page_title: Canton of Bern
section_title: Economy
hierarchical_section_title: Canton of Bern / Economy
caption_attribution_description: Emmentaler Switzerland PDO Cheese, image by myself (Dominik Hundhammer - User:Zerohund, 25. May 2004)
context_page_description: The canton of Bern or Berne is the second-largest of the 26 Swiss cantons by both surface area and population. Located in west-central Switzerland, it borders the canton of Jura and the canton of Solothurn to the north. To the west lie the canton of Neuchâtel, the canton of Fribourg and canton of Vaud. To the south lies the canton of Valais. East of the canton of Bern lie the cantons of Uri, Nidwalden, Obwalden, Lucerne and Aargau.
  The canton of Bern is bilingual and has a population of 1,034,977. As of 2007, the population included 119,930 foreigners. The cantonal capital, also the "federal city" of Switzerland, is Bern. Other major cities are Thun and Biel/Bienne.
context_section_description: Tourism is the main source of income in the Bernese Oberland. Other important sectors are agriculture (especially cattle breeding), cheese making, and hydroelectric power generation. The Bernese cheese Emmentaler is known around the world. In the Bernese Midlands the lands are more fertile. Agriculture is of great importance, but this part of the canton is also the most industrialized. Small and middle-sized businesses are important employers in this part of the canton of Bern. There is a nuclear power plant at Mühleberg.
  The area around Lake Biel is renowned for its wine production. The 3 French-speaking districts of the Bernese Jura and the bilingual district of Biel/Bienne are renowned for their watch industry and its mechanical industry (high precision machine tools, automation and machining).
  As of  2015, Bern had an unemployment rate of 2.58%, compared to the Swiss national average of 3.3%. As of 2013, there were 34,200 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 11,563 businesses involved in this sector. About 132,800 people were employed in the secondary sector and there were 11,925 businesses in this sector. Approximately 453,800 people were employed in the tertiary sector, with 55,347 businesses in this sector. Of the working population, 31.0% used public transportation to get to work, and 51.0% used a private car.
caption: Emmentaler cheese
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