Basque Country

I

Introduction

Basque Country (Spanish País Vasco; Basque Euskadi), autonomous region in north central Spain, comprising the provinces of Álava, Guipúzcoa, and Vizcaya. The Basque Country is bounded by the autonomous regions of Navarra to the east, Cantabria to the west, and La Rioja and Castile-León to the south; and by the Bay of Biscay and France to the north. The total area of the Basque Country is 7,234 sq km (2,793 sq mi).

II

Physical Geography and Climate

The Basque Country’s topography consists of a coastal plain that stretches from western Vizcaya to the French border in Guipúzcoa, and several small mountain chains. These include the Sierra Salvada, the Sierra Urbassa, the Cantabrian Mountains, and the Montes de Vitoria. The Ebro River forms part of the region’s southern boundary, and the Nervión River runs through Vizcaya into the Bay of Biscay.

The average annual rainfall totals 1,475 mm (58 in), and the average temperature ranges from 5°C (41°F) at higher elevations to 20°C (68°F) on the coastal plain. The weather is often cool and windy.

Grainfields, garden plots, and orchards spread across the valleys, while evergreen forests cover the mountains. Many slopes have been deforested, however, as a result of pollution caused by metal mining and smelting in the region.

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III

Population

The population of the Basque Country was 2,112,204 in 2003, indicating a population density of 292 persons per sq km (756 per sq mi). However, the people are unevenly distributed, with most living in Vizcaya and Guipúzcoa provinces. Fewer than 10 percent live in the region’s largest province, Álava, which encompasses about 40 percent of the land area.

The regional capital is Vitoria (population, 2006, 227,568), in Álava province. Bilbao (354,145), an industrial center on the Nervión River, is the Basque Country’s largest city and its most important economic center. North of Bilbao along the Bay of Biscay is San Sebastián (183,308), a popular beach resort and fishing port.

About half the people who live in the Basque Country are Basques, and more than 1 million have other ethnic backgrounds. Though official, these population breakdowns are disputed, because the definition of what it means to be Basque has changed over time. About 25 percent of the population speaks Basque, called Euskara in that language (see Basque Language). It is one of the few non-Indo-European languages spoken in Europe. Most Basques are devout Roman Catholics. Cultural expressions such as dancing and singing often are tied to religious occasions.

Bilbao has several institutions of higher learning, including the University of Basque Country, founded in 1968 (reorganized in 1980), and the University of Deusto, a Jesuit institution founded in 1886. Important museums include the Museum of Fine Arts in Bilbao (founded in 1914) and the Museum of Reproductions of Works of Art (1930) in Bilbao; and the Municipal Museum of San Telmo (1932) in San Sebastián. The Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, located on Bilbao’s waterfront, opened in October 1997.

IV

Economy

The Basque Country has a well-developed industrial economy. Even the least developed province, Álava, has an important automobile-manufacturing center at Vitoria, giving the province one of the highest percentages of industrial workers in Spain. Guipúzcoa province also has a high industrial employment rate, with activity ranging from ironworking to shoe manufacturing. Commercial fishing is also important. The heart of the Basque Country’s economy, however, is the city of Bilbao and the province of Vizcaya, the center of the iron industry on the Iberian Peninsula. Although production rates have fallen as the use of iron has declined, the manufacture of railway cars, automotive steel, and iron beams is still important. Iron ore from Vizcaya and Guipúzcoa and coal from Asturias provide the iron industry with its chief raw materials. Bilbao serves as an important financial center. Banco Banesto, formerly Banco de Bilbao, ranks among the one hundred largest banks in the world, and a branch of the Madrid Stock Exchange has operated in the city since 1986.

Transportation facilities are well developed along the coast. Bilbao has an international airport and a metropolitan subway system.

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