Open Data Insight of the Day

Nestled in the Bezirk Arlesheim, the municipality of Pfeffingen sits at an altitude of 393 meters above sea level and covers a total area of 489 hectares. Table 2 summarizes the key features of the municipality, and figure 1 shows its location on the map.

The historical narrative of Pfeffingen is not detailed in the available text, though the name itself suggests a distinct location. For a comprehensive historical overview, the Wikipedia page for Pfeffingen can be consulted at https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pfeffingen.

As of 2024, Pfeffingen is home to 2,430 residents, ranking it as the 28th most populous municipality in the canton. The population consists of 82.5% Swiss citizens and 17.5% foreign nationals. The age distribution shows a balanced structure, with 18.3% of the population aged 0-17, 58.0% in the working-age bracket of 18-65, and 23.7% aged over 65. The gender ratio is nearly even, with 1,237 women and 1,193 men. Table 2 shows the population by age groups since 2005.

Land use in Pfeffingen is predominantly natural, with forests covering 53.1% of the total surface area. Agricultural land accounts for 32.1%, while the settlement area makes up 14.8% of the municipality.

Pfeffingen generates a notable tax revenue, ranking 23rd in the canton for total tax income. The municipal tax multiplier and its specific rank among the 86 municipalities are not provided in the data.

In 2022, the municipality's energy consumption was led by electricity at 7,156.6 MWh, closely followed by natural gas at 6,816.6 MWh and heating oil at 6,709.8 MWh. Renewable sources also contributed, with wood at 1,227.4 MWh, photovoltaics at 991.9 MWh, environmental heat at 3,954.6 MWh, and thermal solar energy at 289.3 MWh. Electricity is a good energy carrier for comparison, since it is used in all communities, while others, such as natural gas, depend on the presence of a network. With a per capita electricity consumption of 2.9 MWh, Pfeffingen ranks 63rd out of 86 municipalities, placing it in the lower third of the canton. Very low or very high per capita consumption can be caused by the presence or absence of industrial activity, leading to higher electricity consumption.

The vehicle stock in Pfeffingen, as of 2026, consists of 1,539 passenger cars and delivery vans. Of these, 1,189 are powered by combustion engines, while 350 are electric vehicles, resulting in an electric vehicle share of 22.7%. This data is presented in table 3 below.

Waste recycling data from 2024 shows that Pfeffingen residents recycled 184 kg per capita of household refuse and bulky waste, ranking the municipality 4th in the canton for this category. Other recycled amounts include 123 kg per capita of green waste (rank 27), 36 kg of paper and cardboard (rank 31), 20 kg of glass (rank 51), and 1 kg each of other metals (rank 39) and tinplate and aluminum (rank 52). No used oil was recorded for recycling. Refer to Table 4 for total recycled waste, recycled waste per capita, and the corresponding canton-wide comparison values. With one category ranked within the top 10 in the canton, the municipality shows strong performance in specific areas of waste management.