The Industry and Energy sector had 14,977 establishments in the A.C. of the Basque Country, 4,640 of which belonged to metallurgy and metal articles, 1,675 to the food industry and 1,483 to the paper, publishing and graphic arts subsector. Of the 246,063 employees in Industry and Energy, 83,839 were involved in the metallurgy subsector, 32,903 in machinery and 20,409 in transport material.

In addition, the GDP per inhabitant for the A.C. of the Basque Country was 24,797, measured in Purchasing Power Parity (PPP), above the average for the 25 European Union countries (21,170) and the Spanish State, with 20,025. If the EU average corresponds to an index of 100, our Community registered a figure of 117, while the State stood at 94.

These are just some of the many data in the book “Basque Statistical yearbook 2005", recently published by the Basque Statistics Institute - EUSTAT, whose aim is to disseminate information of great interest produced in the economic, social, cultural, political, etc., spheres of the A.C. of the Basque Country. The data are also shown for each of our Provinces.

In the publication we find a series of indicators, accompanied by tables and abundant graphs, which aim to help the reader to get to know some fundamental aspects of our reality and compare it with the most advanced countries in the European Union.

Among the indicators contained in the publications related to the economic area, we can highlight, for example, that 419.1 dollars in PPP per inhabitant correspond to the A.C. of the Basque Country in expenditure on R&D in 2003, well above the 231.5 assigned by the State, although below the average fro the whole of the EU countries (436.4).

The information society, both in relation to families and enterprises, is covered exhaustively in the publication. We learn that in 2004 49.4% of Basque families owned a computer in the home and that 79.6% had a mobile phone. In companies, the same year 59.9 % of establishments had a PC, 45.9% had access to the Internet and 63.6% had mobile phones.

Information and communications technologies (ICT), personal and family income, the macro-figures for the industrial, construction, primary and services sectors, and foreign trade, are all included in an enormous range of tables in the publication.

Expenditure on social protection is another of the areas of interest in the “Basque Statistical yearbook 2005". Thus, our Community earmarked 4,054 euros per inhabitant in PPP (Purchasing Power Parity) for this concept, which represents 19.60% as a percentage of the GDP.

One of the many subjects covered in the book refers to the activity and unemployment rates in a series that ranges from 1994 to 2004, with data for the Community and the three provinces. Thus the activity and unemployment rates for 2004 came to 54.9% and 7.8%, respectively, while ten years before they stood at 52.5% and 25%.

With regard to the demographic area, we should highlight the fact that our birth rate is well below that of neighbouring countries (8.5 births per 1,000 inhabitants in our Community, compared to 10.1 in Spain, 12.6 in Holland, 13.0 in France, or 15.1 in Ireland).

The Basque Statistical yearbook 2005 also covers in detail the statistical reality of Basque health. So, in 2003 there were 44 hospitals with 7,985 beds and expenditure per inhabitant of 641 euros per inhabitant, which represents 2.8% of the GDP. As far as AIDS cases and deaths due to AIDS are concerned, the publication shows that up to 2003 there were 5,149 cases and 2,998 deaths.

As for the chapter dedicated to education, of the 306,391 pupils registered in the academic year 2004-05, a total of 154,160 studied in model D, 69,850 in model B and 80,506 in model A. Basque language and culture is another of the sections in the book, in which among other data, we find the evolution of the population classified according to the overall level of Basque language, sex, mother tongue, etc.

How do we spend our spare time? is another of the subjects in the Yearbook, a subject that enables us to know the evolution between 1998 and 2003.

In short, the book is a compendium in which data on a diverse range of subjects can be found, such as geography and environment of the A.C. of the Basque Country, its demography, labour market, social protection, health, education, culture and Basque language, information society, economic accounts and public sector, prices and labour costs, primary sector, industry, technological innovation, services, foreign trade, housing, justice and a final chapter on the elections. This is the 23rd edition to the "Basque Statistical yearbook".