Press Release 02/07/2025

INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY SECTOR (ICT) STATISTICS. 2023

In 2023, turnover in the Information and Communication Technology sector in the Basque Country was up 7.8%

This sector accounted for 2.4% of both value added and employment in the Basque economy

In 2023, the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector in the Basque Country achieved a turnover of 5,307 million euros, an increase of 7.8% compared to the previous year, according to Eustat data.

Furthermore, in 2023, the ICT sector comprised 2,852 companies, which generated 27,754 jobs, representing 1.9% and 2.4%, respectively, of the total for the Basque economy. In turn, the 2,017 million euros in value added generated by companies in the ICT sector also accounted for 2.4% of the total.

Compared to the previous year (2022), there was an increase in both the number of companies (up 1.3%) and employment (up 4.2%). Since 2010, the first year of the available historical series, the number of companies included in the ICT sector has increased by 36.4%, while the number of jobs has risen by 24.9%. However, their relative weight in the economy as a whole has not seen any significant change. In 2010, the ICT sector accounted for 2.7% of the GVA of the Basque economy as a whole, compared to 2.4% in 2023. In terms of employment, in 2010, the weight of employment stood at 2.1%, three tenths lower than in 2023 (2.4%).

Companies in the ICT sector carried out more R&D+i activities than all the other sectors

Despite representing just 1.9% of companies in the Basque Country, the ICT sector accounted for 14.9% of companies implementing R&D and, with 138.9 million euros, carried out 9.0% of the total expenditure on internal R&D in the business sector.

Additionally, while across all sectors just 1.0% of companies implemented internal R&D activities, in companies in the ICT sector this percentage reached 8.0%.

In 2023, there were 1,931 people working in R&D in "full-time equivalent positions", of whom 24.4% (471) were women. These 1,931 people working in R&D in the ICT sector accounted for 11.7% of personnel in the business sector dedicated to R&D. If the comparison is made in respect of total R&D personnel, they constituted 8.3%.

Regarding innovation, as with R&D, there were significant differences between all the sectors as a whole and the ICT sector. In 2023, 58.3% of establishments with 10 or more employees in the ICT sector were innovators, compared to 38.4% in all the sectors as a whole.

Regarding expenditure on innovation activities, ICT establishments allocated 438.9 million euros, 12.3% of the total expenditure for all the sectors as a whole. Of this expenditure, 370.2 million corresponded to establishments with 10 or more employees, representing 11.8% of the total spent by companies of this size.

The ICT sector also allocated a greater proportion of resources towards R&D+i than the other sectors, as indicated by the figures spent both on innovation and on internal R&D with regard to the turnover figure (innovation and internal R&D intensity ratios). Specifically, innovation intensity in this sector stood at 5.8%, compared to 1.7% for all the economic sectors as a whole. In the case of internal R&D, the ratio was 1.7% for the ICT sector and 0.9% for all sectors.

E-commerce was more widespread in the ICT sector than in all the sectors as a whole

The use of ICT technology was extremely commonplace amongst the companies in this sector, to the point that the percentage with internet access reached 99.7%, compared to 96.0% for all the sectors as a whole. Furthermore, website availability rose to 74.5% in the ICT sector and 59.7% in all the sectors as a whole.

E-commerce was significantly more developed than in the other sectors. The establishments that made purchases via this method in the ICT sector accounted for 72.1% and those that carried out sales accounted for 14.4%, compared to 26.3% and 8.8%, respectively, in all the sectors as a whole.

Hence, 73.7% of ICT establishments engaged in e-commerce in 2023, whereas this figure stood at just 29.2% for all the sectors as a whole.

Lastly, the impact of the ICT sector on the foreign trade of goods remained at insignificant levels: exports accounted for 440.3 million euros out of a total of 32,750.4 million and imports stood at 606.7 million out of 26,944.2 million in total imports, accounting for 1.3% and 2.3%, respectively.

Standing out among the most common products traded in terms of exports were: Other ICT Products (39.3%), Electronic Components (37.6%) and Telecommunications Equipment (10.6%), and in terms of imports: Electronic Components (36.6%), Other ICT Products (33.4%) and Telecommunications Equipment (12.5%).

In short, in 2023, the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector in the Basque Country saw its turnover increase by 7.8% to reach 5,307 million euros. This sector accounted for 2.4% of both value added and employment in the Basque economy.

Furthermore, despite representing just 1.9% of all companies in the Basque Country, it accounted for 14.9% of companies with R&D activities, carried out 9.0% of the total expenditure on internal R&D and allocated 12.3% of the total expenditure for all the sectors as a whole to innovation activities.

The use of ICT and e-commerce was more widespread than in other sectors, particularly in terms of website availability, which stood at 74.5% in this sector and 59.7% in all the sectors as a whole.

Lastly, although their impact on foreign trade was limited, exports (440.3 million) and imports (606.7 million) were concentrated in ICT products, electronic components and telecommunications equipment.

Methodological note:

The ICT sector is made up of manufacturing industries and of services whose primary activity is linked to the development, production, commercialisation, and intensive use of Information and Communication Technologies, characterised by high rates of innovation, technological progress, and productivity. Accordingly, it has a considerable impact on economic activity. Eustat website. Methodology file: ICT sector

For further information:

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