The city of Biel is in the canton of Berne, one of the largest Swiss cantons. The watch metropolis is the largest bilingual city of Switzerland with approximately 51,000 inhabitants. 60.7% of the population are German-speaking, the remaining 39.3% to a large extent French-speaking. The total population and the number of the jobs are on the increase.
The most important economic sectors are watches, communication and precision industry.
Business life region Biel/Seeland
Commercial statistics
for 2005
|
|
| Workplaces |
7'576 |
| Employees |
67'854 |
| Employment rate |
79.3% |
| 2nd sector / 3rd sector |
21'133 / 42'385
|
Population city Biel
| Number of inhabitants in 2007 |
50'852 |
| Proportion of 0-24-year-olds |
25.5% |
| Proportion of 25-44-year-olds |
30.9% |
Proportion of 44-64-year-olds
|
24.1% |
| Proportion of 65-älter-year-olds |
19.5% |
Taxes
Tax rates
|
|
| without /with church tax |
153/176 |
| Legal persons |
129.5 |
