46.4% of the population resident in the A.C. of the Basque Country live in their town of birth, i.e. they are sedentary. The rest are divided between 31% that come from another town in the A.C. of the Basque Country –internal migrant- and 22.6% that come from another Autonomous Community or from third countries –immigrants-.

These data, compared with data from 1996, show that the sedentary population has fallen by 6.8%, internal migration grew by 12% and that the number of immigrants fell 3.5%. By Provinces, the sedentary population fell 5.5 % in Álava compared with 7% in Gipuzkoa and 9% in Bizkaia.

Internal migrants increased by 16% in Álava, 15% in Gipuzkoa and 10% in Bizkaia.

Unlike Bizkaia and Gipuzkoa, where immigrants from other Communities or third countries fell by 5 and 4.4% respectively, in Álava this percentage increased 3%. The drop in the number of immigrants derives from the rest of the Autonomous Communities, as immigration from third countries is experiencing an upward trend.

Over the last 10 years 83,959 people have arrived from outside the A.C. of the Basque Country

Between 1992 and 2001 83,959 people have arrived from outside the A.C. of the Basque Country, 50.5% choosing Bizkaia as the province of residence, 28.6% Gipuzkoa and 20.9% Álava. On average they are 5.2 years younger –36.6 – than the average age of the total population. 53.7% are active population compared with 47% of the whole Basque population.

Over half Basque families are made up of people who were all born in the A.C. of the Basque Country and a third are made up of some members born inside and others born outside the Autonomous Community.

The percentage of families made up of people who were all born in the A.C. of the Basque Country rose 44.6% in 1991 to 52.1% in 2001. Mixed families –part born inside the Community and another part born outside- fell from 43% to 33.5% and there was a slight increase in families made up of people who were all born outside, rising from 12.3% in 1991 to 14.4% in 2001.

However, the composition by birth has not varied substantially: 71% of the resident population in 1991 were born in the A.C. of the Basque Country, rising to 72.9% in 2001. Family members born in foreign countries rose from eleventh place, if classified in a list of Spanish provinces in 1991 –with 25,358 persons-, to second place -49,401 persons-, behind Burgos, which is the province with the highest number of natives living in the A.C. of the Basque Country –65,728 in 2001-. Burgos and foreign countries are followed by Cáceres with 39,060, Salamanca with 33,165 and residents born in Navarre with 30,.329 people, this figure being higher than the total residents in 2001 in Tudela, the second largest town in Navarre.

By Autonomous Community of origin for residents born outside, in first place is Castile and León, with 218,387 natives, followed by Extremadura with 66,614 and Galicia with 55,125 persons.