During 2001, 7,079 more people came to the A.C. of the Basque Country than left it, according to Eustat data. It was the second year running that there was a positive migratory balance for the Community, following the virtually continuous reduction in negative balances since 1991, leading to its becoming positive in the year 2000.

By Province, Bizkaia, with 3,184 more people, presented the highest migratory balance in absolute figures, growing by 284% compared to the previous year. Gipuzkoa, which gained 1,579 people as a result of migration, increased its positive balance by 596% with respect to the previous year. Álava, in turn, presented a smaller increase, 54%, gaining 2,316 people.

Taking solely the movements between the A.C. of the Basque Country and the other Autonomous Communities, in 2001 there were 2,892 more entries than in the previous year, giving a 22% increase. Although the migratory balance between the A.C. of the Basque Country and the other Autonomous Communities is still negative, it has fallen by 201%, a loss of 1,338 people. Elsewhere, the migratory balance for people coming from foreign countries was positive, with 8,417 more people, meaning a 32% increase in relation to the previous year.

Changes of residence affected 7.3% of the Basque population during 2001; in 71% of cases the move was within the A.C. of the Basque Country, while in the remaining cases the move was outside the Community.

Altogether, there were 153,338 changes of usual residence in the A.C. of the Basque Country:

- Of this figure, 73,765 corresponded to changes of residence within the same municipality.

- Intra-Community movement, where the origin and destination were different municipalities of the A.C. of the Basque Country, accounted for 35,102 movements.

- In addition, 25,775 external or extra-Community immigrations were registered, whereby the origin was a municipality outside the Community and the destination was the A.C. of the Basque Country.

- Finally, there were 18,696 external or extra-Community emigrations, meaning variations in residence originating in a municipality of the Autonomous Community and whose destination was outside of it.

This external or extra-Community geographical movement, affecting 21 of every 1000 inhabitants of the A.C. of the Basque Country in 2001 (Álava 27‰, Bizkaia 23‰ and Gipuzkoa 16‰), is relatively small if compared to the other Autonomous Communities, where 29 of every 1000 inhabitants moved away.

The emigration rate of the A.C. of the Basque Country was 8.9‰ in 2001, or, if the figures for emigrations abroad are excluded, 8.4‰, two percent below the average for the autonomous communities as a whole. Those communities which were above the average, La Rioja, Castile- La Mancha, the Balearic Isles and Ceuta-Melilla, surpassed the A.C. of the Basque Country with rates ranging between 11‰ and 30‰.

The Autonomous Communities that contributed more population to the A.C. of the Basque Country than they received were Catalonia, Castile and León, Castile- La Mancha, Asturias, Galicia, Extremadura and Aragón, as well as the autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla, with whom there was a balance of 76 people. With foreign countries, 2001 saw a positive balance of 8,417 people.

The Autonomous Communities that constituted a pole of attraction for emigrants from the A.C. of the Basque Country were, in the following order, Castile and León, Cantabria, Madrid and the Valencian Community. These four account for one in two people that leave our Community.

11,353 foreign immigrants were registered in 2001, 55% more than the previous year, accounting for 44% of the total entries in our Community. Since 1988 there has been a substantial increase in the volume of foreign immigrants entering the A.C. of the Basque Country. In absolute terms, the figure has grown from around 500 entries to pass the 10,000 mark in 2001, or, in other words, the number of foreign immigrants has multiplied by twenty in twelve years. It should be noted that part of the foreign immigrants came from other autonomous Communities. In 2001, this happened in 3,152 cases.

As regards education level, the lowest levels of education corresponded to 48% of immigrants and 50% of emigrants; higher levels of education were the same for both groups, 17%.

The average age of emigrants was 37.2, 3.6 more than that of immigrants, which was 33.6.