Echarlens (French: [eʃaʁlɑ̃s]; Arpitan: Echàrlens, locally Tsèrlin[3] [tsɛʁˈlɛ̃] ⓘ) is a municipality in the district of Gruyère in the canton of Fribourg in Switzerland.

[4] Echarlens has an area, as of 2009[update], of 4.6 square kilometers (1.8 sq mi).

It consists of the village of Echarlens near the A12 motorway and the Bulle-Fribourg road.

The blazon of the municipal coat of arms is Pally of Six Argent and Gules overall in chief a Mullet of Five Or.

[9] Most of the population (as of 2000[update]) speaks French (510 or 92.4%) as their first language, German is the second most common (18 or 3.3%) and Portuguese is the third (12 or 2.2%).

[9] The historical population is given in the following chart:[4][13] The Notre-Dame De L’Assomption Church is listed as a Swiss heritage site of national significance.

[14] In the 2011 federal election the most popular party was the SP which received 31.3% of the vote.

[9] There were 299 residents of the municipality who were employed in some capacity, of which females made up 40.5% of the workforce.

In the tertiary sector; 7 or 29.2% were in wholesale or retail sales or the repair of motor vehicles, 2 or 8.3% were in the movement and storage of goods, 5 or 20.8% were in a hotel or restaurant, 3 or 12.5% were technical professionals or scientists, 4 or 16.7% were in education.

[9] From the 2000 census[update], 440 or 79.7% were Roman Catholic, while 29 or 5.3% 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.

[19] During the 2010–11 school year, there were a total of 101 students attending 5 classes in Echarlens.