Demographics
The Western part of Valais (Lower Valais) is French-speaking, while the Eastern part (most of Upper Valais) is German-speaking. The language border crosses the Rhone river between the towns of Sierre and Salgesch and follows the mountain ridge including Bella Tola, Weisshorn and Dent Blanche. At the 2000 census, 62.8% of the population of Valais spoke French or Arpitan, 28.4% spoke German or Walser German, 2.2% spoke Italian and 6.6% spoke other languages. Only 114 people reported to speak Romansh.
The canton is thinly populated. Its population (as of 31 December 2011) is 317,022. As of 2007, the population included 57,061 foreigners, or about 19.1% of the total population. The largest towns are the capital Sion (Sitten), Monthey, Sierre, Martigny and Brig. There is no major city located in the canton. As of 2000 81% of the population is Roman Catholic, while only 6% are Protestant.
Read more about this topic: Valaisan