Dividing the Swiss population by the national number of establishments in an activity gives a ratio of inhabitants per establishment. Applied to a municipality, it indicates how many establishments it would have if it were average.
It is a framing benchmark, and the temptation to turn it into a diagnosis must be resisted. Competition is never spread evenly: a central municipality draws in its neighbours and legitimately shows above-average density, while a residential municipality lacks it without there being a place to take.
The gap between the theoretical and the observed number is the useful information — in both directions, and always to be explained before being exploited.
Related notions
Where this notion is used
The figures, canton by canton
Population, income, benchmark commercial rent, taxation and flows — official data, refreshed at every import.
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