Wenslingen is a municipality in the district of Sissach, in the canton of Basel‑Landschaft (Basel‑Country), Switzerland. As of June 2021, it had a population of 699 inhabitants.
Geography
The municipality lies at an elevation of 571 m (1 873 ft) and covers an area of 5.91 km² (2.28 sq mi). According to the 2009 land‑use survey, 62.3 % of the area is agricultural land, 29.9 % forested, and 6.6 % settled (buildings or roads). All water bodies within the municipal boundaries are flowing water. The surrounding municipalities are Anwil, Kilchberg, Oltingen, Ormalingen, Rothenfluh, Tecknau, and Zeglingen.
History and heritage
The entire village of Wenslingen is listed in the Swiss Inventory of Heritage Sites, reflecting its cultural and architectural significance within the region.
Demographics
In 2021 the population density was approximately 118 inhabitants per km². German is the predominant language (98.2 % of residents), with small minorities speaking French and Serbo‑Croatian. As of 2008, 5.3 % of the population were resident foreign nationals. The age distribution (2010) shows a balanced structure: 6.9 % aged 0‑6, 14.2 % aged 7‑19, 39.4 % aged 20‑49, 20.9 % aged 50‑64, and 17.4 % aged 65 and over. The gender split is roughly equal, with 50.9 % male and 49.1 % female.
Politics
In the 2007 Swiss federal election, the Swiss People’s Party (SVP) received the largest share of votes in Wenslingen (45.34 %). The Social Democratic Party (SP), the Green Party, and the Free Democratic Party (FDP) followed with 15.74 %, 13.77 %, and 12.37 % respectively. Voter turnout was 58.8 %.
Economy
The unemployment rate stood at 1.4 % in 2010. Employment is distributed across the three economic sectors:
- Primary sector – 50 persons employed, mainly in agriculture (28 full‑time equivalent jobs).
- Secondary sector – 33 persons employed, predominantly in construction (28 of 31 full‑time equivalent jobs).
- Tertiary sector – 78 persons employed, with jobs in wholesale/retail, transport, hospitality, technical professions, education (12 jobs), and health care (19 jobs).
Wenslingen is a net exporter of labour; in 2000, 51 workers commuted into the municipality while 249 commuted away, giving a ratio of roughly 4.9 outbound workers for each inbound worker. Public transportation is used by 27.4 % of the working population for commuting.
Housing
In 2000 there were 195 inhabited buildings, of which 114 (58.5 %) were single‑family homes. The construction rate in 2009 was 10.1 new housing units per 1 000 residents, and the vacancy rate in 2010 was 0.33 %. The most common apartment size is four rooms.
Infrastructure
The municipal coat of arms features a pine tree on a gold field and a wheat head on a red field. The postal code for Wenslingen is 4493, and the municipality’s official website is www.wenslingen.ch.
References
Data are drawn primarily from the English‑language Wikipedia article “Wenslingen” (accessed April 2026) and associated statistical sources cited therein.