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ECONOMY
The economy of the Basque Country has grown significantly over the past decade and has moved from having a GDP per capita of 89.6 % in 1990 to 129,9% in 2006, which puts it among the four countries with the highest income, in terms of purchasing power parity, in the European Union.
One of the causes of this economic strength lies in the great importance of the industry and the construction in the Basque Country, where it makes up 38.90% of GDP, compared with the average for EU-27 countries of 26.41%. This is a hundred-year-old industrial tradition which has enabled the Basque economy to be competitive and to win a share of foreign markets, especially the European one. The industrial policy, investment incentives, support for quality improvement, innovation and technology advanced by the Basque Government have enabled current levels of competitiveness to be achieved.
Industrial specialisation has not hampered the process of tertiarisation of the Basque economy. The tertiary sector absorbs 64.64% of the active population and makes up 60.20% of Basque GDP. To the traditional strength of the Basque financial sector, with the Bilbao Stock Exchange as a clear example, must be added the rapid development of advanced business services, the modernisation of trade - particularly the international Bilbao Exhibition Centre (BEC)  - and the rise of tourism.

This economic development is having a positive effect on the unemployment rate, which has been showing a downward trend since 1999 to stand at 3,3%, the average figure for 2007, which is the lowest for the last decade and is within the average parameters recorded in the European Community. Although its origin can be found in the considerable business investment made within Basque territory - one of the highest in the European Union, 25.7 compared to 18,2 in the EU-27 - it is also true that the Basque Country has begun to prepare itself to face the challenges set by globalisation. To make sure it tackles them successfully, Basque public institutions and private organisations are joining forces on the way to concluding a new socio-economic policy which will have to be more competitive and, at the same time, more human.

MAIN SECTORS

For over one hundred years now, the Basque Country has constituted one of the most important focal points of industry in Spain, and represents one of the major financial centres on the European Atlantic Axis.  9.5% of the total industrial GDP in Spain in 2006 was generated in the Autonomous Region of the Basque Country - a much higher percentage than that referring to criteria in terms of population (4.77%) and surface area (1.5%) etc.

Industrial Sectors
Internationalization, innovation and renovation, technological specialization, energy efficiency, quality and training are just some of the factors that have helped Basque industrial firms to achieve high levels of competitiveness on European and international markets.
The capital goods industry is one of the most important in the Basque Country, with major industrial turnkey projects and infrastructure developments carried out the world over in, among others, the iron and steel industry, the power generation and distribution industry, chemical and petro-chemical works, telecommunications, urban and inter-city transport systems, water treatments and supply, urban and industrial waste treatment and environmental impact and civil engineering.

The Basque Country's dynamic heavy industry is supported and complemented by a dense network of small and medium-sized companies working in the aerospace, telecommunications, energy, environment, electronics, white line, machine-tools, automotive, chemical, shipbuilding, paper, rubber  and plastic, glass, metal articles, furniture and engineering industries.

Commercial and tourist sector 
Despite having an essentially industrial economy, other sectors have been experiencing good levels of development in recent years. This is the case with the commercial sector, which is of great importance, with a commercial density slightly higher than the national average. The tourist sector is also becoming increasingly solid in the Basque economy. The flow towards the Basque Country continues to be a positive one and has been the best experienced by Basque tourism in recent years.

Bilbao

Bilbao is the centre of a metropolitan area with more than one million inhabitants, a city traditionally open to Europe. It is, in addition, an important harbour, a commercial and financial centre of the Basque Country and the north of Spain.

The University of Deusto was inaugurated in 1886.
With a mobility of approximately 1.300 students and 50 professors, the faculties, institutes and schools are also implicated in intensive programmes, European modules and joint curricular designs at various levels, at the same time as they participate in cross-border activities, integrated languages, ODL and Leonardo programmes. The entire University adopted the European credit system in the year 1994, and works to promote it and improve its quality. As a matter of fact, Deusto was the first European university to extend the European credits to all its faculties.

The University of the Basque Country (Basque - Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea; Spanish - Universidad del País Vasco) is the only public university in the Basque Country, in Northern Spain. It has campuses, over the three provinces of the autonomous community; in Leioa, Bilbao, Portugalete and Barakaldo, in Biscay, Donostia-San Sebastián and Eibar in Guipuscoa, and in Vitoria-Gasteiz, in Araba.

Governmental institutions: