Basque Country (autonomous community)
Basque Country
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Autonomous Community of the Basque Country Euskal Autonomia Erkidegoab (in Basque) Comunidad Autónoma del País Vasco (in Spanish) | |
2nd | |
Website | Basque Government |
a. ^ Also Euskal Herria, according to the Basque Statute of Autonomy . b. ^ Also Euskal Herriko Autonomia Erkidegoa, according to the Basque Statute of Autonomy. |
The Basque Country (/bæsk, bɑːsk/; Basque: Euskadi [eus̺kadi]; Spanish: País Vasco [paˈiz ˈβasko]),[3] also called the Basque Autonomous Community,[4] is an autonomous community in northern Spain. It includes the Basque provinces of Álava, Biscay, and Gipuzkoa. It also surrounds an enclave called Treviño, which belongs to the neighboring autonomous community of Castile and León.
The Basque Country or Basque Autonomous Community was granted the status of
Currently there is no official capital in the autonomous community, but the city of
The term Basque Country may also refer to the larger cultural region (Basque: Euskal Herria), the home of the Basque people, which includes the autonomous community.
Geography
The following provinces make up the autonomous community:
- Álava (Basque Araba), capital Vitoria-Gasteiz
- Biscay (Spanish Vizcaya, Basque Bizkaia), capital Bilbao-Bilbo
- Donostia-San Sebastián
Features
The Basque Country borders
Atlantic Basin
Formed by many valleys with short rivers that flow from the mountains to the
Middle section
Between the two mountain ranges, the area is occupied mainly by a high plateau called Llanada Alavesa (the
Ebro Valley
From the southern mountains to the Ebro is the so-called Rioja Alavesa, which shares the Mediterranean characteristics of other Ebro Valley zones. Some of Spain's production of
Plaiaundi Ecology Park
The Plaiaundi Ecology Park is a 24-hectare coastal wetland lying where the Bidasoa River meets the sea in the Bay of Biscay.The nature of Plaiaundi consists of a wide variety of flora (visitors view them mainly in the spring) and fauna (visitors with binoculars arrive all during the year, because of the birds migratory habits).[6]
Climate
The Basque mountains form the watershed and also mark the distinct climatic areas of the Basque Country: The northern valleys, in Biscay and Gipuzkoa and also the valley of Ayala in Álava, are part of
The middle section is influenced more by the continental climate, but with a varying degree of the northern oceanic climate. This gives warm, dry summers and cold, snowy winters.
The Ebro valley has a pure continental climate: winters are cold and dry and summers very warm and dry, with precipitation peaking in spring and autumn. Due to the proximity to the ocean however, the Ebro part of the Basque Country is moderate compared to areas further inland.
Demographics
Year | Pop. | ±% |
---|---|---|
1900 | 603,596 | — |
1910 | 673,788 | +11.6% |
1920 | 766,775 | +13.8% |
1930 | 891,710 | +16.3% |
1940 | 955,764 | +7.2% |
1950 | 1,061,240 | +11.0% |
1960 | 1,371,654 | +29.3% |
1970 | 1,878,636 | +37.0% |
1981 | 2,141,969 | +14.0% |
1991 | 2,104,041 | −1.8% |
2001 | 2,082,587 | −1.0% |
2011 | 2,185,393 | +4.9% |
2021 | 2,213,993 | +1.3% |
Source: INE |
Almost half of the 2,155,546 inhabitants of the Basque Autonomous Community live in the Bilbao metropolitan area, almost the entirety of the province of Biscay. Six of the ten most populous cities in the region form part of Bilbao's conurbation (Bilbao, Barakaldo, Getxo, Portugalete, Santurtzi and Basauri), which is widely known as Greater Bilbao.
With 28.2% of the Basque Country population born outside this region,[7] immigration is crucial to Basque demographics. Over the 20th century most of this immigration came from other parts of Spain, typically from Galicia or Castile and León. Over recent years, sizeable numbers of this population have returned to their birthplaces and most immigration to the Basque country now comes from abroad, chiefly from South America.[7]
As of 2018, there were 151,519 foreigners in the Basque country, 7% of the population.
Nationality | Population |
---|---|
Morocco | 21,995 |
Romania | 18,410 |
Nicaragua | 8,096 |
Colombia | 7,245 |
Bolivia | 6,487 |
Algeria | 6,229 |
Portugal | 6,172 |
China | 5,752 |
Paraguay | 5,684 |
Pakistan | 5,104 |
Other | 61,588 |
Major cities
Rank | Province | Pop. | Rank | Province | Pop. | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bilbao Vitoria-Gasteiz |
1 | Bilbao | Biscay | 351,629 | 11 | Leioa | Biscay | 30,626 | San Sebastián |
2 | Vitoria-Gasteiz | Álava | 245,036 | 12 | Galdakao | Biscay | 29,130 | ||
3 | San Sebastián | Gipuzkoa | 186,409 | 13 | Sestao | Biscay | 28,831 | ||
4 | Barakaldo | Biscay | 100,369 | 14 | Durango |
Biscay | 28,618 | ||
5 | Getxo | Biscay | 80,026 | 15 | Eibar | Gipuzkoa | 27,507 | ||
6 | Irun | Gipuzkoa | 61,102 | 16 | Erandio | Biscay | 24,326 | ||
7 | Portugalete | Biscay | 47,756 | 17 | Zarautz | Gipuzkoa | 22,650 | ||
8 | Santurtzi | Biscay | 47,129 | 18 | Mondragón | Gipuzkoa | 22,027 | ||
9 | Basauri | Biscay | 41,971 | 19 | Hernani, Gipuzkoa |
Gipuzkoa | 19,284 | ||
10 | Errenteria | Gipuzkoa | 39,324 | 20 | Llodio |
Álava | 18,498 |
Languages
Spanish and Basque are co-official in all territories of the autonomous community. The Basque-speaking areas in the modern-day autonomous community are set against the wider context of the Basque language, spoken to the east in Navarre and the French Basque Country. The whole Basque-speaking territory has experienced both decline and expansion in its history. The Basque language experienced a gradual territorial contraction throughout the last nine centuries,
The 2006 sociolinguistic survey[11] of all Basque provinces showed that in 2006 of all people aged 16 and above in the Basque Autonomous Community, 30.1% were fluent Basque speakers, 18.3% passive speakers and 51.5% did not speak Basque. The percentage of Basque speakers was highest in Gipuzkoa (49.1% speakers) and lowest in Álava (14.2%). These results represent an increase on previous years (29.5% in 2001, 27.7% in 1996 and 24.1% in 1991). The highest percentage of speakers was now found in the 16-24 age range (57.5%), while only 25.0% of those 65 and older reported speaking Basque.
Ten years later, the sociolinguistic survey showed that in 2016 of all people aged 16 and above in the Basque Autonomous Community, 33.9% were fluent Basque speakers, 19.1% passive speakers and 47% did not speak Basque. The proportion of Basque speakers was again highest in Gipuzkoa (50.6%) and lowest in Álava (19.2%).
The 2021 sociolinguistic survey found that 36.2% of the population above age 16 spoke Basque, 18.6% were passive speakers and 45.3% did not speak Basque. In Gipuzkoa 51.8% spoke the language, in Biscay 30.6%, and in Álava 22.4% did[12]
History
The forerunner of the Gernika Statute was the short-lived Statute of Autonomy for Álava, Gipuzkoa and Biscay, which came to be enforced in October 1936 just in Biscay, with the Spanish Civil War already raging, and which was automatically abolished when the Spanish Nationalist troops occupied the territory.
Before the Spanish Constitution of 1978 and its system of autonomous communities, these three provinces were known in Spanish as the Provincias Vascongadas
As regards the bounds to the Spanish Constitution,
The Statute of Autonomy of the Basque Country is an organic law but powers have been devolved gradually during decades according to re-negotiations between the Spanish and the consecutive Basque regional governments to reach an effective implementation, while the transfer of many powers are still due and has always been a matter of heated political discussion. Basque nationalists often put down this limitation in the devolution of powers to concessions made to appease the military involved in the
In 2003, the governing Basque Nationalist Party (PNV) proposed to alter this statute through the Ibarretxe Plan. The Ibarretxe bill was approved by absolute majority in the Basque Parliament after much discussion, as it was subject to lengthy legal objections—on the grounds that it contradicts the Spanish Constitution—that were ultimately overcome. Despite its mandate of the majority of the autonomous Parliament, the main two parties in Spain (PSOE, PP) imposed a blockade on a discussion of the Plan in the Spanish Parliament (Madrid Cortes Generales), resulting in its rejection for debate by a large majority of that Parliament in January 2005.
Since the first autonomic cabinet, the Basque Nationalist Party has held office in the Basque Autonomous Community except for a 2009–2012 term, led by Patxi López (PSE-PSOE). The current Basque prime minister is Iñigo Urkullu, also a member of the Basque Nationalist Party. Despite ETA's ceasefire in 2011, this autonomous community shows the highest rate of police per 100 inhabitants in Western Europe by 2018. As agreed with the Spanish premier Zapatero in 2004, Urkullu intends to increase the figure of ertzainas, while the Spanish PP's Ministry of Interior rejects a pullback of Spanish police bodies, as demanded by the large majority of the political forces in the autonomous parliament, even pointing to an increase of the Guardia Civil in the future.[16][17]
Politics
Governmental institutions
The current laws configure the autonomous community as a federation of its present-day three constituent provinces. These western Basque districts kept governing themselves by their own laws and institutions even after the Castilian invasion[
The post-Franco Spanish Constitution of 1978 acknowledges historical rights and attempts a compromise in the old conflict between
The provinces in the Basque Country still perform tax collection in their respective territories, but with limited margin in decision making under the Spanish and European governments. Under this intricate system, the Diputaciones Forales (Basque: Foru Aldundiak) administer most of each of the provinces but are coordinated by the autonomous
The Parliament is composed of 25 representatives from each of the three provinces. The Basque Parliament elects the
Present-day political dynamics
ETA's permanent ceasefire (2010–2011) opened the possibility of new governmental alliances and has enabled EH Bildu's electoral success and rise to governmental institutions (
In 2016 the Basque regional election was held on 25 September to elect the 11th Parliament of the Basque Autonomous Community, which left a
During the
Territorial issues
The statute, insofar as it is addressed and provides an administrative framework for the Basque people, provides the mechanisms for neighbouring Navarre to join the three western provinces if it wishes to do so, since at least part of it is ethnically Basque. The Basque Government used the "
Navarre is one of the historical Basque territories and even claimed by the
Economy
The Basque Autonomous Community ranks first in Spain in terms of per capita product, it's the most economically productive region of the country with a gross domestic product (GDP) per capita (adjusted to purchasing power parity, PPP) being 22% higher than that of the European Union and 30% higher than Spain's average in 2016[28] at €34,400.[29] In 2019, the community showed a surplus in public finances, at 0.3% of the GDP.[30]
Industrial activities were traditionally centred on steel and shipbuilding, mainly due to the rich
Today, the strongest industrial sectors of the Basque Country's economy are the manufacturing sector, present in the valleys of Biscay and Gipuzkoa; aeronautics and logistics in Vitoria-Gasteiz; and finance and energy, in Bilbao.
The biggest companies in the Basque Country are:
Eight out of ten Spanish municipalities with the lowest unemployment rates were found across this autonomous community in 2015, highlighting such towns as
In 2013 the Basque Country outperformed Spain in several parameters, but economic overall figures were highly variable. Spanish figures are subject to conspicuous seasonal fluctuation, relying on its tourist and services sectors, while Basque performance is rather based on mid- and long-term results, according with its more industrial focus. In the last quarter of 2017, unemployment in this autonomous community rose to 11.1%[34] (8.43% in Gipuzkoa), second lowest in Spain after Navarre, at a percentage slightly higher than the EU average (10.8%),[35] but still ahead of the Spanish overall unemployment rate of around 16.55%,[36] the second highest in the EU.[37]
Unemployment rate (December data) (%)
Year | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
unemployment rate (in %) |
6.9% | 5.9% | 8.5% | 12.1% | 11.0% | 13.2% | 16.6% | 16.6% | 16.6% | 12.9% | 12.3% | 10.6% | 9.6% | 9.1% |
In regards to GDP performance, 2017 was a remarkably positive year for the Basque Autonomous Community. It underwent an increase in GDP of 3.0%, close to the Spanish increase, 3.1%. In the last term of 2013, the public debt of the Basque Autonomous Community stood at 13.00% of its GDP, totalling €3,753 per capita,[38] as compared to Spain's overall 93.90%, totalling €20,383 per capita.[39]
The Basque Government's high-ranking officials, as well as Basque-based party leaders and personalities, have protested and voiced their concern over the detrimental effects of austerity measures passed by the Spanish Government as of 2011, overruling Basque taxation powers, may be having on industry and trade, especially export. Basque officials have strongly advocated for participation, along with Navarre, in the
Transport
The strategic geographical location of the Basque Country as a link between the northwest and centre of Spain and the rest of Europe makes this territory heavily transited.
Road
The main backbones of road transport are the
Rail
The Spanish government owns two main
The FEVE narrow gauge rail company operates a commuter line between Bilbao and Balmaseda and links Bilbao with the rest of northern Spain.
A new high-speed network (called Basque Y) currently under construction will link the three capitals in 'Y' formation. Because of the rough geography of the territory, most of the network will run through tunnels, with a total estimated cost of up to €10 billion.[citation needed]
The estimated ecological impact of the project has encouraged the formation of a group campaigning against it called AHTrik Ez Elkarlana. The group uses social disobedience to oppose the project and promotes referendums against it in the towns it most affects. In spite of the vocal opposition to the project by this and other community groups (as well as EH Bildu), work continues, not without uncertainty. In early 2015, an estimate suggested that the average Basque intercity fare would rise to a non-competitive €25, while the Spanish central government's funding has been subject to continuous delays, spurring the irritation of the Basque government in Vitoria-Gasteiz.
Airports
The three capitals have airports:
- Bilbao Airport (BIO) International
- Vitoria Airport (VIT)
- San Sebastián Airport (EAS)
Of the three, the most important hub and entry point to the Basque Country is Bilbao Airport, offering many international connections. Nearly 4,600,000 passengers passed through it in 2016.[40]
Seaports
The two most important ports are the Port of Bilbao and the Port of Pasaia. There are also minor fishing ports, such as Bermeo and Ondarroa.
The Port of Bilbao is by far the most important in the Basque Country and the north of Spain, being the fourth most important in Spain with over 38 million tons of traffic.
All cruising routes arrive in Bilbao and there is a ferry service linking Bilbao with Portsmouth (United Kingdom).
Cuisine
During the 1970s, several chefs from the Basque Country, particularly Juan Mari Arzak and Pedro Subijana, led a gastronomic revolution, translating to Spain the principles of French nouvelle cuisine. The first Spanish restaurant to be awarded 3 stars in the Michelin Guide was, in fact, Zalacaín, a Basque restaurant, although located in Madrid. Today, the Basque Country, alongside Catalonia, is the Spanish region with a higher density of stars in the Michelin Guide, and it has become a preferred destination of many gastronomic tourists, both domestic and international. Four restaurants boast 3 stars, the highest possible award: Juan María Arzak (Arzak restaurant), Martín Berasategui (Berasategui restaurant), Pedro Subijana (chef of Akelarre) and Eneko Atxa (Azurmendi restaurant). In the new generation of chefs, Andoni Luis Aduriz, Mugaritz restaurant, is outstanding.
The coastal city of San Sebastián is home to the Basque Culinary Center, an academic research institution focused on higher education and research in the areas of gastronomy and nutrition.
Basque food is one of the reasons for
Sports
The Basque country is also home to former national football
Another major Basque Country club is
The most renowned Basque footballer of all time is possibly
At international level, Basque players were especially prominent in Spanish selections prior to the Civil War, with all of those at the 1928 Olympics, and the majority of the 1920 Olympics and 1934 World Cup squads, born in the region. There is an unofficial 'national' team which plays occasional friendlies, however its squads pick players from the wider territory including Navarre and the French Basque Country.
Cycling as a sport is popular in the Basque Country.
Notable people
Some notable Basque people from this administrative jurisdiction include
See also
- Basque Country (greater region)
- Basque mythology
- Basque breeds and cultivars
- Livestock in the Basque Country
References
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- ^ French: Pays Basque
- ^ (Basque: Euskal Autonomia Erkidegoa, EAE; Spanish: Comunidad Autónoma Vasca, CAV)
- ^ Blinhorn, Martin The Basque Ulster': Navarre and the Basque Autonomy Question under the Spanish Second Republic The Historical Journal Vol. 17, No. 3 (Sep. 1974), pp. 595-613
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- ^ a b "El 28,2% de la población que vive en el País Vasco ha nacido fuera | País Vasco". elmundo.es. Retrieved 26 April 2010.
- Instituto Nacional de Estadística. Retrieved 5 April 2019.
- ^ Centro de Investigaciones Sociológicas (Centre for Sociological Research) (October 2019). "Macrobarómetro de octubre 2019, Banco de datos - Document 'Población con derecho a voto en elecciones generales y residente en España, País Vasco (aut.)" (PDF) (in Spanish). p. 23. Retrieved 4 February 2020.
- ^ Michelena, Luis (1977). "El largo camino del euskera" (PDF). El Libro Blanco del Euskera. Euskaltzaindia. Retrieved 3 July 2013.
- ISBN 978-84-457-2775-1
- ^ "The Basque Language Gains Speakers, but No Surge in Usage – Basque Tribune".
- ISBN 978-84-936037-9-3.
- ^ "Spain and its regions | Autonomy games". Economist.com. 20 September 2007. Retrieved 26 April 2010.
- ^ "Archivo de Resultados Electorales". .euskadi.net. Archived from the original on 7 April 2010. Retrieved 26 April 2010.
- ^ "El lugar más vigilado de Europa Occidental quiere más policías" (in European Spanish). Retrieved 19 January 2018.
- ^ "Bildu pide menor presencia policial en Euskadi" (in European Spanish). Retrieved 19 January 2018.
- ^ "El pueblo vasco se constituye en comunidad autónoma". El País. 18 July 1979. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
- ^ "The Statute of Autonomy of the Basque Country" (PDF). Euskadi.net. Retrieved 8 July 2013.
- ^ "Statute of Autonomy of the Basque Country". BOE.es (in Spanish). 18 December 1978. Retrieved 8 July 2013.
- ^ "Azkuna: "Vitoria no es la capital de Euskadi"". El Correo. 12 March 2010. Retrieved 9 September 2010.
- ^ Ayala, Alberto (11 May 2010). "Vitoria no será capital por ley, por ahora". El Correo. Retrieved 9 September 2010.
- ^ "El Parlamento Vasco muestra su apoyo al referéndum catalán". EITB. 28 September 2017. Retrieved 1 October 2017.
- ^ "La sociedad vasca empatiza con Cataluña, pero no aplicaría su modelo". EITB. 9 October 2017. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
- ^ "Batalla jurídica por la ley vasca de víctimas policiales". eldiario.es (in Spanish). Retrieved 31 July 2018.
- ^ "Hauteskunde Orokorrak, 2019 A10. Emaitzak | EiTB Hauteskunde Orokorrak". www.eitb.eus (in Basque). Retrieved 11 November 2019.
- ^ "PP País Vasco | El PNV pierde un diputado en Bizkaia en favor del Partido Popular". LaSexta (in Spanish). 13 November 2019. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
- ^ Eustat. "PIB per cápita (PPC) por país y año (EU 28=100). 2005-2016". www.eustat.eus. Retrieved 31 January 2018.
- ^ "Regional GDP - Eurostat". ec.europa.eu. Retrieved 31 January 2018.
- ^ "La economía de la CAV crecerá por encima del 2 % en 2019". Euskal Irrati Telebista (in Spanish). 24 July 2019. Retrieved 24 November 2019.
- ^ Koilparambil, Aby Jose (12 April 2018). "Siemens Gamesa seeks second wind by targeting bigger markets". Reuters. Retrieved 1 February 2019.
- ^ "Euskadi es la comunidad que mejor ha resistido la crisis". EITB. 13 April 2015. Retrieved 13 April 2015.
- ^ "Ocho de las diez localidades menos afectadas son vascas". El País. 13 April 2015. Archived from the original on 13 April 2015. Retrieved 13 April 2015.
- ^ "Short-term statistical products". en.eustat.eus. Retrieved 31 January 2018.
- ^ "Unemployment statistics - Statistics Explained". ec.europa.eu. Retrieved 31 January 2018.
- ^ "Tasas de actividad, paro y empleo por provincia (3996)". www.ine.es (in Spanish). Retrieved 31 January 2018.
- ^ "Regional Unemployment by NUTS2 Region". Eurostat.
- ^ "Deuda Pública del País Vasco". Datos Macro. Retrieved 23 April 2014.
- ^ "Deuda Pública de España". Datos Macro. Retrieved 23 April 2014.
- ^ "Passenger Traffic, Aircraft Movements and Cargo at Spanish Airports, 2016" (PDF). Aeropuertos Españoles y Navegación Aérea. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 August 2017.
- ^ Carlin, John (13 March 2005). "Is San Sebastián the best place to eat in Europe?". The Observer. Retrieved 9 September 2010.
- ^ Mayr, Walter (11 April 2008). "Athletic Bilbao: How a proud Basque team is resisting globalization". Der Spiegel. Retrieved 19 May 2015.
- ^ "2009 Riders and teams Database - Cyclingnews.com". Retrieved 14 August 2009.
- Pierson, Peter (1999). The History of Spain. Westport, Connecticut: ISBN 0-313-30272-3.
- Trask, Robert Lawrence (1997). The History of Basque. London: ISBN 0-415-13116-2
External links
- Basque Country travel guide from Wikivoyage
- Basque Government
- José Aranda Aznar, "La mezcla del pueblo vasco", en Empiria: Revista de metodología de ciencias sociales, ISSN 1139-5737, Nº 1, 1998, págs. 121–180.