschule). Out of the total population in Lichtensteig, as of 2000, the highest education level completed by 433 people (22.9% of the population) was Primary, while 739 (39.0%) have completed their secondary education, 207 (10.9%) have attended a Tertiary school, and 83 (4.4%) are not in school. The remainder did not answer this question.

The historical population is given in the following table:

Heritage sites of national significance

The Old Town Council building at Hintergasse 22 is listed as a Swiss heritage site of national significance. The entire village of Lichtensteig is designated as part of the Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites.

Religion

From the 2000 census, 984 or 52.0% are Roman Catholic, while 555 or 29.3% belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church. Of the rest of the population, there is 1 individual who belongs to the Christian Catholic faith, there are 46 individuals (or about 2.43% of the population) who belong to the Orthodox Church, and there are 21 individuals (or about 1.11% of the population) who belong to another Christian church. There are 95 (or about 5.02% of the population) who are Islamic. There are 32 individuals (or about 1.69% of the population) who belong to another church (not listed on the census), 109 (or about 5.76% of the population) belong to no church, are agnostic or atheist, and 50 individuals (or about 2.64% of the population) did not answer the question.