Laufen District
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Laufen District Bezirk Laufen |
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|---|---|
| District | |
 |
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| Country |
 Switzerland
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| Canton |
 Basel-Landschaft
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| Capital | Laufen |
| Area | |
| • Total | 89.55 km2 (34.58 sq mi) |
| Population (2016) | |
| • Total | 19,682 |
| • Density | 220/km2 (570/sq mi) |
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) |
| • Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) |
| Municipalities | 13 |
Laufen District or Laufental District (French: District de Laufon) is one of the five districts of the largely German-speaking canton of Basel-Country, Switzerland. Its capital is the town of Laufen.
Prior to 1994, it was a district of the canton of Bern, one of the seven historical districts of the Bernese Jura. In 1979, three neighbouring French-speaking districts of Bern seceded to form the new canton of Jura. Laufen was left as an exclave of Bern, wedged between Jura, Solothurn, Basel-Country, and France. In 1980, the populace voted to secede from Bern and join Basel-Country. After a transitional period of preparation, this was effected in 1994.
It has a population of 19,682 (as of 31 March 2016).
Laufen district has an area, as of 2009[update], of 89.56 square kilometers (34.58 sq mi). Of this area, 32.47 km2 (12.54 sq mi) or 36.3% is used for agricultural purposes, while 46.75 km2 (18.05 sq mi) or 52.2% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 9.43 km2 (3.64 sq mi) or 10.5% is settled (buildings or roads), 0.62 km2 (0.24 sq mi) or 0.7% is either rivers or lakes and 0.25 km2 (0.097 sq mi) or 0.3% is unproductive land.
Of the built up area, industrial buildings made up 1.2% of the total area while housing and buildings made up 4.9% and transportation infrastructure made up 3.2%. Out of the forested land, 49.8% of the total land area is heavily forested and 2.4% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 17.1% is used for growing crops and 14.9% is pastures, while 1.6% is used for orchards or vine crops and 2.6% is used for alpine pastures. All the water in the municipality is flowing water.
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