Gersau is a municipality and district in the canton of Schwyz in Switzerland, on the shores of Lake Lucerne. Gersau was for many centuries an independent micro-state in permanent alliance with the Swiss Confederation.
History
thumb|Aerial view from 200 m by [[Walter Mittelholzer (1919)]]
Gersau is first mentioned in 1064 as Gersouwe.
|-
| 1774
| ca. 1,000
|-
| 1850
| 1,585
|-
| 1870
| 2,270
|-
| 1880
| 1,775
|-
| 1900
| 1,887
|-
| 1910
| 2,263
|-
| 1950
| 1,890
|-
| 1960
| 1,754
|-
| 1970
| 1,753
|-
| 1980
| 1,813
|-
| 1985
| 1,801
|-
| 1990
| 1,851
|-
| 2000
| 1,965
|-
| 2005
| 1,972
|-
| 2007
| 1,970
|-
|}
Gersau has a population (as of ) of . , 17.7% of the population was made up of foreign nationals.
the gender distribution of the population was 50.5% male and 49.5% female. The age distribution, , in Gersau is; 464 people or 24.0% of the population is between 0 and 19. 481 people or 24.9% are 20 to 39, and 657 people or 34.0% are 40 to 64. The senior population distribution is 180 people or 9.3% are 65 to 74. There are 105 people or 5.4% who are 70 to 79 and 47 people or 2.43% of the population who are over 80.
there are 799 households, of which 258 households (or about 32.3%) contain only a single individual. 41 or about 5.1% are large households, with at least five members.
Economy
Historically, silk weaving and woodworking were the predominant industries. Today, however, tourism has become the main economic sector. Gersau has been a well-known health and vacation resort since 1860, with a significant number of hotels and guest houses.
Gersau has an unemployment rate of 1.62%. , there were 105 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 43 businesses involved in this sector. 129 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 25 businesses in this sector. 350 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 71 businesses in this sector.