Schleitheim

Geography

Schleitheim has an area, as of 2006, of 21.5 km² (8.3 sq mi). Of this area, 58.6% is used for agricultural purposes, while 34.9% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 6.2% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (0.3%) is non-productive (rivers or lakes).

Coat of arms

The blazon of the municipal coat of arms is Gules, an ox head sable lined white.

Demographics

Schleitheim has a population (as of 2008) of 1,663, of which 12.0% are foreign nationals. Of the foreign population, (as of 2008), 45.3% are from Germany, 10.3% are from Italy, 2% are from Croatia, 25.6% are from Serbia, 1.5% are from Macedonia, and 15.3% are from another country. Over the last 10 years the population has decreased at a rate of -4.4%. Most of the population (as of 2000) speaks German (93.9%), with Albanian being second most common ( 2.5%) and Italian being third ( 1.1%).

The age distribution of the population (as of 2008) is children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 21.5% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 55.6% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 22.9%.

In the 2007 federal election the most popular party was the SVP which received 50.9% of the vote. The next two most popular parties were the FDP (25.3%), and the SP (23.8%) .

In Schleitheim about 74.9% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either university or a Fachhochschule). In Schleitheim, as of 2007, 1.66% of the population attend kindergarten or another pre-school, 8.26% attend a Primary School, 4.22% attend a lower level Secondary School, and 6.96% attend a higher level Secondary School.

As of 2000, 13.3% of the population belonged to the Roman Catholic Church and 69.4% belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church.

The historical population is given in the following table:

Economy

Schleitheim has an unemployment rate, as of 2007, of 0.88%. As of 2005, there were 117 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 46 businesses involved in this sector. 221 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 20 businesses in this sector. 373 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 65 businesses in this sector.

As of 2008 the mid year average unemployment rate was 1.1%. There were 85 non-agrarian businesses in the municipality and 44.1% of the (non-agrarian) population was involved in the secondary sector of the economy while 55.9% were involved in the third. At the same time, 69.5% of the working population was employed full-time, and 30.5% was employed part-time. There were 630 residents of the municipality who were employed in some capacity, of which females made up 38.3% of the workforce. As of 2000 there were 395 residents who worked in the municipality, while 394 residents worked outside Schleitheim and 188 people commuted into the municipality for work.

As of 2008, there are 7 restaurants, and 2 hotels with 28 beds. The hospitality industry in Schleitheim employs 23 people.

Transportation

A border crossing into Germany is located at the village of Oberwiesen. The town over the border is Stühlingen in Baden-Württemberg state.

Heritage sites of national significance

The Early Middle Ages graveyard at Hebsack, the Roman vicus of Juliomagus and the Roman estate at Vorholzare listed as Swiss heritage sites of national significance.

Weather

Schleitheim has an average of 121.6 days of rain or snow per year and on average receives 878 mm (34.6 in) of precipitation. The wettest month is August during which time Schleitheim receives an average of 95 mm (3.7 in) of rain or snow. During this month there is precipitation for an average of 11 days. The month with the most days of precipitation is June, with an average of 11.6, but with only 93 mm (3.7 in) of precipitation. The driest month of the year is September with an average of 57 mm (2.2 in) of precipitation over 11 days.