Press release 02/07/2013
Donostia-San Sebastián for capitals and el Alto Deba for regions stand out for the percentage of innovating companies with 10 or more employees
Spending on innovation activities was concentrated in the Basque capitals
The percentage of companies of 10 or more employees with innovation in 2011 was 37.8% in the Basque Country as a whole, according to data provided by Eustat. This percentage varies, if we observe its distribution by regions.
Two groupings in Álava stand out above all: the regions of the rest of Álava (Montaña Alavesa, Estribaciones del Gorbea, and Valles Alaveses) with more than half of its companies of 10 or more employees as innovative in 2011 (50.9%); and Cantábrica Alavesa with 49.1%. These are followed by all the regions of Gipuzcoa which, except for Tolosa and Bajo Bidasoa, have percentages above 40%, with Alto Deba standing out with 46.4% of innovative companies. Llanada Alavesa, with 39.7%, comes eighth in the ranking.
Markina-Ondarroa, with 39.4%, is the region of Bizkaia with the highest ranking, followed by Plentzia-Mungia (38.5%), Duranguesado (38.1%) and Gernika-Bermeo (37.9%), which complete the group of regions ranking above the average for the Basque country.
The regions with the lowest percentage of innovating companies include: Bajo Bidasoa (32.1%) in Gipuzkoa, which comes last; Arratia-Nervión (33.4%) in Bizkaia; and above all Gran Bilbao which has the greatest number of companies and yet has one of the lowest proportions of innovating companies (34.2%), despite the fact that it was one of the few regions to increase this ratio with respect to 2010.
Regarding the Basque capitals, there is nearly an eight point difference between Donostia-San Sebastián, in the lead with 42.8% of innovating companies, and Bilbao, with only 34.9%. Vitoria-Gasteiz registered 39.7% of innovating companies with 10 or more employees in 2011, almost two points above the average for the Basque country (37.8%).
As regards spending on innovation activities in companies of 10 or more employees, the highest spending was concentrated in the regions that include the capitals. Nevertheless, the degree of concentration is different, especially in Gipuzkoa. Both in Álava and in Bizkaia, the regions which include the capitals (Llanada Alavesa and Gran Bilbao, respectively) account for more than 80% of their province's spending, while this proportion is less in Gipuzkoa, with Donostialdea representing 42% of total spending on innovation.
In Álava, out of 432.4 million in expenditure, 377.3 was in Llanada Alavesa and in Bizkaia, out of 1,053.3 million, 846.2 million was spent in Gran Bilbao. In Gipuzkoa, however, out of 728.3 million, 309.0 corresponds to Donostialdea, with other regions of the province spending more than 100 million, such as Alto Deba with 114.6 million and Goierri with 106.7 million. Duranguesado in Bizkaia also stands out with 95.2 million.
Finally, spending on innovation activities increased in 2011 in the three provinces, as well as in the three Basque capitals. Among these capitals Donostia-San Sebastián stands out for its increase of 17.8%, by which it recovered the levels reached two years earlier.
For further information:
Basque Statistics Office
C/ Donostia-San Sebastián, 1 01010 Vitoria-Gasteiz
Tlf:+34-945-01 75 00 Fax:+34-945-01 75 01 E-mail: eustat@eustat.eus
Contact: José Miguel Escalada
Tlf:+34-945-01 75 96 Fax:+34-945-01 75 01
Further press releases on the Technological Innovation of the Basque Country (EIT) Survey
Databank on the Technological Innovation of the Basque Country (EIT)Survey