page_title: Sion, Switzerland
section_title: Demographics
hierarchical_section_title: Sion, Switzerland / Demographics
context_page_description: Sion is a Swiss town, a municipality, and the capital of the canton of Valais and of the district of Sion. As of December 2018 it had a population of 34,708.
  On 17 January 1968, the former municipality of Bramois merged into the municipality of Sion. On 1 January 2013, the former municipality of Salins merged into the municipality of Sion, and on 1 January 2017, Les Agettes did the same.
  Landmarks in Sion include the Basilique de Valère and the Château de Tourbillon. Sion has an airfield for civilian and military use, which serves as a base for air rescue missions.
context_section_description: Sion has a population (as of December 2018) of 34,708. As of 2008, 26.9% of the population are resident foreign nationals. Over years 2000–2010 the population changed at a rate of 10%. It has changed at a rate of 10.1% due to migration and at a rate of 2.3% due to births and deaths.
  Most of the population (as of 2000) speaks French (22,338 or 82.2%) as their first language, German is the second most common (1,523 or 5.6%) and Portuguese is the third (912 or 3.4%). There are 855 people who speak Italian and 19 people who speak Romansh.
  As of 2008, the population was 47.8% male and 52.2% female. The population was made up of 10,128 Swiss men (34.1% of the population) and 4,089 (13.8%) non-Swiss men. There were 11,642 Swiss women (39.2%) and 3,859 (13.0%) non-Swiss women. Of the population in the municipality, 9,542 or about 35.1% were born in Sion and lived there in 2000. There were 7,481 or 27.5% who were born in the same canton, while 2,939 or 10.8% were born somewhere else in Switzerland, and 6,285 or 23.1% were born outside of Switzerland.
  As of 2000, children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 24.8% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 60.7% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 14.5%.
  As of 2000, there were 11,846 people who were single and never married in the municipality. There were 12,335 married individuals, 1,509 widows or widowers and 1,481 individuals who are divorced.
  As of 2000, there were 11,326 private households in the municipality, and an average of 2.3 persons per household. There were 4,114 households that consist of only one person and 703 households with five or more people. In 2000, a total of 10,670 apartments (88.3% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 1,072 apartments (8.9%) were seasonally occupied and 345 apartments (2.9%) were empty. As of 2009, the construction rate of new housing units was 4.7 new units per 1000 residents.
  As of 2003 the average price to rent an average apartment in Sion was 919.42 Swiss francs (CHF) per month (US$740, £410, €590 approx. exchange rate from 2003). The average rate for a one-room apartment was 473.25 CHF (US$380, £210, €300), a two-room apartment was about 679.12 CHF (US$540, £310, €430), a three-room apartment was about 854.95 CHF (US$680, £380, €550) and a six or more room apartment cost an average of 1075.25 CHF (US$860, £480, €690). The average apartment price in Sion was 82.4% of the national average of 1116 CHF. The vacancy rate for the municipality, in 2010, was 0.53%.
caption: Grand-Pont, street in the town center
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