Soral
Encyclopedia
Soral is a municipality
in the Canton of Geneva
, Switzerland
.
Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 6.1% and transportation infrastructure made up 2.7%. Power and water infrastructure as well as other special developed areas made up 2.7% of the area Out of the forested land, 2.7% of the total land area is heavily forested and 1.4% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 62.4% is used for growing crops and 3.7% is pastures, while 16.6% is used for orchards or vine crops.
The municipality is the southern most municipality of the canton and lies on the Swiss-French
border between Saint-Julien-en-Genevois
and Viry
, both in the Haute-Savoie
department.
The municipality of Soral consists of the sub-sections or villages of Plaine-du-Loup, Les Lolliets and Entre-Deux-Vignobles.
Most of the population speaks French
(542 or 90.8%), with German
being second most common (18 or 3.0%) and English
being third (13 or 2.2%). There are 3 people who speak Italian
.
, the gender distribution of the population was 49.4% male and 50.6% female. The population was made up of 286 Swiss men (39.3% of the population) and 73 (10.0%) non-Swiss men. There were 294 Swiss women (40.4%) and 74 (10.2%) non-Swiss women. Of the population in the municipality 177 or about 29.6% were born in Soral and lived there in 2000. There were 174 or 29.1% who were born in the same canton, while 65 or 10.9% were born somewhere else in Switzerland, and 112 or 18.8% were born outside of Switzerland.
In there were 9 live births to Swiss citizens and were 22 deaths of Swiss citizens and 2 non-Swiss citizen deaths. Ignoring immigration and emigration, the population of Swiss citizens decreased by 13 while the foreign population decreased by 2. There was 1 Swiss man and 1 Swiss woman who immigrated back to Switzerland. At the same time, there were 5 non-Swiss men and 7 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 11 and the non-Swiss population increased by 10 people. This represents a population growth rate of 3.1%.
The age distribution of the population is children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 21.9% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 61.1% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 16.9%.
, there were 241 people who were single and never married in the municipality. There were 291 married individuals, 43 widows or widowers and 22 individuals who are divorced.
the average number of residents per living room was 0.59 which is about equal to the cantonal average of 0.64 per room. In this case, a room is defined as space of a housing unit of at least 4 m² (43.1 sq ft) as normal bedrooms, dining rooms, living rooms, kitchens and habitable cellars and attics. About 46.4% 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).
, there were 198 private households in the municipality, and an average of 2.7 persons per household. There were 52 households that consist of only one person and 21 households with five or more people. Out of a total of 203 households that answered this question, 25.6% were households made up of just one person and there was 1 adult who lived with their parents. Of the rest of the households, there are 48 married couples without children, 83 married couples with children There were 12 single parents with a child or children. There were 2 households that were made up of unrelated people and 5 households that were made up of some sort of institution or another collective housing.
there were 88 single family homes (or 61.5% of the total) out of a total of 143 inhabited buildings. There were 23 multi-family buildings (16.1%), along with 29 multi-purpose buildings that were mostly used for housing (20.3%) and 3 other use buildings (commercial or industrial) that also had some housing (2.1%). Of the single family homes 30 were built before 1919, while 4 were built between 1990 and 2000. The greatest number of multi-family homes (6) were built before 1919 and again between 1946 and 1960.
there were 203 apartments in the municipality. The most common apartment size was 3 rooms of which there were 52. There were 12 single room apartments and 84 apartments with five or more rooms. Of these apartments, a total of 179 apartments (88.2% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 18 apartments (8.9%) were seasonally occupied and 6 apartments (3.0%) were empty. , the construction rate of new housing units was 29.2 new units per 1000 residents. The vacancy rate for the municipality, , was 0.41%.
The historical population is given in the following chart:
the most popular party was the LPS Party
which received 23.15% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SVP
(20.39%), the CVP
(15.35%) and the Green Party
(13.41%). In the federal election, a total of 256 votes were cast, and the voter turnout
was 57.4%.
In the 2009 Grand Conseil
election, there were a total of 449 registered voters of which 206 (45.9%) voted. The most popular party in the municipality for this election was the PDC
with 18.4% of the ballots. In the canton-wide election they received the fifth highest proportion of votes. The second most popular party was the Libéral
(with 18.4%), they were first in the canton-wide election, while the third most popular party was the MCG (with 13.4%), they were also third in the canton-wide election.
For the 2009 Conseil d'Etat election, there were a total of 454 registered voters of which 248 (54.6%) voted.
In 2011, all the municipalities held local elections, and in Soral there were 11 spots open on the municipal council. There were a total of 491 registered voters of which 235 (47.9%) voted. Out of the 235 votes, there were 1 blank votes, 14 votes with a name that was not on the list.
the total number of full-time equivalent
jobs was 84. The number of jobs in the primary sector was 36, all of which were in agriculture. The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 3 of which 1 was in manufacturing and 2 (66.7%) were in construction. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 45. In the tertiary sector; 12 or 26.7% were in a hotel or restaurant, 1 was a technical professional or scientist, 3 or 6.7% were in education and 28 or 62.2% were in health care.
, there were 173 workers who commuted into the municipality and 220 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net exporter of workers, with about 1.3 workers leaving the municipality for every one entering. About 30.6% of the workforce coming into Soral are coming from outside Switzerland, while 0.5% of the locals commute out of Switzerland for work. Of the working population, 8.1% used public transportation to get to work, and 72.4% used a private car.
. Of the rest of the population, there was 1 member of an Orthodox church
, and there were 8 individuals (or about 1.34% of the population) who belonged to another Christian church. There were 3 individuals (or about 0.50% of the population) who were Jewish
, and there was 1 individual who was Islam
ic. 153 (or about 25.63% of the population) belonged to no church, are agnostic
or atheist
, and 26 individuals (or about 4.36% of the population) did not answer the question.
). Of the 121 who completed tertiary schooling, 44.6% were Swiss men, 30.6% were Swiss women, 12.4% were non-Swiss men and 12.4% were non-Swiss women.
During the 2009-2010 school year there were a total of 150 students in the Soral school system. The education system
in the Canton of Geneva allows young children to attend two years of non-obligatory Kindergarten
. During that school year, there were 19 children who were in a pre-kindergarten class. The canton's school system provides two years of non-mandatory kindergarten and requires students to attend six years of primary school, with some of the children attending smaller, specialized classes. In Soral there were 22 students in kindergarten or primary school and 2 students were in the special, smaller classes. The secondary school
program consists of three lower, obligatory years of schooling, followed by three to five years of optional, advanced schools. There were 22 lower secondary students who attended school in Soral. There were 27 upper secondary students from the municipality along with 2 students who were in a professional, non-university track program. An additional 18 students attended a private school.
, there were 28 students in Soral who came from another municipality, while 94 residents attended schools outside the municipality.
Municipalities of Switzerland
Communes , also known as municipalities, are the smallest government division in Switzerland, numbering 2,596 . While many have a population of a few hundred citizens, the largest cities such as Zürich or Geneva also have the legal status of municipalities...
in the Canton of Geneva
Canton of Geneva
The Republic and Canton of Geneva is the French speaking westernmost canton or state of Switzerland, surrounded on almost all sides by France. As is the case in several other Swiss cantons The Republic and Canton of Geneva is the French speaking westernmost canton or state of Switzerland,...
, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
.
Geography
Soral has an area, , of 2.95 square kilometres (1.1 sq mi). Of this area, 2.44 km² (0.942089266965785 sq mi) or 82.7% is used for agricultural purposes, while 0.12 km² (0.0463322590311042 sq mi) or 4.1% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 0.37 km² (0.142857798679238 sq mi) or 12.5% is settled (buildings or roads).Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 6.1% and transportation infrastructure made up 2.7%. Power and water infrastructure as well as other special developed areas made up 2.7% of the area Out of the forested land, 2.7% of the total land area is heavily forested and 1.4% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 62.4% is used for growing crops and 3.7% is pastures, while 16.6% is used for orchards or vine crops.
The municipality is the southern most municipality of the canton and lies on the Swiss-French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
border between Saint-Julien-en-Genevois
Saint-Julien-en-Genevois
Saint-Julien-en-Genevois is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department.-Geography:...
and Viry
Viry, Haute-Savoie
Viry, Haute-Savoie is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France.-References:*...
, both in the Haute-Savoie
Haute-Savoie
Haute-Savoie is a French department in the Rhône-Alpes region of eastern France. It borders both Switzerland and Italy. The capital is Annecy. To the north is Lake Geneva and Switzerland; to the south and southeast are the Mont Blanc and Aravis mountain ranges and the French entrance to the Mont...
department.
The municipality of Soral consists of the sub-sections or villages of Plaine-du-Loup, Les Lolliets and Entre-Deux-Vignobles.
Demographics
Soral has a population of . , 16.3% of the population are resident foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years (1999–2009 ) the population has changed at a rate of 21.3%. It has changed at a rate of 37.7% due to migration and at a rate of -15.5% due to births and deaths.Most of the population speaks French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
(542 or 90.8%), with German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
being second most common (18 or 3.0%) and English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
being third (13 or 2.2%). There are 3 people who speak Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
.
, the gender distribution of the population was 49.4% male and 50.6% female. The population was made up of 286 Swiss men (39.3% of the population) and 73 (10.0%) non-Swiss men. There were 294 Swiss women (40.4%) and 74 (10.2%) non-Swiss women. Of the population in the municipality 177 or about 29.6% were born in Soral and lived there in 2000. There were 174 or 29.1% who were born in the same canton, while 65 or 10.9% were born somewhere else in Switzerland, and 112 or 18.8% were born outside of Switzerland.
In there were 9 live births to Swiss citizens and were 22 deaths of Swiss citizens and 2 non-Swiss citizen deaths. Ignoring immigration and emigration, the population of Swiss citizens decreased by 13 while the foreign population decreased by 2. There was 1 Swiss man and 1 Swiss woman who immigrated back to Switzerland. At the same time, there were 5 non-Swiss men and 7 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 11 and the non-Swiss population increased by 10 people. This represents a population growth rate of 3.1%.
The age distribution of the population is children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 21.9% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 61.1% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 16.9%.
, there were 241 people who were single and never married in the municipality. There were 291 married individuals, 43 widows or widowers and 22 individuals who are divorced.
the average number of residents per living room was 0.59 which is about equal to the cantonal average of 0.64 per room. In this case, a room is defined as space of a housing unit of at least 4 m² (43.1 sq ft) as normal bedrooms, dining rooms, living rooms, kitchens and habitable cellars and attics. About 46.4% of the total households were owner occupied, or in other words did not pay rent (though they may have a mortgage
Mortgage loan
A mortgage loan is a loan secured by real property through the use of a mortgage note which evidences the existence of the loan and the encumbrance of that realty through the granting of a mortgage which secures the loan...
or a rent-to-own agreement).
, there were 198 private households in the municipality, and an average of 2.7 persons per household. There were 52 households that consist of only one person and 21 households with five or more people. Out of a total of 203 households that answered this question, 25.6% were households made up of just one person and there was 1 adult who lived with their parents. Of the rest of the households, there are 48 married couples without children, 83 married couples with children There were 12 single parents with a child or children. There were 2 households that were made up of unrelated people and 5 households that were made up of some sort of institution or another collective housing.
there were 88 single family homes (or 61.5% of the total) out of a total of 143 inhabited buildings. There were 23 multi-family buildings (16.1%), along with 29 multi-purpose buildings that were mostly used for housing (20.3%) and 3 other use buildings (commercial or industrial) that also had some housing (2.1%). Of the single family homes 30 were built before 1919, while 4 were built between 1990 and 2000. The greatest number of multi-family homes (6) were built before 1919 and again between 1946 and 1960.
there were 203 apartments in the municipality. The most common apartment size was 3 rooms of which there were 52. There were 12 single room apartments and 84 apartments with five or more rooms. Of these apartments, a total of 179 apartments (88.2% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 18 apartments (8.9%) were seasonally occupied and 6 apartments (3.0%) were empty. , the construction rate of new housing units was 29.2 new units per 1000 residents. The vacancy rate for the municipality, , was 0.41%.
The historical population is given in the following chart:
Sights
The entire village of Soral is designated as part of the Inventory of Swiss Heritage SitesInventory of Swiss Heritage Sites
The Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites is part of a 1981 Ordinance of the Swiss Federal Council implementing the Federal Law on the Protection of Nature and Cultural Heritage.-Sites of national importance:-Types:...
Politics
In the 2007 federal electionSwiss federal election, 2007
Elections to the Swiss Federal Assembly, the federal parliament of Switzerland, were held on Sunday, 21 October 2007. In a few cantons, a second round of the elections to the Council of States was held on 11 November, 18 November, and 25 November 2007...
the most popular party was the LPS Party
Liberal Party of Switzerland
The Liberal Party of Switzerland was a party with economically liberal policies. It was known as a party of the upper class. On 1 January 2009 it merged with the larger Free Democratic Party to establish FDP.The Liberals....
which received 23.15% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SVP
Swiss People's Party
The Swiss People's Party , also known as the Democratic Union of the Centre , is a conservative political party in Switzerland. Chaired by Toni Brunner, but spearheaded by Christoph Blocher, the party is the largest party in the Federal Assembly, with 58 members of the National Council and 6 of...
(20.39%), the CVP
Christian Democratic People's Party of Switzerland
The Christian Democratic People's Party of Switzerland is a Christian democratic political party in Switzerland. It is the fourth-largest party in the National Council, with 31 seats, and the largest in the Council of States, with 15 seats. It has one seat, that of Doris Leuthard, on the Swiss...
(15.35%) and the Green Party
Green Party of Switzerland
The Green Party of Switzerland is the fifth-largest party in the National Council of Switzerland, and the largest party that is not represented on the Federal Council.-History:...
(13.41%). In the federal election, a total of 256 votes were cast, and the voter turnout
Voter turnout
Voter turnout is the percentage of eligible voters who cast a ballot in an election . After increasing for many decades, there has been a trend of decreasing voter turnout in most established democracies since the 1960s...
was 57.4%.
In the 2009 Grand Conseil
Grand Council of Geneva
The Grand Council of Geneva is the legislature of the canton of Geneva, in Switzerland. Geneva, styled as a 'Republic and Canton', has a unicameral legislature. The Grand Council has 100 seats, with members elected every four years...
election, there were a total of 449 registered voters of which 206 (45.9%) voted. The most popular party in the municipality for this election was the PDC
Christian Democratic People's Party of Switzerland
The Christian Democratic People's Party of Switzerland is a Christian democratic political party in Switzerland. It is the fourth-largest party in the National Council, with 31 seats, and the largest in the Council of States, with 15 seats. It has one seat, that of Doris Leuthard, on the Swiss...
with 18.4% of the ballots. In the canton-wide election they received the fifth highest proportion of votes. The second most popular party was the Libéral
FDP.The Liberals
FDP.The Liberals is a classical liberal political party in Switzerland. It is the joint-largest party in the Federal Council, third-largest party in the National Council, and second-largest in the Council of States....
(with 18.4%), they were first in the canton-wide election, while the third most popular party was the MCG (with 13.4%), they were also third in the canton-wide election.
For the 2009 Conseil d'Etat election, there were a total of 454 registered voters of which 248 (54.6%) voted.
In 2011, all the municipalities held local elections, and in Soral there were 11 spots open on the municipal council. There were a total of 491 registered voters of which 235 (47.9%) voted. Out of the 235 votes, there were 1 blank votes, 14 votes with a name that was not on the list.
Economy
, Soral had an unemployment rate of 2.4%. , there were 51 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 13 businesses involved in this sector. 3 people were employed in the secondary sector and there were 3 businesses in this sector. 51 people were employed in the tertiary sector, with 6 businesses in this sector. There were 272 residents of the municipality who were employed in some capacity, of which females made up 41.2% of the workforce.the total number of full-time equivalent
Full-time equivalent
Full-time equivalent , is a unit to measure employed persons or students in a way that makes them comparable although they may work or study a different number of hours per week. FTE is often used to measure a worker's involvement in a project, or to track cost reductions in an organization...
jobs was 84. The number of jobs in the primary sector was 36, all of which were in agriculture. The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 3 of which 1 was in manufacturing and 2 (66.7%) were in construction. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 45. In the tertiary sector; 12 or 26.7% were in a hotel or restaurant, 1 was a technical professional or scientist, 3 or 6.7% were in education and 28 or 62.2% were in health care.
, there were 173 workers who commuted into the municipality and 220 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net exporter of workers, with about 1.3 workers leaving the municipality for every one entering. About 30.6% of the workforce coming into Soral are coming from outside Switzerland, while 0.5% of the locals commute out of Switzerland for work. Of the working population, 8.1% used public transportation to get to work, and 72.4% used a private car.
Religion
From the , 313 or 52.4% were Roman Catholic, while 92 or 15.4% belonged to the Swiss Reformed ChurchSwiss Reformed Church
The Reformed branch of Protestantism in Switzerland was started in Zürich by Huldrych Zwingli and spread within a few years to Basel , Bern , St...
. Of the rest of the population, there was 1 member of an Orthodox church
Orthodox Christianity
The term Orthodox Christianity may refer to:* the Eastern Orthodox Church and its various geographical subdivisions...
, and there were 8 individuals (or about 1.34% of the population) who belonged to another Christian church. There were 3 individuals (or about 0.50% of the population) who were Jewish
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
, and there was 1 individual who was Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
ic. 153 (or about 25.63% of the population) belonged to no church, are agnostic
Agnosticism
Agnosticism is the view that the truth value of certain claims—especially claims about the existence or non-existence of any deity, but also other religious and metaphysical claims—is unknown or unknowable....
or atheist
Atheism
Atheism is, in a broad sense, the rejection of belief in the existence of deities. In a narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there are no deities...
, and 26 individuals (or about 4.36% of the population) did not answer the question.
Education
In Soral about 205 or (34.3%) of the population have completed non-mandatory upper secondary education, and 121 or (20.3%) have completed additional higher education (either university or a FachhochschuleFachhochschule
A Fachhochschule or University of Applied Sciences is a German type of tertiary education institution, sometimes specialized in certain topical areas . Fachhochschulen were founded in Germany and later adopted by Austria, Liechtenstein, Switzerland and Greece...
). Of the 121 who completed tertiary schooling, 44.6% were Swiss men, 30.6% were Swiss women, 12.4% were non-Swiss men and 12.4% were non-Swiss women.
During the 2009-2010 school year there were a total of 150 students in the Soral school system. The education system
Education in Switzerland
The education system in Switzerland is very diverse, because the constitution of Switzerland delegates the authority for the school system mainly to the cantons...
in the Canton of Geneva allows young children to attend two years of non-obligatory Kindergarten
Kindergarten
A kindergarten is a preschool educational institution for children. The term was created by Friedrich Fröbel for the play and activity institute that he created in 1837 in Bad Blankenburg as a social experience for children for their transition from home to school...
. During that school year, there were 19 children who were in a pre-kindergarten class. The canton's school system provides two years of non-mandatory kindergarten and requires students to attend six years of primary school, with some of the children attending smaller, specialized classes. In Soral there were 22 students in kindergarten or primary school and 2 students were in the special, smaller classes. The secondary school
Secondary school
Secondary school is a term used to describe an educational institution where the final stage of schooling, known as secondary education and usually compulsory up to a specified age, takes place...
program consists of three lower, obligatory years of schooling, followed by three to five years of optional, advanced schools. There were 22 lower secondary students who attended school in Soral. There were 27 upper secondary students from the municipality along with 2 students who were in a professional, non-university track program. An additional 18 students attended a private school.
, there were 28 students in Soral who came from another municipality, while 94 residents attended schools outside the municipality.