10.2% of the Basque population are of foreign origin and 14% are born in another country

10.2% of the population living in the Basque Country on 1 January 2025 hadforeign origin  and 14% were born in other countries. Almost half of the persons of foreign nationality came from America , whose average age was 34.1 years, according to data from the report "Population structure of the Basque Country" published this Tuesday by the Basque Institute of Statistics, Eustat.

In particular, in January last year, 226,367 persons were of foreign origin in the Basque Country, or 10.2 per cent of the total population, three tenths higher than in January 2024 and below the average of 14.1 per cent in the Spanish State.

Álava is the territory with thehighest percentage of foreigners, 11.4 per cent (two tenths higher than in 2024), followed by Gipuzkoa , 10.1 per cent (two tenths higher) and Bizkaia9.9 per cent (four tenths higher).

Nationalities

Of the foreigners residing in the Basque Country, 47.7 per cent (107,881 persons) have American nationality (1.4 points higher than in 2024) and 57.8 per cent are women, including Colombia, Nicaragua, Venezuela, Honduras and Paraguay, which account for 32.9 per cent of all persons of foreign nationality and 68.9 per cent of those of American nationality.

Africans (56,189) account for 24.8 per cent of all foreigners, 0.2 percentage points higher than in 2024, of whom 54.5 per cent are from Morocco. Algeria, Senegal and Nigeria follow. In this case, more men (63.4%).

European countries account for 19.7 per cent of foreigners (44,653 persons), 1.6 points less than in 2024. This group is dominated by Romania, which accounts for 7.8% of all foreigners and 39.5% of Europeans. Secondly, Portugal, with 13.5% of European nationals, and thirdly Ukraine, with 10.3%. In this group, the percentage of men is slightly higher than that of women.

Persons of Asianand Oceanic nationality (17,644) account for 7.8 per cent of the population from abroad, 39.4 per cent from Pakistan and 32.9 per cent from China, with 50.2 per cent men and 49.8 per cent women.

Population born abroad residing in the Basque Country

According to the Eustat study, as of 1 January 2025, the foreign-born population living in the Basque Country was 310,959, 14 per cent of the total population — below the State average (19.3 per cent).

Eustat highlights in its report the "significant" differences at the regional level between the Llanada Alavesa and the Rioja Alavesa, on the one hand, and the Alavesa Mountain, on the other. 

Navaridas and Lanciego (both in Álava) and Izurtza (in Bizkaia) have the highest percentages, 23.3%, 23% and 21.2% respectively, while seven municipalities do not reach 4%: Orexa, Beizama and Berastegi in Gipuzkoa, Zalduondo in Álava and Ajangiz, Meñaka and Garai in Bizkaia.