Press Release 08/03/2024

INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY. 2024

Women currently represent 48% of the population in paid work, 18.4 percentage points higher than in 1981

The female population aged over 65 has increased by 135% in the last 40 years

In 1981, women represented less than 30% of the total number of people in paid work and 34.4% of women of working age had a paid job. The latest data (2023) show that women now represent more than 48% of the population in paid work and amount to 67.2% of all women of working age.

22.8% of the total number of active women were unemployed in 1981; that percentage has now fallen to 7.8%.

In addition, women’s entry into the spheres of higher education and paid employment led to a change in gender roles. In the 1985-86 academic year, women represented 47.6% of university students. 10 years later the number had increased by 7 percentage points, standing at 54.5%, a proportion that has remained stable for the last 15 years.

Political representation

In 1980, fewer than 7% of the members of the Basque Parliament were women. A decade later in 1990, 16% of parliamentarians were female and another decade on, in 2001, they represented one third of the parliament. Equal representation was achieved in 2005 and has been maintained ever since.

Women and life expectancy

Older women represent a large and growing segment of the population. Life expectancy at birth for women in the Basque Country was 86.1 years in 2022, almost 10 years more than 40 years ago, when it stood at 76.9. In recent years, the population pyramid has changed significantly in shape. The number of people aged over 65 has increased by 13.7 percentage points. In 1981 they represented 9.8% of the population and now they account for 23.5%. The number of women over 65 has increased by 135% and that of women under 20 has fallen by over 43%.

Population ageing represents a change in the societal landscape and means that more and more people are living alone, especially women. 38.5% of women aged 85 and over live alone. In addition, women represent 71.6% of day-care centre users and 68.8% of elderly care home residents.

For further information:

Eustat - Euskal Estatistika Erakundea / Basque Statistics Institute C/ Donostia-San Sebastián, 1 01010 Vitoria-Gasteiz Press Service: servicioprensa@eustat.eus Tel.: 945 01 75 62