New social and economic observatory for all the Basque Country

Gaindegia is the name of the new entity, that defines itself as an observatory for the social and economic developement in the Basque Country.

Among their findings (read here for an interview in Spanish) are that the Basque Country has a population of more than three million people (larger than many EU member states), a population density higher than EU average, a GNP per capita much higher than EU average or even that of Japan. But these general and economical statistics contrast with the social ones: the general employement rate and the employement rate among women and among older workers are just slightly above the EU average, and very much under the stats of Japan or the USA. The same happens with the unemployement rate. Also, in spite of being a rather rich country, "there are serious obstacles for the just distribution of wealth" and the markers of social protection are pretty bad.

In other words: a Nordic-like buoyant economy with Spanish-like miserable welfare.