Hegoalde has increased its population by 8.3% in the last two decades

Euskaraz irakurri: Hego Euskal Herriak 8.3% biztanleria azken bi hamarkadetan handitu

The populations of the four regions that make up Hegoalde grew from year to year almost continuously between 2001 and 2021. Also, within 20 years the population of Álava, Bizkaia, Gipuzkoa and Navarra has increased by 8.3%. However, growth cannot be sustained in the 2012-2016 period due to the breaking trend and the decrease in population, while the number of people living in our region is decreasing in the 2020-2021 period.

This trend has been uneven as Navarra and Álava are the most populated countries with 19% and 16% respectively. Growth is more moderate in Bizkaia and Gipuzkoa, between 2% and 7%.

While the rise was common across the Hegoalde, the trends were very diverse if we looked at the counties and municipalities. Thus, in Álava, Cuadrilla de Gorbeialdea was the region that grew the most in percentage (33.45%), even though Llanada was the region adding the most population. In Bizkaia, the Plentzia-Mungia region grew by 29.07%, while Lea-Artibai and Greater Bilbao lost their neighbors by 0.82% and 1.69%, respectively. In Gipuzkoa, the region that grew the most was Urola Kosta with a local population increase of 15.94%, while in Navarra it was the region that attracted the most new settlers with an increase of 28.54%. In this region, significant population losses have been recorded in the Pyrenees and Sangüesa with 24.27% and 5.21% respectively in the last two decades.

But what caused this growth? In the first decade of the 2000s, births exceeded deaths in Hegoalde, but the difference was uneven from year to year and from region to region. Thus, while deaths have always increased in Bizkaia over the last 20 years, in the remaining regions this trend came a little later: in Álava in 2018; In 2013 in Gipuzkoa; and in Navarra in 2017. Since these years, the birth balance has been negative in our regions with the local population that has been decreasing since 2010. last ten years?

The balance between deaths and births was up and down until 2010, but has always been on an upward trend, since then the balance has not stopped falling until 2020, although it rose slightly in 2021. Overall, however, this decline was not noticed in the demographic evolution of our regions. Why? Why? Answer: migrant flows.

Immigrants, growth drivers

Migrations can be internal or external, that is, flows can be outgoing (migration) or inbound (migration). It is common for some people to leave their municipality behind and move elsewhere, which has actively influenced the evolution of the Hegoalde population.

Overall, there have always been more people coming from abroad in the four regions, but due to various events, two inflection points can be observed in all of them, except for Gipuzkoa, where immigration has always been greater than immigration. The last two decades But one year stands out in Álava, Bizkaia and Navarra, 2012, where evolution has changed, migration has decreased and in some cases migration has increased, leaving the balance negative.

In the case of foreign migration, two growth hits are observed in four regions: 2001-2007 and 2015-2019. In the opposite direction, significant decreases can be seen in the intermediate years 2008-2012 and 2020-2021. The first turning point was due to the global economic crisis, while the second was the main cause of the Kovid-19 pandemic and restrictions on movement.

In the case of those from the Spanish State, on the other hand, the trend is more volatile and overall growth remained stable until 2011, emphasizing the 2007 coup; The slowdown is a little later than for foreigners in 2011 and has been fluctuating since 2013, after a remarkable rise in 2016. In 2020, there was a decrease again due to covid-19.