Lugano - Demographics

Demographics

Since its union with some surrounding municipalities (Breganzona, Cureggia, Davesco-Soragno, Gandria, Pambio-Noranco, Pazzallo, Pregassona, and Viganello) in 2004, Lugano has a population of over 54,000 and is therefore Canton Ticino's largest city. This was the second major expansion after the union in 1972 with the municipalities of Brè-Aldesago and Castagnola.

The town's thriving economy provides an estimated 38,000 jobs, over a third of which are occupied by cross-border commuters. Business, tourism and finance constitute the backbone of the local economy. In 2000, the tertiary sector offered 90% of all jobs in Lugano, of which 75% were occupied by commuters, many of which commute from neighbouring Italy (approximately 13% of the active working population); in the same year tax revenues reached CHF 104 million, of which CHF 59 million were attributable to the banking sector. The city is Switzerland's third largest banking centre after Zurich and Geneva. With regards to intercommunal financial equalisation, thanks to its financial strength Lugano contributes significantly to the equalisation fund. The population is Italian-speaking and mainly Roman Catholic.

Lugano has a population (as of December 2011) of 55,151. As of 2008, 36.2% of the population are resident foreign nationals.

Between 1997 and 2007, the population changed at a rate of 6.9%. Most of the population (as of 2000) speaks Italian (80.3%), with German being second most common (7.1%) and Serbo-Croatian being third (2.7%). Of the Swiss national languages (as of 2000), 20,998 people speak Italian, 1,855 speak German, 597 people speak French, and 39 people speak Romansh. The remainder (3,071 people) speak another language.

As of 2008, the gender distribution of the population was 47.1% male and 52.9% female. The population was made up of 15,457 Swiss men (28.1% of the population), and 10,461 (19.0%) non-Swiss men. There were 19,417 Swiss women (35.3%), and 9,725 (17.7%) non-Swiss women.

In 2008 there were 318 live births to Swiss citizens and 190 births to non-Swiss citizens, and in same time span there were 351 deaths of Swiss citizens and 92 non-Swiss citizen deaths. Ignoring immigration and emigration, the population of Swiss citizens decreased by 33 while the foreign population increased by 98. There were 7 Swiss men and 3 Swiss women who emigrated from Switzerland. At the same time, there were 672 non-Swiss men and 556 non-Swiss women who immigrated from another country to Switzerland. The total Swiss population change in 2008 (from all sources, including moves across municipal borders) was an increase of 197 and the non-Swiss population change was an increase of 706 people. This represents a population growth rate of 1.7%.

The age distribution, as of 2009, in Lugano is; 4,666 children or 8.5% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old and 5,013 teenagers or 9.1% are between 10 and 19. Of the adult population, 6,270 people or 11.4% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 8,267 people or 15.0% are between 30 and 39, 9,113 people or 16.6% are between 40 and 49, and 6,844 people or 12.4% are between 50 and 59. The senior population distribution is 6,459 people or 11.7% of the population are between 60 and 69 years old, 4,947 people or 9.0% are between 70 and 79, there are 3,481 people or 6.3% who are over 80.

As of 2000 the average number of residents per living room was 0.61 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 19.1% 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 23,168 private households in the municipality, and an average of 2. persons per household. In 2000 there were 489 single family homes (or 20.6% of the total) out of a total of 2,372 inhabited buildings. There were 214 two family buildings (9.0%) and 1,046 multi-family buildings (44.1%). There were also 623 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 0.64%. In 2000 there were 16,333 apartments in the municipality. The most common apartment size was the 3 room apartment of which there were 5,398. There were 1,811 single room apartments and 2,019 apartments with five or more rooms. Of these apartments, a total of 13,342 apartments (81.7% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 2,485 apartments (15.2%) were seasonally occupied and 506 apartments (3.1%) were empty. As of 2007, the construction rate of new housing units was 3.3 new units per 1000 residents.

As of 2003 the average price to rent an average apartment in Lugano was 1073.49 Swiss francs (CHF) per month (US$860, £480, €690 approx. exchange rate from 2003). The average rate for a one room apartment was 623.12 CHF (US$500, £280, €400), a two room apartment was about 809.81 CHF (US$650, £360, €520), a three room apartment was about 1030.53 CHF (US$820, £460, €660) and a six or more room apartment cost an average of 1890.13 CHF (US$1510, £850, €1210). The average apartment price in Lugano was 96.2% of the national average of 1116 CHF.