Vira is a former municipality in the district of Locarno in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland.

[1] Vira (Gambarogno) has an area, as of 1997[update], of 11.99 square kilometers (4.63 sq mi).

Out of the forested land, 73.1% of the total land area is heavily forested, while 11.8% is covered in small trees and shrubbery and 1.8% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees.

[2] The blazon of the municipal coat of arms is Bendy wavy of eight argent and azure and overall on a base of an anchor sable three mullets of five or.

Most of the population (as of 2000[update]) speaks Italian (73.7%), with German being second most common (17.2%) and French being third (2.8%).

[5] The age distribution, as of 2009[update], in Vira (Gambarogno) is; 53 children or 7.8% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old and 45 teenagers or 6.6% are between 10 and 19.

[9] About 44.6% of the total households were owner occupied, or in other words did not pay rent (though they may have a mortgage or a rent-to-own agreement).

[6] The historical population is given in the following table:[13] In the 2007 federal election the most popular party was the FDP which received 31.03% of the vote.

In the federal election, a total of 212 votes were cast, and the voter turnout was 41.6%.

[14] In the 2007[update] Gran Consiglio election, there were a total of 500 registered voters in Vira (Gambarogno), of which 279 or 55.8% voted.

[6] There were 277 residents of the village who were employed in some capacity, of which females made up 41.5% of the workforce.

[6] As of 2009[update], there were 6 hotels in Vira (Gambarogno) with a total of 79 rooms and 166 beds.

[17] From the 2000 census[update], 456 or 74.0% were Roman Catholic, while 78 or 12.7% belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church.

In the lower secondary school system, students either attend a two-year middle school followed by a two-year pre-apprenticeship or they attend a four-year program to prepare for higher education.

The upper secondary school includes several options, but at the end of the upper secondary program, a student will be prepared to enter a trade or to continue on to a university or college.

The professional program lasts three years and prepares a student for a job in engineering, nursing, computer science, business, tourism and similar fields.