Demographics
Bellinzona has a permanent population (as of December 2011) of 17,544. In 2008, 29.4% of the population were foreign nationals. Between 1997 and 2007 the population has changed at a rate of 0.7%.
Most of the population (as of 2000) speaks Italian (87.4%), with German being second most common (3.6%) and Serbo-Croatian being third (2.5%). Of the Swiss national languages (as of 2000), 14,392 people speak Italian, 590 speak German, 189 people speak French, and 13 people speak Romansh. The remainder (1,279 people) speak another language. The metropolitan area of Bellinzona had a population of 47,128, divided into 16 municipalities.
As of 2008, the gender distribution of the population was 46.6% male and 53.4% female. The population was made up of 5,503 Swiss men (31.8% of the population), and 2,567 (14.8%) non-Swiss men. There were 6,781 Swiss women (39.1%), and 2,472 (14.3%) non-Swiss women.
In 2008 there were 132 live births to Swiss citizens and 45 births to non-Swiss citizens, and in same time span there were 132 deaths of Swiss citizens and 15 non-Swiss citizen deaths. Ignoring immigration and emigration, the population of Swiss citizens remained the same while the foreign population increased by 30. There were 7 Swiss men who emigrated from Switzerland to another country, 3 Swiss women who emigrated from Switzerland to another country, 67 non-Swiss men who emigrated from Switzerland to another country and 70 non-Swiss women who emigrated from Switzerland to another country. The total Swiss population change in 2008 (from all sources) was an increase of 377 and the non-Swiss population change was a decrease of 202 people. This represents a population growth rate of 1.0%.
The age distribution, as of 2009, in Bellinzona is; 1,530 children or 8.8% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old and 1,623 teenagers or 9.4% are between 10 and 19. Of the adult population, 2,091 people or 12.1% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 2,526 people or 14.6% are between 30 and 39, 2,721 people or 15.7% are between 40 and 49, and 2,260 people or 13.0% are between 50 and 59. The senior population distribution is 1,969 people or 11.4% of the population are between 60 and 69 years old, 1,470 people or 8.5% are between 70 and 79, there are 1,133 people or 6.5% who are between 80 and 89.
As of 2000 the average number of residents per living room was 0.62 which is about equal to the cantonal average of 0.6 per room. In this case, a room is defined as space of a housing unit of at least 4 m2 (43 sq ft) as normal bedrooms, dining rooms, living rooms, kitchens and habitable cellars and attics. About 24.5% of the total households were owner occupied, or in other words did not pay rent (though they may have a mortgage or a rent-to-own agreement).
As of 2000, there were 7,294 private households in the municipality, and an average of 2.2 persons per household. In 2000 there were 1,490 single family homes (or 51.5% of the total) out of a total of 2,892 inhabited buildings. There were 419 two family buildings (14.5%) and 642 multi-family buildings (22.2%). There were also 341 buildings in the municipality that were multipurpose buildings (used for both housing and commercial or another purpose).
The vacancy rate for the municipality, in 2008, was 1.45%. Of the apartments, a total of 7,255 apartments (85.8% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 932 apartments (11.0%) were seasonally occupied and 268 apartments (3.2%) were empty. In 2000 there were 8,455 apartments in the municipality. The most common apartment size was the 3 room apartment of which there were 2,746. There were 474 single room apartments and 1,253 apartments with five or more rooms. As of 2007, the construction rate of new housing units was 6.2 new units per 1000 residents.
As of 2003 the average price to rent an average apartment in Bellinzona was 956.03 Swiss francs (CHF) per month (US$760, £430, €610 approx. exchange rate from 2003). The average rate for a one room apartment was 673.24 CHF (US$540, £300, €430), a two room apartment was about 740.60 CHF (US$590, £330, €470), a three room apartment was about 910.37 CHF (US$730, £410, €580) and a six or more room apartment cost an average of 1406.75 CHF (US$1130, £630, €900). The average apartment price in Bellinzona was 85.7% of the national average of 1116 CHF.
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