According to the Personal and Family Income Statistics prepared by Eustat in collaboration with the Provincial Councils of Álava, Bizkaia and Gipuzkoa, average personal income in the A.C. of the Basque Country in 2001 stood at 12,676 euros for the population aged 18 or over, which is to say 28% higher than four years previously. Álava was the province where personal income was highest, 13,266 euros, followed by Gipuzkoa with 13,022 euros and finally Bizkaia, with 12,321 euros. If we look at the evolution of the provinces, Álava performed best, with growth of 32%, followed by Gipuzkoa, which increased 30% and Bizkaia, with a figure of 26%.

As for disposable income, equivalent to total income minus Income Tax and social security contributions made by the worker, differences lessened. In this case, disposable income for the A.C. of the Basque Country as a whole gave a figure of 10,800 euros, 11,460 euros for Alava, 11,086 for Gipuzkoa and 10,464 euros for Bizkaia.

One in seven adults obtained double the average annual income and one in six received no income whatsoever in 2001

As for the distribution of income among the population, almost 1,500,000 people aged 18 or over obtained some sort of income, which is to say 83%, while 17% of the population, one in six residents aged 18 or over, received no income whatsoever during 2001. Additionally, 60% of the population obtained an income below the average for the A.C. of the Basque Country or obtained no income at all, while 14% obtained an income that was twice the average, which is to say over 25,000 euros.

The median is the indicator that expresses the amount of income that divides the population into two equal halves. In 2001 this figure stood at 9,063 euros. This meant that half of the adult population of the A.C. of the Basque Country had an income of more than 9,063 euros per year, whereas that of the other half was below this figure.

As regards the percentage distribution of total personal income  by the main sources of income in the three provinces, income earned from work had the greatest relative weight, followed by social welfare or benefit.

66.8% of income was generated by work

As regards the composition of total personal income received by the residents of the A.C. of the Basque Country during 2001, 66.8% came from income generated by work, averaging 8,466 euros. The remainder was divided between social welfare or benefit, with 19%, an average of 2,407 euros, almost 7% came from economic activities, with an average of 873 euros, and 7.3% came from capital income, both property capital and financial capital, averaging 928 euros.

Comparing these figures with those of 1997, we can see that capital income increased 0.7% out of total income, while income from economic activities diminished by 0.6%. However, income from work, which at that time included benefits, maintained the same percentage, 86%, if also bracketed together with benefits on this occasion.

In terms of provinces, differences can be seen as regards the weight of income from work and benefits in the make-up of total income, since in Álava 70% of income derived from work and 15% from benefits, whereas in Gipuzkoa 67% of income came from work and 17% from benefits and in Bizkaia, 66% from work and 21% from benefits, two points above the average for the A.C. of the Basque Country.

Employed men obtained 1.5 times more income than employed women

There was an uneven distribution of income between men and women, given that men in the A.C. of the Basque Country obtained an average total income of 17,820 euros, whereas women had one of 7,840 euros, which meant that men received twice the average income of women and obtained a personal income of 9,980 euros more than women, which is to say double.

This breach between the sexes closes if we consider only employed people, given that men in work obtained an average income of 21,492 euros and women in the same situation received an average income of 14,267 euros.

The greatest difference between personal incomes of men and women occurred between the ages of 55 and 59. In this age bracket, the average male income surpassed the average personal income of women by 19,364 euros, mainly due to the differing employment rates between the sexes at these ages.

The highest total personal income was obtained between the ages of 45 and 49, with an average of 17,739 euros

For the population aged 18 or over, the highest total personal income was obtained between the ages of 45 and 49, where an average income of 17,739 euros was reached. In the case of women, the highest average income was obtained between 40 and 44 (with an average income of 11,605 euros) while for men, the highest average income was for the 50 to 54 age group and was considerably higher (26,593 euros).

The highest personal incomes were obtained by people with postgraduate university studies and doctorates

As regards the level of education, the highest income was for those who had taken postgraduate university studies or doctorates, with an average income of 26,945 euros, and those who had gone through higher education, with an average income of 21,636 euros. Below the average were those who had studied secondary or baccalaureate, with 12,104 euros, and those with only primary studies or without any qualifications, with an average income of 7,601 euros.

Therefore, the person to receive the highest income would be a 45 to 49 year-old male with university qualifications, working in a high-level profession –directors, managers or high-level technicians–; around 6,800 people in the A.C. of the Basque Country could be said to have these characteristics and all of them obtained an average annual income of 47,267 euros.

On the contrary, the most underprivileged group, with the lowest income, was to be found among women aged 18 to 24, without qualifications or only with primary studies and working in a post that did not require qualifications; 1,300 women were in this situation, earning an annual average of 2,781 euros.

As regards employed people, their average personal income was 18,678 euros. By profession, managing directors had the highest incomes – 28,836 euros to be precise, followed by professionals and technicians, with 27,110 euros. Far below the average for employed people were unskilled workers, whose average income was 11,169, those employed in catering services and shopkeepers, with 11,321 euros, and lastly, agricultural workers and fishermen, with 10,728 euros.

The municipality in the A.C. of the Basque Country with the highest average personal income was Laukiz, with 23,363 euros, situated in the province of Bizkaia. In Gipuzkoa, the municipality with the highest personal income was Leintz-Gatzaga, with 18,094 euros and in Álava the highest personal income was to be found in Zigoitia, with 16,923 euros. Conversely, the lowest personal incomes were in Karrantza in Bizkaia, with 8,087 euros, Lapuebla de Labarca in Álava, with 8,640 euros, and Pasaia in Gipuzkoa, with 9,879 euros.

The average personal income of the capital cities of the three Provinces surpassed the average of the A.C. of the Basque Country. In first place was Donostia-San Sebastián, with 14,895 euros, followed by Vitoria-Gasteiz, with 13,731 euros and finally, Bilbao, with 12,881 euros.

Total personal income: the result of the aggregation of income from work, income from economic activities, social welfare or benefits and from capital, both financial capital (interest on bank accounts, bonds or debentures) or property capital (renting of property).