[3] The proposed merger of the municipalities of Eggerberg, Ausserberg, Bürchen, Baltschieder, Visp and Visperterminen was rejected by the residents.
[4] The blazon of the municipal coat of arms is Per pale Argent and Gules, two Lions rampant reguardant counterchanged.
[3] Most of the population (as of 2000[update]) speaks German (5,778 or 88.2%) as their first language, Serbo-Croatian is the second most common (192 or 2.9%) and Albanian is the third (139 or 2.1%).
[3] The historical population is given in the following chart:[12] The entire small city of Visp is designated as part of the Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites.
[15] In the 2007 Swiss Council of States election a total of 2,731 votes were cast, of which 74 or about 2.7% were invalid.
[17] Visp is the economic centre of the region and draws workers from many surrounding towns and even from Italy.
In the tertiary sector; 1,002 or 32.9% were in wholesale or retail sales or the repair of motor vehicles, 141 or 4.6% were in the movement and storage of goods, 181 or 5.9% were in a hotel or restaurant, 45 or 1.5% were in the information industry, 168 or 5.5% were the insurance or financial industry, 275 or 9.0% were technical professionals or scientists, 175 or 5.7% were in education and 788 or 25.9% were in health care.
[3] The Lonza chemical factory regularly makes headlines and causes concern, as attempted soil contamination is frequently discovered around Visp.
This has, at times, led to gardens being rendered unusable, with the type, quantity, and precise locations of the contaminated soil often remaining unclear.
At that time, Lonza threatened environmental authorities that they would consider relocating to China if they were not willing to bear the costs of a legally required air filter.
Ultimately, Switzerland yielded and paid millions, far exceeding the costs of such a filter.
Not only was the extensive contamination from the hazardous waste site criticized, but also Lonza's attempt to pass the costs onto the state treasury.
In 2018, it was discovered that a nicotinic acid factory at the Lonza site was responsible for around one percent of the country's greenhouse gas emissions, as the chemical synthesis route used generated nitrous oxide as a byproduct.
Lonza rapidly conducted extensive advertising both in Switzerland and internationally to fill these positions as quickly as possible.
Apart from concerns about drinking water, the extreme housing shortage and the consequent soaring rental prices were also prominent issues.
In May 2022, a case of social welfare made headlines, where a mother and her child were forced to live in a tent on a campsite.
From the 2000 census[update], 5,390 or 82.3% were Roman Catholic, while 306 or 4.7% belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church.
The education system in the Canton of Valais allows young children to attend one year of non-obligatory Kindergarten.
The railway and bus stations in Visp and Brig are starting points for many outdoor activities, trips, and tours in the surrounding mountain resorts Zermatt and Saas-Fee, lying at the foot of almost all the highest peaks in the Alps, such as Matterhorn, Monte Rosa, Dom and Weisshorn.
Precipitation is lower than in other parts of Switzerland due to its location inside the high mountain ranges of the western Alps, which shields it from the precipitation falling both south and north of the Alps.