According to Eustat data more than half the population of the A.C. of the Basque Country aged two years and over claim to have some knowledge of the Basque language – 55.4%-, while 10 years ago this percentage stood at 46.1% having been at 36% in 1981.

Within this group two different linguistic types can be identified: those who understand and speak Basque (Euskera) well –Basque speakers-, accounting for 32.3% of the population and those who, although having a good or regular level of comprehension, have problems when it comes to speaking – quasi-Basque speakers - representing 23.1%.

When compared to 1996, Alava is the Province with the highest percentage growth of Basque speakers: 11.9%, followed by Bizkaia with 2.9% and Gipuzkoa with 2,3%. Nevertheless, the group that has grown the most over the last five years is that of the quasi-Basque speakers: 26.7% in Alava, 16.6% in Bizkaia and 8.4% in Gipuzkoa.

In 2001 Gipuzkoa with 51,5% became the first Province with a Basque-speaking majority

In 2001 Gipuzkoa became the first Province with a Basque-speaking majority with 51,5% of inhabitants speaking Basque; one in four Biscayans and one in six Alaveses –16.2%- also understood and spoke the Basque language without difficulty.

As has already been seen, it is the regions in which Basque is less common (the west and south of the A.C. of Euskadi) that reflected the greatest increases in the number of Basque speakers between 1996 and 2001: Valles Alaveses rose by 94.6% -increasing from 4.1 to 7.1%-, Montaña Alavesa 55.8%, Encartaciones 36.8%, the Rioja Alavesa 30.8%, Estribaciones del Gorbea by 22.6%, the Llanada Alavesa 11.6%, Greater Bilbao by 5% and the Cantábrica Alavesa by 4%.

Plentzia-Mungia, which increased its count of Basque speakers by 7.2%, lost representation of this linguistic group in percentage terms, falling from 49.6% in 1996 to 47.1% of the population aged 2 and over in 2001. The border region of Bajo Bidasoa also rose significantly by 10%, Donostia-San Sebastián being somewhat lower: 4%.

Other areas, characterized by being populated in the majority by Basque speakers, registered more modest increases, even slight losses. In Gipuzkoa, Urola Costa and its neighbour to the south –Goierri- increased by around 2%, while Lower Deba and the region of Tolosa fell by slightly less than 2% (1.8 and 1.5% respectively). In Upper Deba, where the number of Basque speakers fell by 0.6%, the proportion actually increases: from 63.9% in 1996 to 65.6% in 2001; this area lost 2.4% of its population during the period under study.

Source: EUSTAT

Gernika-Bermeo and its neighbour to the east Markina-Ondarroa are the two areas which have lost most Basque speakers: 3.9% the former, 3% the latter; Arratia-Nervión fell by 0,8%, while Duranguesado increased by 1.5%. Except for Markina-Ondarroa, which also lost 2.4% of quasi-Basque speakers, this linguistic group, which have a good or regular understanding but difficulties in speaking Basque, increased considerably.

Vitoria-Gasteiz is the provincial capital with the greatest increase in the number of Basque speakers – 9.8%- and quasi-Basque speakers –25.9%-. In 2001 14.9% of Vitorians were Basque speakers and 25.8% quasi-Basque speakers. This is followed by Donostia-San Sebastián with an increase of 6.5% Basque speakers and 9.4% quasi-Basque speakers. Bilbao increased by 4.5% in the first group and by 10.6% in the second. This capital is now only 6 tenths of percentage point above Vitoria-Gasteiz in the proportion of Basque speakers, while Donostia-San Sebastián doubles both with 34.7%.

After the three capitals, Irun, Galdakao and Zarautz are the three municipalities in which the highest numbers of Basque speakers were to be found between 1996 and 2001: 2,137 in the first, 1,521 in the second and 1,104 in the third. On the other hand, Llodio, Pasaia and Arrasate-Mondragón lost nearly 3% of their Basque speakers, although proportionately this group increased in all three cases between one and two percentage points. Contrarily in Tolosa the number of Basque speakers fell by 3.8%, almost one percentage point–from 65.3% in 1996 to 64.5% in 2001- and Bermeo registered a drop of 4,7%, from 77.6% to 75.7%.

In five years the growth of monolingual or bilingual teaching models in the Basque language has led to the number of young people with no knowledge at all of the language to fall substantially. One in three children aged between 2 and 4 did not have any knowledge of the Basque language in 1996 –32,8%-, dropping to one in five –18%- in 2001. In the 5 to 9 age group the fall, although of a lesser magnitude, is still significant: from 17.6% to 11.1%.

One in four children aged under 5 have Basque as their mother tongue, this being one in five in 1996.

The role of education is underlined by the observation that the proportion of the population who have received the Basque language through family transmission has not varied substantially: one in five in 1996 and in 2001. Nevertheless, among the youngest generation an increase in those who also receive the language through their parents can be appreciated: in 2001 almost one in four children under the age of five –24.4%- have Basque as their mother tongue, compared to 20.8% in 1996.

One in seven inhabitants of the A.C. of the Basque Country claim to speak only Basque at home, this proportion remaining stable since 1991.

A little more than one in five people claim to use Basque at home, 13.6% exclusively and 8.4% along with Spanish, both cases remaining unchanged from the figures in 1996.

There is actually a fall of 2,008 Basque monolingual speakers, resulting from the 16,181 new entries to this group (mainly youngsters aged 9 or under) and the departure due to death or emigration of 18,189 personas. The bilingual population group of people who speak Basque and Spanish also fell in number: 3,506 fewer people, as a result of 15,849 entries and 19,355 departures.

Two out of five people in Gipuzkoa - 41%- and one in seven Biscayans –14.9%- use only Basque or the two official languages at home, falling to 5.4% in the case of the Alaveses.

The Llanada Alavesa is the region in which there is the greatest increase in the number of speakers using Basque or either of the two languages at home between 1996 y 2001: 1,574, although this group represents just 5%.

On the other hand are Greater Bilbao, which lost 3,009 Basque speakers, Duranguesado with 1,381 fewer and Gernika-Bermeo with a fall of 1,145. Although in Greater Bilbao these losses hardly affect the group of Basque language users – they fall from 6.5% to 6.3%-, they do have a greater impact in Gernika-Bermeo –from 72.1% in 1996 to 70% in 2001- and in Duranguesado –from 38.1% to 36.5%-.

Vitoria-Gasteiz, the municipality that had the highest increase in population between 1996 and 2001, also registered the highest increase in the number of Basque speakers –1,311-, representing an increase of 14%.

Zarautz, with 1,876 inhabitants more, gained almost as many Basque speakers as Vitoria-Gasteiz –1,282-. Arrigorriaga with an increase of 39.9%, Orozko with 25.6% and Urretxu with 22%, are other examples of municipalities with an increase in the number of speakers, due, to a great extent, to the new incoming population.

On the other hand is Bilbao, which lost 2,238 Basque speakers (-10.3%), although it should be borne in mind that this was the municipality, which suffered the greatest population loss: 8,903 inhabitants.