Demographics
Glarus had a population (as of 31 December 2011) of 5,877, including Ennenda, Netstal and Riedern. As of 2007, 23.7% of the population was made up of foreign nationals.
Over the last 10 years the population has grown at a rate of 7.4%. Most of the population (as of 2000) speaks German (86.0%), with Italian being second most common ( 4.8%) and Albanian being third ( 2.6%).
In the 2007 federal election the most popular party was the SPS which received 68.9% of the vote. Most of the rest of the votes went to the SVP with 23% of the vote.
The entire Swiss population is generally well educated. In Glarus about 71.3% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either university or a Fachhochschule).
Glarus has an unemployment rate of 2.01%. As of 2005, there were 49 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 17 businesses involved in this sector. 552 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 78 businesses in this sector. 3,232 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 410 businesses in this sector.
The historical population is given in the following table:
| year | population | Swiss Citizens | % German Speaking | % Protestant | % Roman Catholic |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1554 | ca. 1,550 | ||||
| 1682 | ca. 1,200 | ||||
| 1777 | ca. 2,400 | ||||
| 1837 | 4,094 | ||||
| 1850 | 4,082 | 3,960 | 86.0% | 14.0% | |
| 1870 | 5,485 | 5,204 | 77.7% | 22.6% | |
| 1888 | 5,357 | 4,968 | 98.1% | 71.6% | 28.0% |
| 1900 | 4,877 | 4,424 | 97.5% | 74.2% | 25.6% |
| 1910 | 5,123 | 4,471 | 94.8% | 70.8% | 28.7% |
| 1930 | 5,269 | 4,858 | 97.7% | 70.5% | 29.2% |
| 1950 | 5,724 | 5,376 | 96.2% | 68.0% | 31.4% |
| 1970 | 6,189 | 5,215 | 86.9% | 60.5% | 38.9% |
| 1990 | 5,728 | 4,723 | 86.1% | 51.9% | 42.4% |
| 2000 | 5,556 | 4,379 | 86.0% | 45.4% | 37.7% |
Read more about this topic: Glarus