The canton of Zug or canton of Zoug (, <small>Standard German:</small> , <small>Alemannic German:</small> ; ; ; ) is one of the 26 cantons of Switzerland. It is located in central Switzerland and its capital is Zug. At the canton is one of the smallest of the Swiss cantons in terms of area. It is not subdivided into districts, but eleven municipalities.
History
thumb|left|The Baarburg above the town of Baar
The first trace of a settlement in the canton dates from approximately 14,000 BC, with additional finds from the Paleolithic (12,400-9250 BC) and the Mesolithic (9250-5500 BC). During the Neolithic (5500-2200 BC) and the Bronze Age (2200-850 BC) about 50 different stilt house villages were built in 33 locations around Lake Zug. Some of these sites are part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site Prehistoric pile dwellings around the Alps. Prehistoric sites around the lake and throughout the canton include examples from the Neolithic Egolzwiler, Cortaillod, Pfyn and Horgen cultures. Traces of the later Neolithic Bell Beaker and Corded Ware cultures as well as the early Bronze Age are less common. There were several large later Bronze Age and Iron Age settlements. On the Baarburg the ruins of an Iron Age celtic prince's castle from about 500 BC contained Greek ceramics and Etruscan metal vessels. Some of the names around the canton are possibly celtic in origin including Baar, Cham, Lorze, Sihl and possibly Reuss.
Geography
thumb|[[Ägerisee]]
The canton of Zug is located in central Switzerland and covers an area of . The cantons of Lucerne and Aargau lie to its west. To the north, the canton is bounded by the canton of Zürich, whereas to the east and south lies the canton of Schwyz.
Most of the land is considered productive. The Lake of Zug () and Lake Ägeri () make up a considerable part of the canton's area. Lake Ägeri is wholly within the canton, whereas the Zugersee is shared with the cantons of Lucerne and Schwyz.
The canton is located on a hilly plateau. The Höhronen (near Höhboden) is the highest elevation (1,229 m) in the east of the canton. The Zugerberg (1,039 m) in the south is another notable elevation. It connects in the south with the Rossberg massif which rises to the Wildspitz (1,583 m) east of the Zugersee. This massif separates the Zugersee from the basin and Ägerisee. It also separates the hilly district of Menzingen from the Zugersee.
The river Lorze is the principal drainage in the canton. It originates in Ägerisee, from where it flows northward through moraine deposits in a deep gorge with fine stalactite caverns.
|-
!Nationality || Number || % total<br />(foreigners)
|-
| || 6497 || 5.4 (20.5)
|-
| || 2957 || 2.5 (9.3)
|-
| || 2041 || 1.7 (6.5)
|-
| || 2004 || 1.7 (6.3)
|-
| || 1311 || 1.1 (4.1)
|-
| || 1296 || 1.1 (4.1)
|-
| || 1067 || 0.9 (3.4)
|-
| || 993 || 0.8 (3.1)
|-
| || 910 || 0.8 (2.9)
|-
| || 868 || 0.7 (2.7)
|-
| || 792 || 0.7 (2.5)
|-
| || 776 || 0.6 (2.4)
|-
| || 703 || 0.6 (2.2)
|-
| || 686 || 0.6 (2.2)
|-
| || 678 || 0.6 (2.1)
|-
| || 566 || 0.5 (1.8)
|}
The population of the canton (as of ) is . , the population included 31,643 foreigners, or about 26% of the total population, up from 15.6% in 1990.
The majority of the population () is Roman Catholic (62%) with a Protestant minority (18%). Until 1814, Zug was in the Diocese of Konstanz, but on the reconstruction of the diocese of Basel in 1828 it was assigned to the latter.
|-
! Year
! Total Population
! Swiss
! Non-Swiss
!Population share <br />of total country
|-
! scope="row" | 1850
| rowspan="1" align="center" |17 461
| rowspan="1" align="center" |17,355
| rowspan="1" align="center" |106
| align="center" |0.7%
|-
!1880
| rowspan="1" align="center"|22,829
| rowspan="1" align="center" |21,896
| rowspan="1" align="center"|933
| align="center"align="center"|0.8%
|-
! scope="row" | 1900
| rowspan="1" align="center" |25,093
| rowspan="1" align="center" |25,093
| align="center" |2,004
| align="center" |0.8%
|-
! scope="row" | 1950
| rowspan="1" align="center" |42,239
| rowspan="1" align="center" |39,715
| rowspan="1" align="center" |2,524
| align="center" |0.9%
|-
! scope="row" | 1970
| align="center" |67,996
| align="center" |57,276
| rowspan="1" align="center" |10,720
| align="center" |1.1%
|-
!2000
| align="center"|100,052
| align="center"|79,819
| align="center"|20,233
| align="center"|1.4%
|-
! scope="row" | 2020
| align="center" | 128,794 || align="center" | || align="center" |
| align="center" |1.5%
|-
|}
Economy
The Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition (1910–1911) described the economy as follows: