Wangen bei Olten has an area, as of 2009[update], of 6.96 square kilometers (2.69 sq mi).

Of the rest of the land, 1.52 km2 (0.59 sq mi) or 21.8% is settled (buildings or roads), 0.02 km2 (4.9 acres) or 0.3% is either rivers or lakes.

[3] The blazon of the municipal coat of arms is Per pale gules and argent, in dexter St. Gallus of the second haloed, holding a book in his dexter hand and a walking staff in his sinister hand, in sinister a wolf rampant holding a treetrunk raguly all of the first.

[7] Most of the population (as of 2000[update]) speaks German (4,078 or 89.1%), with Italian being second most common (104 or 2.3%) and Serbo-Croatian being third (95 or 2.1%).

[9] Of the population in the municipality 1,056 or about 23.1% were born in Wangen bei Olten and lived there in 2000.

[6] The age distribution, as of 2000[update], in Wangen bei Olten is; 301 children or 6.6% of the population are between 0 and 6 years old and 695 teenagers or 15.2% are between 7 and 19.

[7] The historical population is given in the following chart:[12] In the 2007 federal election the most popular party was the SVP which received 25.89% of the vote.

[7] There were 2,407 residents of the municipality who were employed in some capacity, of which females made up 44.2% of the workforce.In 2008[update] the total number of full-time equivalent jobs was 2,150.

In the tertiary sector; 96 or 6.0% were in wholesale or retail sales or the repair of motor vehicles, 1,070 or 67.3% were in the movement and storage of goods, 56 or 3.5% were in a hotel or restaurant, 13 or 0.8% were in the information industry, 15 or 0.9% were the insurance or financial industry, 29 or 1.8% were technical professionals or scientists, 43 or 2.7% were in education and 112 or 7.0% were in health care.

[7] From the 2000 census[update], 2,152 or 47.0% were Roman Catholic, while 1,356 or 29.6% 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.

124 lower secondary students attend school in Wangen bei Olten.

The contention involved the Turkish cultural association, which applied for a construction permit to erect a minaret on the roof of its Islamic community centre.

The project faced opposition from surrounding residents, who formed a group to prevent the tower's erection.

They also believed that the members of the local opposition group were motivated by religious bias.

The Communal Building and Planning Commission rejected the association's application.

The applicants appealed to the Building and Justice Department, which reverted the decision and remanded.

As a consequence of that decision, local residents (who were members of the group mentioned) and the commune of Wangen brought the case before the Administrative Court of the Canton of Solothurn, but failed with their claims.