Demographics
The population of the canton (as of 31 December 2011) is 336,943. As of 2007, the population included 82,794 foreigners, or about 25.2% of the total population. The population density (in 2005) is 114.6 persons per km2. As of 2000, 83.1% of the population spoke Italian, 8.3% spoke German and 1.7% spoke Serbo-Croatian. The population (as of 2000) is mostly Roman Catholic (76%) with a Protestant (7%) minority.
The official language, and the one used for most written communication, is Swiss Italian. Despite being very similar to standard Italian, Swiss Italian presents some differences to the Italian spoken in Italy due to the presence of French and German from which it assimilates words. Insubric dialects (Ticinese) are still spoken, especially in the valleys, but they are not used for official purposes.
The canton has a German-speaking minority, and German plays an important role in the local job market, as the ability of speaking German is an important prerequisite in many sectors, be it in shops and restaurants catering to German-speaking tourists or in the insurance and banking business.
Read more about this topic: Ticino