Press Release 10/12/2013
The average income of the Basque Country remained steady from 2009 to 2011
The average personal income of the Basque Country stood at €19,715 in 2011
According to the Personal and Family Income Statistics produced by Eustat, in collaboration with the Provincial Councils of Álava, Bizkaia and Gipuzkoa, the average personal income of residents in the Basque Country in 2011 stood at 19,715 euros for the population aged 18 or over, just 0.5% up on two years before. Gipuzkoa was the province with the highest personal income, 20,396 euros, followed by Álava with 20,148 euros and, lastly, Bizkaia with 19,187 euros. If we analyse the evolution by province since 2009, Álava had the best performance with the income of its population increasing by 2.5%; followed by Gipuzkoa, where it grew by 0.6% and finally Bizkaia, with a drop of 0.3%.
Taking into account disposable income, equivalent to total income less income tax and social contributions by the worker, various differences can be seen between the three provinces. Disposable income for the Basque Country as a whole stood at 16,711 euros, for Gipuzkoa it reached 17,384 euros, 17,206 euros for Álava and 16,171 euros for Bizkaia.
The average personal income in the capitals of the three provinces exceeded the average for the Basque Country. In first place was San Sebastián, with 23,008 euros, followed by Vitoria-Gasteiz, with 20,465 euros and, lastly, Bilbao, with 19,787 euros.
14% of the population aged 18 and over did not receive any type of income in 2011
In terms of the distribution of income among the population, almost 1.6 million people over the age of 18 received some type of income, i.e. 86.4%, while 13.6% of the population did not receive any type of income in 2011. Also, 59.4% of people receive less than the average income of the Basque Country or do not receive any income at all, while 11.7% have double the average income, i.e. just over 39,400 euros.
The median is the indicator that establishes the income that divides the population in two parts. In 2011 this figure stood at 15,441 euros, that is, half of the adult population of the Basque Country had an average personal income over 15,441 euros per year, whereas for the other half it was below this figure.
Regarding the percentage distribution of total personal income by the main income sources in the three provinces, work has the greatest relative weight, followed by transfers (pensions and social provisions).
62.7% of income originated from work
In this sense, regarding the composition of total personal income received by residents of the Basque Country during 2011, 62.7% of it came from income resulting from work, with an average of 12,358 euros. The rest was distributed between 23.7% for transfers and social provisions, 4,677 euros on average, 4.64% came from income from economic activities, with an average of 875 euros, and 9.2% came from capital gains, both moveable and immoveable, with an average of 1,805 euros.
These data, when compared with those from 2009, show that transfers rose by 1.1 percentage points, whilst income from work was up 0.1 points as a percentage of the total income. Capital gains were down by 1 point and income from economic activity dropped by 0.2 percentage points.
The average personal income of women represented 56% of income for men
An uneven distribution can be seen between income for men and women, given that whilst men in the Basque Country obtained a total average income of 25,258 euros, women received 14,534 euros, that is, the personal income of men was 10,904 euros higher than that for women.
The greatest difference between personal income of men and women was amongst those aged 60-64. In this age group the average personal income for men exceeded that for women by 19,519 euros.
For the population aged 18 and over as a whole, the highest total personal income was obtained between the ages of 55 and 59, standing at an average of 26,315 euros. However, in the case of women the highest average income was obtained between the ages of 50 and 54 (with an average income of 19,439 euros), whilst for men the maximum average income was between 55 and 59 years of age and was considerably superior (35,094 euros).
For further information:
Eustat - Euskal Estatistika Erakundea / Instituto Vasco de Estadística
C/ Donostia-San Sebastián, 1 01010 Vitoria-Gasteiz
Press Service: servicioprensa@eustat.eus Tlf: 945 01 75 62
Further press releases on Family and Personal Income of the Basque Country
Database on Family and Personal Income of the Basque Country