Press Release 10/12/2025
BASQUE BUSINESS STRUCTURE AND DEMOGRAPHY. 01/01/2025
As at 1 January 2025, the number of people employed in the Basque Country had increased by 1.5%
The regions of Gran Bilbao, Donostialdea and Llanada Alavesa accounted for 68.9% of employed people
As at 1 January 2025, the business landscape of the Basque Country showed different trends: while the number of active companies fell by 0.8% compared to the previous year, the number of jobs generated by these companies was up 1.5%, according to Eustat data. In total, there were 146,404 companies operating in various sectors of activity, distributed across 164,138 establishments (factories, businesses, offices, etc.).
By region, there was a high concentration of people employed in Gran Bilbao (38.9%), Donostialdea (16.6%) and Llanada Alavesa (13.3%), with these three regions accounting for 68.9% of total employment in the Basque Country, which primarily came from the Services sector. They were followed by Duranguesado (4.9%), Alto Deba (3.4%) and Goierri (2.9%), all of which had a significant industrial presence.
In terms of the variation in employment compared to the previous year, the sectors of activity that saw employment growth above the Basque Country average (1.5%) were Information and Communications (4.8%), Public Administration, Education and Health (2.8%), Construction (1.9%) and Arts Activities and Other Services (1.6%).
Looking at the trend over the last 5 years, the number of establishments in the Basque Country has gradually decreased by 3.4%, with a similar decline across all three provinces. In contrast, the number of people employed during this period increased by 5.5%.
As regards economic structure, the sectors of activity with the highest number of establishments were Trade, Transportation and Hospitality (34.8% of the total), followed by Professional Activities and Support Services (16.3%), Public Administration, Education and Health (12.3%) and Construction (11.6%).
Percentage distribution of employed persons and year-on-year variation in the Basque Country by branches of activity (A10) according to historical territory. 01/01/2025
| |
Basque Country |
Araba/Álava |
Bizkaia |
Gipuzkoa |
| |
Individuals employed |
Var. % |
Individuals employed |
Var. % |
Individuals employed |
Var. % |
Individuals employed |
Var. % |
| Total |
100.0 |
1.5 |
100.0 |
1.2 |
100.0 |
1.4 |
100.0 |
1.7 |
| Agriculture, forestry and fishing |
1.0 |
-2.8 |
1.6 |
-2.5 |
0.8 |
-2.9 |
0.8 |
-2.9 |
| Industry, energy and sanitation |
19.4 |
0.7 |
25.1 |
1.1 |
15.0 |
1.1 |
23.1 |
0.1 |
| Construction |
5.9 |
1.9 |
4.5 |
3.4 |
6.7 |
2.0 |
5.5 |
1.1 |
| Trade, transport and hotel industry |
25.0 |
0.8 |
22.9 |
1.1 |
25.5 |
0.4 |
25.2 |
1.1 |
| Information and communication |
2.9 |
4.8 |
1.9 |
6.3 |
3.7 |
3.3 |
2.1 |
8.4 |
| Financial and insurance activities |
1.6 |
0.9 |
1.1 |
1.9 |
1.9 |
0.5 |
1.3 |
1.4 |
| Real estate activities |
0.5 |
0.8 |
0.4 |
2.7 |
0.6 |
-0.7 |
0.5 |
2.7 |
| Professional activities and support services |
14.6 |
1.1 |
12.4 |
-1.6 |
16.4 |
0.6 |
12.9 |
3.3 |
| Public admin., education and health |
24.6 |
2.8 |
25.9 |
1.9 |
24.6 |
2.9 |
23.9 |
3.0 |
| Arts activities and other services |
4.6 |
1.6 |
4.2 |
2.2 |
4.8 |
2.0 |
4.6 |
0.6 |
Date December 10, 2025
Source: Eustat. Directory of Economic Activities
By volume of people employed in the Basque Country, 25.0% were concentrated in the Trade, Transportation and Hospitality sector, followed by Public Administration, Education and Health (24.6%) and Industry and Energy (19.4%).
By province, Bizkaia accounted for 50.0% of employed people, followed by Gipuzkoa with 33.2% and Álava with 16.8%. In Bizkaia and Gipuzkoa, the Trade, Transportation and Hospitality sector accounted for 25.5% and 25.2% of total employment in the province, respectively. By contrast, in Álava, the predominant sector was Public Administration, Education and Health, with 25.9% of total employment. In terms of growth in the number of people employed compared to the previous year, the Information and Communications sector stood out in all three provinces, with growth of 6.3% in Álava, 3.3% in Bizkaia and 8.4% in Gipuzkoa.
With regard to the legal personality of companies operating in the Basque Country, 53.5% of establishments corresponded to Natural Persons, followed by Limited Companies, with 29.7% of the total. However, the largest volume of employees was concentrated in Limited Companies (36.0%), followed by Public Limited Companies (21.4%) and Other legal forms (15.7%).
Percentage distribution of people employed in the Basque Country by branch of activity (A10) according to historical territory and sex. 01/01/2025
| |
Basque Country |
Araba/Álava |
Bizkaia |
Gipuzkoa |
| |
Men |
Women |
Men |
Women |
Men |
Women |
Men |
Women |
| Total |
54.7 |
45.3 |
56.2 |
43.8 |
54.2 |
45.8 |
54.7 |
45.3 |
| Agriculture, forestry and fishing |
78.4 |
21.6 |
77.0 |
23.0 |
81.7 |
18.3 |
74.9 |
25.1 |
| Industry, energy and sanitation |
78.5 |
21.5 |
79.4 |
20.6 |
78.8 |
21.2 |
77.9 |
22.1 |
| Construction |
88.9 |
11.1 |
88.4 |
11.6 |
88.7 |
11.3 |
89.5 |
10.5 |
| Trade, transport and hotel industry |
53.7 |
46.3 |
54.3 |
45.7 |
53.9 |
46.1 |
53.0 |
47.0 |
| Information and communication |
64.4 |
35.6 |
65.1 |
34.9 |
64.3 |
35.7 |
64.4 |
35.6 |
| Financial and insurance activities |
43.2 |
56.8 |
43.3 |
56.7 |
44.0 |
56.0 |
41.6 |
58.4 |
| Real estate activities |
45.5 |
54.5 |
40.9 |
59.1 |
45.8 |
54.2 |
46.5 |
53.5 |
| Professional activities and support services |
49.6 |
50.4 |
50.7 |
49.3 |
50.1 |
49.9 |
48.1 |
51.9 |
| Public admin., education and health |
32.4 |
67.6 |
33.0 |
67.0 |
33.0 |
67.0 |
31.2 |
68.8 |
| Arts activities and other services |
45.2 |
54.8 |
44.8 |
55.2 |
46.3 |
53.7 |
43.8 |
56.2 |
Date December 10, 2025
Source: Eustat. Directory of Economic Activities
By sex, 45.3% of people employed in the Basque Country in 2024 were women, a slightly higher percentage than the year before. As in the previous year, the sectors with most female employees were Healthcare and Social Services (78.0% women), Education (67.1%) and Other Services (62.7%). By contrast, the sectors in which the majority of employees were male were Construction (88.9%), and Industrial and Primary, with approximately 79% in both cases, followed by Transport and Storage (77.7%).
Of the total number of companies (legal units) that provide support for establishments’ activities, 96.7% were based in the Basque Country and the remaining 3.3% (4,882 companies) were in the rest of Spain. Of the companies with 100 or more employees, the percentage based in the Basque Country stood at 77.4%. Bizkaia accounted for slightly more than half the companies based in the Basque Country, with 73,581 companies (52.0%); Gipuzkoa had 48,040 (33.9%) and Álava 19,901 (14.1%).
The average size of companies increased slightly, with 6.6 people employed per company (6.4 a year ago) and 5.8 per establishment (5.7 in 2024). Where the legal personality was Natural Person, the average was 1.4 employees, while for Public Limited Companies the average was 25.6 employees, for Limited Companies it was 7.1, for Other Companies and Associations 8.7, and for Other legal forms 40.1.
BUSINESS DEMOGRAPHICS
With regard to the age of the companies, it is worth noting that Basque companies were relatively young. 29.7% of companies operating in the Basque Country were five years old or less and the percentage of those in operation for two years or less stood at 14.8%.
Regarding rotation, and taking into account establishment openings and closures, 13,335 began and 14,411 ceased trading during 2024, with a negative balance of 1,076 establishments. The establishment birth rate (quotient between those created and the stock) was 8.1% and the death rate was 8.8%. As a result, the net growth rate was negative (-0.7%).
The greatest rotation was seen in the branches of Trade, Transportation and Hospitality, with 29.1% of new openings and 32.4% of closures; Professional Activities and Support Services, with 17.3% of new openings and 18.0% of closures; and Construction, with figures of 16.8% and 17.7%, respectively.
Taking into account legal personality, Natural Persons were responsible for 66.7% of new openings and 64.6% of closures. In terms of employees, they accounted for 42.4% of new hires and 42.8% of people employed in establishments that ceased trading. Limited Companies were also noteworthy, with 39.2% of jobs created in establishments opened and 35.0% of jobs lost in establishment closures.
Establishment demographics in the Basque Country. 01/01/2025
| |
New entries |
Cancelled entries |
| Total |
13,335 |
14,411 |
| |
| By Activity |
|
|
| Agriculture, forestry and fishing |
176 |
298 |
| Industry, energy and sanitation |
542 |
668 |
| Construction |
2,235 |
2,544 |
| Trade, transport and hotel industry |
3,885 |
4,665 |
| Information and communication |
579 |
415 |
| Financial and insurance activities |
303 |
334 |
| Real estate activities |
343 |
350 |
| Professional activities and support services |
2,308 |
2,600 |
| Public admin., education and health |
1,673 |
1,400 |
| Arts activities and other services |
1,291 |
1,137 |
| |
| By legal personality |
|
|
| Natural person |
8,894 |
9,311 |
| Partnership |
189 |
416 |
| Limited company |
3,311 |
3,572 |
| Other companies and associations |
891 |
1,083 |
| Other legal forms |
50 |
29 |
Date December 10, 2025
Source: Eustat
In terms of establishment size, the most dynamic stratum was that of 2 employees or under, as has become the norm. This stratum alone accounted for 91.1% of all new openings and 91.2% of all closures.
On the contrary, the stratum of 20 or more employees accounted for just 0.6% of both new openings and closures. However, it accounted for 13.8% of all people employed in both new establishments and those that closed.
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