Cottens (French: [kɔtɑ̃s]; Arpitan: Cotens, locally Kotin[3] [koˈtɛ̃] ⓘ) is a municipality in the district of Sarine in the canton of Fribourg in Switzerland.

[4] Cottens has an area, as of 2009[update], of 5 square kilometers (1.9 sq mi).

[5] The municipality is located in the Sarine district, on the road and rail lines between Romont and Fribourg.

The blazon of the municipal coat of arms is Per fess Argent and sable overall a Key Or.

[9] Most of the population (as of 2000[update]) speaks French (896 or 93.0%) as their first language, German is the second most common (42 or 4.4%) and Italian is the third (7 or 0.7%).

[9] The historical population is given in the following chart:[4][13] The Grenier is listed as a Swiss heritage site of national significance.

[15] In the 2011 federal election the most popular party was the SPS which received 27.4% of the vote.

[9] There were 469 residents of the municipality who were employed in some capacity, of which females made up 41.2% of the workforce.

In the tertiary sector; 14 or 12.6% were in wholesale or retail sales or the repair of motor vehicles, 2 or 1.8% were in the movement and storage of goods, 3 or 2.7% were the insurance or financial industry, 3 or 2.7% were technical professionals or scientists, 8 or 7.2% were in education and 76 or 68.5% were in health care.

[9] From the 2000 census[update], 842 or 87.4% were Roman Catholic, while 47 or 4.9% belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church.

This is followed by three years of obligatory lower Secondary school where the students are separated according to ability and aptitude.

The upper Secondary school is divided into gymnasium (university preparatory) and vocational programs.

After they finish the upper Secondary program, students may choose to attend a Tertiary school or continue their apprenticeship.

[20] During the 2010–11 school year, there were a total of 192 students attending 10 classes in Cottens.