Press Release 14/04/2014
8% of the population of the Basque Country was born abroad
Only four municipalities in the Basque Country had a percentage of the population born abroad higher than the Spanish average
On the 1st of January 2013 in the Basque Country the population born abroad stood at 184,045, or 8.4% of the total population, a long way from the proportion recorded in Spain, which stood at 14.1%, according to data provided by Eustat. On this point, the Basque Country was aligned with Extremadura, Asturias, Galicia and Castilla y León, where the population born abroad did not exceed 8%.
Graph 1: People born abroad by municipality (%).
Source: EUSTAT. Municipal Statistics on Inhabitants. 1 January 2013
Of the 66 municipalities that had a greater proportion of people born abroad than the average for the Basque Country, 23 were in Álava; of those, 14 exceeded 10%, and the majority were from the district of Rioja Alavesa. However, only 4 municipalities exceeded the average percentage for Spain: Navaridas, with over 20%, Izurtza (17.5%), Samaniego (15.3%) and Berriatua (14.9%).
On the other hand, 6 municipalities had practically no resident population born abroad, that is, they had a percentage under 2%; 5 of them were in Gipuzkoa - Elduain, Orexa, Gaztelu, Baliarrain and Berastegi - and the rest were in Bizkaia-Garai; except for Berastegi, these municipalities had less than 500 inhabitants.
The percentage of the population born abroad was higher in the provincial capitals than the Basque Country as a whole, with the highest proportion being in Vitoria-Gasteiz, where it stood at 11.6%; in Bilbao it stood at 10.2% and in San Sebastián it reached 9.4% of the total population.
Residents with nationalities of American countries were the most numerous
Residents in the Basque Country with nationality of Latin American countries accounted for 43% of the total of foreign residents, whereas in Spain as a whole this figure hardly exceeded 26%. In this group, South American countries accounted for the majority: Colombia, Bolivia, Ecuador and Brazil made up for a quarter of all foreigners, and more than half of Latin American foreigners.
In contrast, Europeans resident in the Basque Country represented 25.7% compared to almost 47% in Spain. In this group Romanians are worthy of special mention, where they accounted for 10.7% of the total number of foreigners, whilst in Spain the figure was 15.7%. Paradoxically, Romanians made up 41.6% of Europeans, 8 percentage points more than Spain as a whole. The Portuguese, although fewer in number than the Romanians, had a significantly higher weighting in the Basque Country than in Spain, accounting for 19.6% and 5% of all Europeans, respectively.
Nationals from African countries provided a slightly higher proportion than the total in Spain: that is, 23.8% compared to 19.9%. However, it is noteworthy that in Spain Moroccans made up 71.8% of all African nationals, whereas in the Basque Country this figure was scarcely 49%. The second most numerous African nationality in the Autonomous Region was Algerian, with 15.7%, compared to 5.8% in Spain.
Chinese and Pakistani nationals had a presence amongst foreigners of 5.9%, one percentage point higher than in Spain. It is particularly noteworthy that in the Basque Country they were practically the only representatives of the Asian nations, given that they made up 80%, whilst in Spain as a whole they did not reach 69%.
The distribution of nationalities by continents was different in the three provinces. Thus in Bizkaia and Gipuzkoa, Latin American countries made up the majority group, over 40%; however, in Bizkaia the Bolivians and Colombians accounted for nearly 46% of nationalities from this continent, whilst in Gipuzkoa there was a more uneven distribution.
In Álava fewer than 35% of residents had Latin American nationality, of which nearly a third were Colombian. African nationals accounted for a larger group, but only exceeded Latin Americans by 2 percentage points.
The distribution of Europeans was different in Bizkaia and Gipuzkoa: there were more Europeans in Gipuzkoa, due to a higher proportion of French. Romanians made up a majority in Bizkaia, at nearly 55%, whilst in Álava and Gipuzkoa they were about 30%.
In Gipuzkoa, residents with nationality of African countries had the lowest proportion of the three provinces, and nearly two thirds of them were Moroccan. In Álava and in Bizkaia Moroccans also accounted for the majority of Africans, but were less than half (47.5% and 43%, respectively).
The second most common African nationality in Álava and Gipuzkoa was Algerian, and the third, Senegalese. However, in Álava the former made up for 24.2% of Africans, and the latter 3.3%, whilst in Gipuzkoa the proportions were 13.1% and 9.4% respectively. The situation in Bizkaia was practically the opposite of that in Gipuzkoa.
The Chinese had a significant presence in Bizkaia, at nearly 60% of Asians, followed by Pakistanis, at 16%, whilst in Gipuzkoa and Álava Pakistanis had the highest percentage, especially in Álava were they reached 58.4%.
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 Municipal Inhabitants Statistics of the Basque Country
Municipal Inhabitants Statistics of the Basque Country databank