Bretzwil, a municipality in the Bezirk Waldenburg, sits at an elevation of 634 meters above sea level and covers a total surface area of 733 hectares. Table 2 summarizes the key features of the municipality, and figure 1 shows its location on the map.

Bretzwil is a municipality located in the Waldenburg district of the Basel-Landschaft canton in Switzerland. It was first mentioned in 1194 and initially belonged to the parish church of Oberkirch near Nunningen before later coming under the control of the Bishop of Basel. In 1377, the village was granted as a fief to the "Lords of Brislach," who later changed their name to "Edelknechte von Ramstein," and in 1518, Bretzwil was sold to the city of Basel. Since 1673, it has been part of the Waldenburg district. More information can be found on the Wikipedia page at https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bretzwil.

As of 2025, the population of Bretzwil is 749 people. In 2024, the proportion of foreign residents was 9.04 percent, while Swiss citizens made up the remainder. The population is composed of 128 children aged 0 to 17, 459 working-age adults between 18 and 65, and 162 older adults over 65. There are 379 men and 370 women. In terms of population size, Bretzwil ranks 59th among the 86 municipalities of the canton. Table 2 shows the population by age groups since 2005.

The municipality has a total surface area of 733 hectares. Of this, 5.3 percent is classified as settlement area, 56.0 percent is agricultural area, and 38.8 percent is covered by forest.

Bretzwil’s tax revenue ranks 69th in the canton. The municipal tax multiplier and its rank among the 86 municipalities are not provided in the data.

In 2022, the energy consumption of Bretzwil was dominated by heating oil, which accounted for 3959.73 MWh. Electricity consumption was 2220.25 MWh, followed by environmental heat at 1051.36 MWh, wood at 1613.77 MWh, and photovoltaic energy at 779.13 MWh. Thermal solar energy contributed 54.96 MWh. For electricity, Bretzwil consumed 3.0 MWh per capita, ranking 59th among all municipalities in the canton. This per capita consumption is not among the top or bottom 10 municipalities, and it may be influenced by the presence or absence of local industrial activity.

In 2026, Bretzwil had a total of 509 passenger cars and delivery vans. Of these, 457 vehicles were powered by combustion engines, primarily petrol and diesel, while 52 were electric cars. The ratio of electric cars in the total vehicle stock was 10.2 percent. Table 3 below provides further details on the vehicle stock.

In 2024, Bretzwil recycled a total of 19.0 kg per capita of glass, ranking 55th in the canton. For green waste, the municipality recycled 189.0 kg per capita, ranking 6th. Household waste and bulky goods amounted to 109.0 kg per capita, ranking 71st. Plastics were recycled at 1.0 kg per capita, ranking 25th. Oils were also recycled at 1.0 kg per capita, ranking 6th. Paper and cardboard recycling reached 31.0 kg per capita, ranking 41st. Other metals were recycled at 15.0 kg per capita, ranking 7th, and tinplate and aluminum at 2.0 kg per capita, ranking 16th. With three categories—green waste, oils, and other metals—ranked within the top 10 in the canton, Bretzwil is overall among the leading municipalities in recycling performance. Table 4 shows the total recycled waste, recycled waste per capita, and the corresponding canton-wide comparison values.