Gerlafingen is a municipality in the district of Wasseramt in the canton of Solothurn in Switzerland.

[3] Gerlafingen has an area, as of 2009[update], of 1.85 square kilometers (0.71 sq mi).

Of the rest of the land, 1.52 km2 (0.59 sq mi) or 82.2% is settled (buildings or roads), 0.02 km2 (4.9 acres) or 1.1% is either rivers or lakes.

[4] The municipality is located in the Wasseramt district, on the eastern bank of the Emme river, about 5 km (3.1 mi) south of Solothurn.

The blazon of the municipal coat of arms is Gules a Cramp Azure in bend between two Mullets or one above the other.

[8] Most of the population (as of 2000[update]) speaks German (3,619 or 77.1%), with Italian being second most common (328 or 7.0%) and Turkish being third (227 or 4.8%).

[7] The age distribution, as of 2000[update], in Gerlafingen is; 347 children or 7.4% of the population are between 0 and 6 years old and 748 teenagers or 15.9% are between 7 and 19.

The greatest number of single family homes (165) were built between 1946 and 1960.

[8] The historical population is given in the following chart:[3][13] In the 2007 federal election the most popular party was the SVP which received 29.41% of the vote.

In the federal election, a total of 1,041 votes were cast, and the voter turnout was 41.6%.

[8] There were 2,243 residents of the municipality who were employed in some capacity, of which females made up 41.3% of the workforce.

In 2008[update] the total number of full-time equivalent jobs was 1,356.

In the tertiary sector; 165 or 28.5% were in wholesale or retail sales or the repair of motor vehicles, 30 or 5.2% were in the movement and storage of goods, 45 or 7.8% were in a hotel or restaurant, 28 or 4.8% were in the information industry, 11 or 1.9% were the insurance or financial industry, 57 or 9.9% were technical professionals or scientists, 53 or 9.2% were in education and 124 or 21.5% were in health care.

[8] From the 2000 census[update], 1,238 or 26.4% were Roman Catholic, while 1,544 or 32.9% belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church.

The education system in the Canton of Solothurn allows young children to attend two years of non-obligatory Kindergarten.

The lower secondary students from the neighboring municipalities Obergerlafingen and Recherswil attend their school in Gerlafingen.