has a population (as of ) of . , 17.7% of the population was made up of foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years the population has decreased at a rate of −0.1%. Most of the population () speaks German (90.6%), with Serbo-Croatian being second most common ( 2.0%) and Italian being third ( 1.7%). 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. In the 2007 election the most popular party was the SVP which received 39.5% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the CVP (28.9%), the FDP (14.9%) and the SPS (12.5%). The entire Swiss population is generally well educated. In Gersau about 66.8% of the population (between age 25–64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either university or a Fachhochschule). From the , 1,494 or 77.2% are Roman Catholic, while 132 or 6.8% belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church. Of the rest of the population, there are 69 individuals (or about 3.57% of the population) who belong to the Orthodox Church, and there are less than 5 individuals who belong to another Christian church. There are less than 5 individuals who are Jewish, and 60 (or about 3.10% of the population) who are Islamic. There are 18 individuals (or about 0.93% of the population) who belong to another church (not listed on the census), 90 (or about 4.65% of the population) belong to no church, are agnostic or atheist, and 67 individuals (or about 3.46% of the population) did not answer the question. Heritage sites of national significance The Parish Church of St. Marzellus is listed as a Swiss heritage site of national significance. The entire village of Gersau is part of the Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites. Economy Historically, silk weaving and woodworking were