This insight series introduces the 86 municipalities of Basel-Landschaft. It summarizes key indicators derived from various open data datasets published on data.bl.ch. Today’s featured municipality is Oltingen.
Oltingen is a municipality in the Bezirk Sissach of the canton of Basel-Landschaft. Situated at an elevation of 588 meters above sea level, it covers a total surface area of 718 hectares. Table 2 summarizes the key features of the municipality, and figure 1 shows the municipality on the map.
The village of Oltingen is historically significant as a starting point for a pass used since prehistoric times. It was first documented in 1241 and was divided by the Ergolz river, with parts belonging to different feudal lords over the centuries. The community has had a church since at least the 9th century, and its coat of arms, adopted in 1943, reflects its historical connections and significance as a transit point. A summary of its history is available on its Wikipedia page.
In 2025, Oltingen had a population of 530 residents. Of these, 93.5 percent were Swiss citizens and 7.65 percent were foreign nationals. The population is composed of 104 young people aged 0 to 17, 311 working-age adults between 18 and 65, and 115 older adults over 65. The gender ratio is nearly balanced, with 266 women and 264 men. In terms of population size, Oltingen ranks 71st among the 86 municipalities in the canton. Table 2 shows the population by age groups since 2005.
The land use in Oltingen is predominantly agricultural and forested. Of its 718-hectare total surface, 6.0 percent is settlement area, 58.6 percent is agricultural land, and 35.4 percent is forest.
Oltingen's tax revenue ranks 76th in the canton. The municipal tax multiplier and its corresponding rank among the 86 municipalities are not provided in the available data.
In 2022, the municipality's energy consumption was characterized by a significant reliance on wood, which accounted for 2,879 MWh. Electricity consumption was 1,087 MWh, heating oil 841 MWh, photovoltaics 382 MWh, ambient heat 585 MWh, and thermal solar energy 67 MWh. Electricity is a good energy carrier for comparison, as it is used in all communities. Oltingen's electricity consumption per capita is 2.0 MWh, ranking it 85th out of 86 municipalities, placing it in the bottom 10. This very low per capita consumption can be influenced by a lack of significant industrial activity, which typically increases electricity demand.
As of 2026, the municipality's vehicle stock consists of 313 passenger cars and delivery vans. Of these, 262 are powered by combustion engines, mainly petrol or diesel, and 51 are electric vehicles. This results in an electric vehicle share of 16.3 percent in the local car fleet. This data is presented in table 3.
In 2024, Oltingen demonstrated strong performance in recycling specific materials. Residents recycled 4 kg of plastics per capita, ranking 7th in the canton, and 1 kg of oils per capita, ranking 6th. For other categories, the per capita recycling amounts and ranks were 29 kg of glass (rank 19), 99 kg of green waste (rank 38), 132 kg of household and bulky waste (rank 47), 26 kg of paper and cardboard (rank 44), 2 kg of other metals (rank 32), and 2 kg of tinplate and aluminum (rank 16). With two categories ranked within the top 10, Oltingen is overall among the leading municipalities in recycling performance. The total recycled waste, recycled waste per capita, and canton-wide comparison values are detailed in Table 4.
| metric | value |
|---|---|
| Municipality | Oltingen |
| District | Bezirk Sissach |
| Elevation (m above sea level) | 588 |
| Total Area (ha) | 718 |
| Settlement Area % | 6.0 |
| Agricultural Area % | 58.6 |
| Forest Area % | 35.4 |
| Unproductive Area % | |
| Households (2024) | 219 |
| Population (2024) | 536 |
| Foreign Nationals % | 7.6 |
| Public Primary School Pupils (2024) | 27 |
| Workplaces (2023) | 57 |
| Employees (2023) | 149 |
| Employees Sector 1 % | 38.9 |
| Employees Sector 2 % | 25.5 |
| Employees Sector 3 % | 35.6 |
| Housing Stock (2024) | 262.0 |
| Single-Family Houses % | 26.3 |
| Completed Dwellings (2024) | 3 |
| Vacancy Rate % (2025) | |
| Residential Land Price (CHF/m², 2022–2024) | |
| Tax Revenue (1,000 CHF, 2024) | 937 |
| Municipal Tax Rate (2025) | 64 |
| Website | www.oltingen.ch |
| jahr | Children | Working Population | Older Adults | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 104 | 305 | 121 | 530 |
| 2024 | 110 | 312 | 114 | 536 |
| 2023 | 118 | 306 | 106 | 530 |
| 2022 | 115 | 313 | 103 | 531 |
| 2021 | 110 | 300 | 100 | 510 |
| 2020 | 109 | 301 | 99 | 509 |
| 2015 | 109 | 295 | 80 | 484 |
| 2010 | 91 | 287 | 70 | 448 |
| 2005 | 91 | 258 | 65 | 414 |
| Year | Fuel | Number |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Benzin | 141.0 |
| 2026 | Diesel | 120.0 |
| 2026 | Electric/Hybrid | 51.0 |
| 2026 | Other | 1.0 |
| 2026 | Total | 313.0 |
| jahr | kategorie | bfs_gemeindenummer | Tons | kg/capita | Rank | Tons Canton | % Canton Tons |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Glas | 2865 | 25 | 35 | 8 | 7223 | 0.35 |
| 2024 | Grüngut | 2865 | 76 | 104 | 36 | 24441 | 0.31 |
| 2024 | Hauskehricht + Sperrgut | 2865 | 98 | 135 | 44 | 42813 | 0.23 |
| 2024 | Kunststoffe | 2865 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 302 | 1.13 |
| 2024 | Öle | 2865 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 69 | 0.77 |
| 2024 | Papier + Karton | 2865 | 56 | 77 | 3 | 10866 | 0.52 |
| 2024 | übrige Metalle | 2865 | 0 | 1 | 39 | 555 | 0.08 |
| 2024 | Weissblech + Alu | 2865 | 2 | 2 | 16 | 579 | 0.3 |
🤖 This text was generated with the assistance of AI. All quantitative statements are derived directly from the dataset listed under Data Source.