a.^ AlsoEuskal Herria, according to the Basque Statute of Autonomy . b.^ AlsoEuskal Herriko Autonomia Erkidegoa, according to the Basque Statute of Autonomy.
Currently there is no official capital in the autonomous community, but the city ofVitoria-Gasteiz, in the province of Álava, is the de facto capital as the location of theBasque Parliament, the headquarters of theBasque Government, and the residence of the President of the Basque Autonomous Community (thePalace of Ajuria Enea). TheHigh Court of Justice of the Basque Country has its headquarters in the city ofBilbao. Whilst Vitoria-Gasteiz is the largest municipality in area, with 277 km2 (107 sq mi), Bilbao is the largest in population, with 353,187 people, located in the province of Biscay within a conurbation of 875,552 people.
The termBasque Country may also refer to thelarger cultural region (Basque:Euskal Herria), the home of the Basque people, which includes the autonomous community.
Txindoki mountain fromOlaberria, GipuzkoaBasque coast nearMundaka, BiscayUrkiola mountain range seen fromMañariaRioja vineyards near the EbroThe Maroño reservoir and the Sálvada mountain in Alava
The Basque Country bordersCantabria and theBurgos province to the west, theBay of Biscay to the north,France (Nouvelle-Aquitaine) andNavarre to the east andLa Rioja (theEbro River) to the south. The territory has three distinct areas, which are defined by the two parallel ranges of theBasque Mountains. The main range of mountains forms thewatershed between the Atlantic and Mediterranean basins. The highest point of the range is in theAizkorri massif (1551 m). The three areas are:
Formed by many valleys with short rivers that flow from the mountains to theBay of Biscay, like theNervión,Urola orOria.The coast is rough, with high cliffs and small inlets. The main features of the coast are theBilbao Abra Bay and theEstuary of Bilbao, theUrdaibai estuary and theBidasoa-Txingudi Bay that forms the border with France.
Between the two mountain ranges, the area is occupied mainly by a high plateau calledLlanada Alavesa (theÁlava Plains), where the capital Vitoria-Gasteiz is located. The rivers flow south from the mountains to the Ebro River. The main rivers are theZadorra River andBayas River.
From the southern mountains to the Ebro is the so-calledRioja Alavesa, which shares the Mediterranean characteristics of other Ebro Valley zones. Some of Spain's production ofRioja wine takes place here.
ThePlaiaundi Ecology Park is a 24-hectare coastal wetland lying where theBidasoa River meets the sea in theBay of Biscay. The nature ofPlaiaundi consists of a wide variety of flora (visitors view them mainly in the spring) and fauna (visitors with binoculars arrive all during the year, because of the birds migratory habits).[6]
The Basque mountains form the watershed and also mark the distinct climatic areas of the Basque Country:The northern valleys, in Biscay and Gipuzkoa and also the valley of Ayala in Álava, are part ofGreen Spain, where theoceanic climate is predominant, with its wet weather all year round and moderate temperatures. Precipitation average is about 1200 mm.
The middle section is influenced more by thecontinental climate, but with a varying degree of the northern oceanic climate. This gives warm, dry summers and cold, snowy winters.
The Ebro valley has a pure continental climate: winters are cold and dry and summers very warm and dry, with precipitation peaking in spring and autumn. Due to the proximity to the ocean however, the Ebro part of the Basque Country is moderate compared to areas further inland.
With 28.2% of the Basque Country population born outside this region,[7] immigration is crucial to Basque demographics. Over the 20th century most of this immigration came from other parts of Spain, typically fromGalicia orCastile and León. Over recent years, sizeable numbers of this population have returned to their birthplaces and most immigration to the Basque country now comes from abroad, chiefly from South America.[7]
As of 2018, there were 151,519 foreigners in the Basque country, 7% of the population.
Foreign population by country of citizenship (2018)[8]
Nationality
Population
Morocco
21,995
Romania
18,410
Nicaragua
8,096
Colombia
7,245
Bolivia
6,487
Algeria
6,229
Portugal
6,172
China
5,752
Paraguay
5,684
Pakistan
5,104
Other
61,588
Roman Catholicism is, by far, the largest religion in Basque Country. In 2019, the proportion ofBasques that identify themselves as Roman Catholic was 60%,[9] while it is one of the most secularised communities of Spain: 24.6% were non-religious and 12.3% of Basques wereatheist.
Spanish and Basque are co-official in all territories of the autonomous community. The Basque-speaking areas in the modern-day autonomous community are set against the wider context of the Basque language, spoken to the east in Navarre and the French Basque Country. The whole Basque-speaking territory has experienced both decline and expansion in its history. The Basque language experienced a gradual territorial contraction throughout the last nine centuries,[10] and very severe deterioration of its sociolinguistic status for much of the 20th century due to heavy immigration from other parts of Spain, the virtual nonexistence of Basque-language schooling, and national policies implemented by the different Spanish régimes (seeLanguage policies of Francoist Spain). After the advent of theStatute of Autonomy of the Basque Country in 1982 following Franco's death, this reductive trend was gradually reversed thanks to the Basque-language schools and the new education system. Basque has always had a strong presence in most ofGipuzkoa, central and easternBiscay and the northern edge ofÁlava, while most Basque speakers in western Biscay and the rest of Álava are second-language speakers.
The 2006 sociolinguistic survey[11] of all Basque provinces showed that in 2006 of all people aged 16 and above in the Basque Autonomous Community, 30.1% were fluent Basque speakers, 18.3% passive speakers and 51.5% did not speak Basque. The percentage of Basque speakers was highest in Gipuzkoa (49.1% speakers) and lowest in Álava (14.2%). These results represent an increase on previous years (29.5% in 2001, 27.7% in 1996 and 24.1% in 1991). The highest percentage of speakers was now found in the 16–24 age range (57.5%), while only 25.0% of those 65 and older reported speaking Basque.
Ten years later, the sociolinguistic survey showed that in 2016 of all people aged 16 and above in the Basque Autonomous Community, 33.9% were fluent Basque speakers, 19.1% passive speakers and 47% did not speak Basque. The proportion of Basque speakers was again highest in Gipuzkoa (50.6%) and lowest in Álava (19.2%).
The 2021 sociolinguistic survey found that 36.2% of the population above age 16 spoke Basque, 18.6% were passive speakers and 45.3% did not speak Basque. In Gipuzkoa 51.8% spoke the language, in Biscay 30.6%, and in Álava 22.4% did.[12]
The forerunner of the Gernika Statute was the short-lived Statute of Autonomy for Álava, Gipuzkoa and Biscay, which came to be enforced in October 1936 just in Biscay, with the Spanish Civil War already raging, and which was automatically abolished when the Spanish Nationalist troops occupied the territory.
Before the Spanish Constitution of 1978 and its system of autonomous communities, these three provinces were known in Spanish as theProvincias Vascongadassince 1833.[13] The political structure of the new autonomous community is defined in theGernika Statute, which was approved by a majority in areferendum held on 25 October 1979. Nowadays it is one of the most decentralised regions in the world; in this regard it has been described as having "more autonomy than just about any other in Europe"[14] byThe Economist.
Churruca's death at the Battle of Trafalgar. Basque navigators were key for the navy ofCastile and later theSpanish Navy.
As regards the bounds to the Spanish Constitution,Basque nationalists cite the fact that in the1978 Spanish Constitution referendum, which was passed with a majority of votes and a poor turnout in this area, the Basque Country had the highestabstention[15] (the Basque Nationalist Party had endorsed abstention on the grounds that the Constitution was being forced upon them without any Basque input). To this, the "NO" vote in this referendum was also higher in the Basque Country than in the rest of the state. All in all, many Basques believe that they are not bound to a constitution that they never endorsed.
The Statute of Autonomy of the Basque Country is an organic law but powers have been devolved gradually during decades according to re-negotiations between the Spanish and the consecutive Basque regional governments to reach an effective implementation, while the transfer of many powers are still due and has always been a matter of heated political discussion. Basque nationalists often put down this limitation in the devolution of powers to concessions made to appease the military involved in the23-F coup d'état attempt (1981).
In 2003, the governingBasque Nationalist Party (PNV) proposed to alter this statute through theIbarretxe Plan. The Ibarretxe bill was approved by absolute majority in the Basque Parliament after much discussion, as it was subject to lengthy legal objections—on the grounds that it contradicts the Spanish Constitution—that were ultimately overcome. Despite its mandate of the majority of the autonomous Parliament, the main two parties in Spain (PSOE, PP) imposed a blockade on a discussion of the Plan in the Spanish Parliament (MadridCortes Generales), resulting in its rejection for debate by a large majority of that Parliament in January 2005.
Since the first autonomic cabinet, the Basque Nationalist Party has held office in the Basque Autonomous Community except for a 2009–2012 term, led by Patxi López (PSE-PSOE). The current Basque prime minister isIñigo Urkullu, also a member of theBasque Nationalist Party. DespiteETA's ceasefire in 2011, this autonomous community shows the highest rate of police per 100 inhabitants in Western Europe by 2018. As agreed with the Spanish premierZapatero in 2004, Urkullu intends to increase the figure ofertzainas, while the SpanishPP's Ministry of Interior rejects a pullback of Spanish police bodies, as demanded by the large majority of the political forces in the autonomous parliament, even pointing to an increase of the Guardia Civil in the future.[16][17]
Basque parliament building in Vitoria-GasteizLehendakaritza, president's office inVitoria-Gasteiz.
The current laws configure the autonomous community as a federation of its present-day three constituent provinces. These western Basque districts kept governing themselves by their own laws and institutions even after the Castilian invasion[citation needed] in 1199–1200. The new king upheld their institutional system issued from theconsuetudinary law prevalent in Basque and Pyrenean territories. This limited self-government, similar to the one forNavarre, was partially suppressed in 1839 and totally in 1876 in exchange for an agreement on tax-collection and a number of administrative prerogatives. These in turn weresuspended by Franco for Gipuzkoa and Biscay, but restored by theSpanish Constitution of 1978.
The post-Franco Spanish Constitution of 1978 acknowledges historical rights and attempts a compromise in the old conflict betweencentralism and the different national identities (Basque, Catalan and Galician). A negotiation betweenUCD's Suárez in office and PNV led to the establishment of the Basque statute, with its first article stating that theBasque people (Euskal Herria) takes on an institutional personality in the form of the Basque Autonomous Community; the 2nd article goes on to establish that it may be constituted by Álava, Biscay, Gipuzkoa, as well asNavarre.[18] Provincial councils provided with actual relevant attributions (taxation, etc.) were restored to these provinces (called thereforediputación foral), but Navarredetached from the Basque political process. A specific approach to the national realities in Spain was eventually diffused by a legal provision allowing for the establishment ofautonomous administrations and parliaments to any region in Spain (e.g.Castile and León,Catalonia, theValencian Community, etc.), while the Basques, Catalans, and Galicians were acknowledged historic specificity.
The provinces in the Basque Country still perform tax collection in their respective territories, but with limited margin in decision making under the Spanish and European governments. Under this intricate system, theDiputaciones Forales (Basque:Foru Aldundiak) administer most of each of the provinces but are coordinated by the autonomousBasque Government (SpanishGobierno Vasco, Basque:Eusko Jaurlaritza). The autonomous community has its own police force (theErtzaintza), controlsEducation and Health Systems, and has aBasque radio/TV station. These and only some of the powers acknowledge in the Gernika Statute have since 1980 been transferred to the Autonomous Community by theCortes Generales under theGernika Statute.[19][20] The seats of theBasque Parliament and Government are inVitoria-Gasteiz, so this is the capital cityde facto, but the Basque Autonomous Community has no capitalde jure.[21][22]
The Parliament is composed of 25 representatives from each of the three provinces. The Basque Parliament elects theLehendakari (President of the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country) who forms a government following regular parliamentary procedures. Until 2020, except for the 2009–2012 period, allLehendakaris (even those in 1937 and during the exile) have been members of theBasque Nationalist Party (Euzko Alderdi Jeltzalea) (moderate andChristian-Democrat) since 1978. Since 1982 until the late 1990s,Basque nationalists ideologically closer toETA refused to turn out in the Basque parliament, a significant wedge of the parliament. Currently, the Basque Government is headed byIñigo Urkullu (PNV).
ETA's permanent ceasefire (2010–2011) opened the possibility of new governmental alliances and has enabled EH Bildu's electoral success and rise to governmental institutions (Gipuzkoa, and capital cityDonostia, 2011–2015). In the2012 Basque parliamentary election, the PNV obtained a plurality of the votes, followed by the left-wing nationalist coalitionEH Bildu (Eusko Alkartasuna,Sortu,Alternatiba).
In 2016 the Basque regional election was held on 25 September to elect the 11th Parliament of the Basque Autonomous Community, which left ahung parliament, with the combination of Basque nationalist parties (PNV andEH Bildu) representing the largest wedge in the parliament of the Basque Autonomous Community, the main Spanish parties PP and PSOE's branches occupying a 24% of the seats, andPodemos – Ahal Dugu accounting for 11 seats (14.66% of the total). However, the leading party PNV renewed its traditional alliance with thePSE to form government.
During the2017 Catalan referendum crisis, the parliament showed its sympathy and support to the Catalan independence referendum and lashed out at the Spanish government's stance on the issue, denouncing any measures it may take against the vote or 'democracy' altogether.[23] Besides supporting the vote, Basques of this community showed a preference for further self-government (43.5%), with independence and present-daystatus quo ranking as second and third options (22.6% and 18.9%).[24] In 2016, the parliament of the autonomous community passed a Police Abuses Act spanning the period between 1978 and 1999; it was shortly repealed after challenged by the public prosecutor and appealed also by virtually all police and Civil Guard unions. Incoming Spanish premierPedro Sanchez agreed to lift the public prosecutor's block on the law in exchange for altering its content.[25] Right-wing parties in Spain,Vox, PP, andCiudadanos, sent one MP out of 18 to the Spanish Congress from this autonomous community in the 2019 November general election in contrast with their rise and important presence in the overall Spanish results.[26][27]
The statute, insofar as it is addressed and provides an administrative framework for the Basque people, provides the mechanisms for neighbouring Navarre to join the three western provinces if it wishes to do so, since at least part of it is ethnically Basque. The Basque Government used the "Laurak Bat", which included the arms of Navarre, as its symbol for many years. The Navarrese Government protested, and tribunals ruled in their favour. The Basque Government replaced it with an empty red field.
Navarre is one of the historical Basque territories and even claimed by theBasque nationalists as the core of the Basque nation. There are also twoenclaves surrounded by Basque territory—Treviño (Basque:Trebiñu) andValle de Villaverde (Basque:Villaverde-Turtzioz)—which belong to the fellow neighbouring communities ofCastile and León andCantabria respectively, for which a legal connection to the Basque Country has become an on-off matter of political discussion.
Industrial activities were traditionally centred on steel and shipbuilding, mainly due to the richiron ore resources found during the 19th century around Bilbao. The Estuary of Bilbao was the centre of Euskadi'sIndustrial Revolution during the 19th and the first half of the 20th century. These activities decayed during theeconomic crisis of the 1970s and 1980s, giving ground for the development of theservices sector and new technologies.
Today, the strongest industrial sectors of the Basque Country's economy are themanufacturing sector, present in the valleys of Biscay and Gipuzkoa;aeronautics andlogistics in Vitoria-Gasteiz; andfinance andenergy, in Bilbao.
Eight out of ten Spanish municipalities with the lowest unemployment rates were found across this autonomous community in 2015, highlighting such towns asArrasate,Portugalete andBarakaldo with a strong manufacturing industrial make-up.[32] The Basque Autonomous Community ranked above other communities in Spain in terms of resilience in the face of the economic crisis, going on to become a beacon and a subject of study in Europe.[33]
In 2013 the Basque Country outperformed Spain in several parameters, but economic overall figures were highly variable. Spanish figures are subject to conspicuous seasonal fluctuation, relying on its tourist and services sectors, while Basque performance is rather based on mid- and long-term results, according with its more industrial focus. In the last quarter of 2017, unemployment in this autonomous community rose to 11.1%[34] (8.43% inGipuzkoa), second lowest in Spain afterNavarre, at a percentage slightly higher than the EU average (10.8%),[35] but still ahead of the Spanish overall unemployment rate of around 16.55%,[36] the second highest in the EU.[37]
In regards to GDP performance, 2017 was a remarkably positive year for the Basque Autonomous Community. It underwent an increase in GDP of 3.0%, close to the Spanish increase, 3.1%. In the last term of 2013, the public debt of the Basque Autonomous Community stood at 13.00% of its GDP, totalling €3,753 per capita,[38] as compared to Spain's overall 93.90%, totalling €20,383 per capita.[39]
The Basque Government's high-ranking officials, as well as Basque-based party leaders and personalities, have protested and voiced their concern over the detrimental effects of austerity measures passed by the Spanish Government as of 2011, overruling Basque taxation powers, may be having on industry and trade, especially export. Basque officials have strongly advocated for participation, along with Navarre, in theEcofin, with a full membership, in order to defend Basque interests in line with Basque reality and fiscal status, and not as a Spanish subsidiary.
The strategic geographical location of the Basque Country as a link between the northwest and centre of Spain and the rest of Europe makes this territory heavily transited.
The main backbones of road transport are theAP-8 motorway which links Bilbao, San Sebastián and the French border and theA-1 motorway which links San Sebastián and Vitoria-Gasteiz with central Spain. Other important routes include theAP-68 motorway which links Bilbao with the Mediterranean.
Euskal Trenbide Sarea (Basque Railway Network) is the Basque Government-owned company that maintains and creates the railway infrastructure in the autonomous region.Euskotren is the Basque Government-ownednarrow gauge rail company that operates commuter services in Bilbao and San Sebastián, intercity Bilbao-San Sebastián service, andEuskotren Tranbia tram services in Bilbao and Vitoria-Gasteiz.
Metro Bilbao operates twometro lines that serve the Greater Bilbao area while Euskotren operates a third which opened in 2017. Euskotren operates ametro-like service in the San Sebastián area.
The Spanish government owns two mainRENFEbroad gauge lines that link Vitoria-Gasteiz with San Sebastián and Bilbao with central Spain. It also operatesCercanías commuter lines in both Bilbao and San Sebastián.
The Basque Y
TheFEVE narrow gauge rail company operates a commuter line between Bilbao andBalmaseda and links Bilbao with the rest of northern Spain.
A newhigh-speed network (calledBasque Y) currently under construction will link the three capitals in 'Y' formation. Because of the rough geography of the territory, most of the network will run through tunnels, with a total estimated cost of up to €10 billion.[citation needed]
The estimated ecological impact of the project has encouraged the formation of a group campaigning against it calledAHTrik Ez Elkarlana. The group uses social disobedience to oppose the project and promotes referendums against it in the towns it most affects. In spite of the vocal opposition to the project by this and other community groups (as well asEH Bildu), work continues, not without uncertainty. In early 2015, an estimate suggested that the average Basque intercity fare would rise to a non-competitive €25, while the Spanish central government's funding has been subject to continuous delays, spurring the irritation of the Basque government in Vitoria-Gasteiz.
Of the three, the most important hub and entry point to the Basque Country is Bilbao Airport, offering many international connections. Nearly 4,600,000 passengers passed through it in 2016.[40]
The Port of Bilbao is by far the most important in the Basque Country and the north of Spain, being the fourth most important in Spain with over 38 million tons of traffic.
All cruising routes arrive in Bilbao and there is aferry service linking Bilbao withPortsmouth (United Kingdom).
Basque cuisine is an important part ofBasque culture. According to the chefFerran Adrià,San Sebastián "in terms of the average quality of the food, in terms of what you can get at any place you happen to walk into, maybe it is—probably it is, yes—the best in the world."[41] The most popular dishes are seafood, fish (for exampleMarmitako) and "Pintxos", bar finger food.
During the 1970s, several chefs from the Basque Country, particularlyJuan Mari Arzak andPedro Subijana, led a gastronomic revolution, translating to Spain the principles of French nouvelle cuisine. The first Spanish restaurant to be awarded 3 stars in the Michelin Guide was, in fact,Zalacaín, a Basque restaurant, although located in Madrid. Today, the Basque Country, alongside Catalonia, is the Spanish region with a higher density of stars in the Michelin Guide, and it has become a preferred destination of many gastronomic tourists, both domestic and international. Four restaurants boast 3 stars, the highest possible award: Juan María Arzak (Arzak restaurant),Martín Berasategui (Berasategui restaurant), Pedro Subijana (chef ofAkelarre) andEneko Atxa (Azurmendi restaurant).
The coastal city ofSan Sebastián is home to theBasque Culinary Center, an academic research institution focused on higher education and research in the areas of gastronomy and nutrition.
Basque food is one of the reasons fortourism to the Basque Country, especially thepintxos. A popular way to socialise is "ir de pintxos" ortxikiteo, a Basque version of apub crawl, albeit generally more civilised.
Basque rural sports, known asHerri Kirolak inBasque, are a number of sports competitions rooted in the traditional lifestyles of theBasque people, for exampleBasque pelota, the Basque version of the European game family that includesreal tennis andsquash. Basque players, playing for either the Spanish or the French teams, dominate international competitions.
Another major Basque Country club isReal Sociedad from San Sebastián, who contest theBasque derby with Athletic. Real Sociedad used to practise the same policy, until they signed IrishstrikerJohn Aldridge in the late 1980s. Since then, Real Sociedad have had many foreign players.Xabi Alonso became the only Basque player to win both the World Cup and the clubEuropean Cup and he played in theReal Sociedad. The region is also home to otherLa Liga clubsSD Eibar andDeportivo Alavés.
The most renowned Basque footballer of all time is possiblyAndoni Zubizarreta who holds the record for appearances inLa Liga with 622 games and has won six league titles and theEuropean Cup. Nowadays, the best known Basque football player is Xabi Alonso, winner of two UEFA European Championships and oneWorld Cup, who played for Real Sociedad, Liverpool, Real Madrid andBayern Munich, but retired in 2017. Other notable Basque players includeMikel Arteta,Asier Illarramendi,Andoni Iraola,Aritz Aduriz,Xabi Prieto andAnder Herrera. Both Athletic and Real Sociedad have won the Spanish league, including dominating the competition in the early 1980s, with the last title won by a Basque club being Athletic's1984 title.
At international level, Basque players were especially prominent inSpanish selections prior to the Civil War, with all of those at the1928 Olympics, and the majority of the1920 Olympics and1934 World Cup squads, born in the region. There is anunofficial 'national' team which plays occasional friendlies, however its squads pick players from the wider territory including Navarre and the French Basque Country.
^(Basque:Euskal Autonomia Erkidegoa (EAE);Spanish:Comunidad Autónoma Vasca (CAV),French:Communauté Autonome du Pays Basque (CAPV))
^Blinhorn, MartinThe Basque Ulster': Navarre and the Basque Autonomy Question under the Spanish Second Republic The Historical Journal Vol. 17, No. 3 (Sep. 1974), pp. 595–613
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