Höfen, Thun
# Höfen, Thun

Höfen is a former municipality in the administrative district of Thun in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. On 1 January 2014 the former municipalities of Höfen, Niederstocken and Oberstocken merged into the new municipality of Stocken-Höfen.

## Geography

Before the merger, Höfen had a total area of 4.6 $km^2$ (1.8 sq mi). Of this area, 3.42 $km^2$ (1.32 sq mi) or 74.2% is used for agricultural purposes, while 0.74 $km^2$ (0.29 sq mi) or 16.1% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 0.27 $km^2$ (0.10 sq mi) or 5.9% is settled (buildings or roads), 0.1 $km^2$ (25 acres) or 2.2% is either rivers or lakes and 0.08 $km^2$ (20 acres) or 1.7% is unproductive land.

Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 2.8% and transportation infrastructure made up 2.8%. 14.5% of the total land area is heavily forested and 1.5% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 23.9% is used for growing crops and 48.2% is pastures, while 2.2% is used for orchards or vine crops. All the water in the municipality is in lakes. Of the unproductive areas, 1.7% is unproductive vegetation.

The lake Uebeschisee is located partially in the former municipality.

## Demographics

Höfen had a population (as of 2011) of 444. As of 2007, 2.1% of the population was made up of foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years the population has decreased at a rate of -3.5%. Most of the population (as of 2000) speaks German (98.7%), with French being second most common ( 0.3%) and Rhaeto-romance being third ( 0.3%).

In the 2007 election the most popular party was the SVP which received 49.6% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the Green Party (12.3%), the SPS (11.6%) and the local small left-wing parties (10.7%).

The age distribution of the population (as of 2000) is children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 29.4% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 59.3% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 11.3%. The entire Swiss population is generally well educated. In Höfen about 77.7% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either university or a Fachhochschule).

Höfen has an unemployment rate of 0.92%. As of 2005, there were 65 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 26 businesses involved in this sector. 9 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 3 businesses in this sector. 56 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 10 businesses in this sector. The historical population is given in the following table:

| year | population |
| - | - |
| 1764 | 184 |
| 1850 | 456 |
| 1900 | 342 |
| 1930 | 291 |
| 1950 | 341 |
| 2000 | 398 |
