Moroccan women contribute to first rise in births in Spain's Basque Country since 2011

The Basque Country recorded its first annual increase in births in more than a decade in 2025, with Moroccan women emerging as the largest group of foreign mothers contributing to the demographic rebound.

According to official data released by the Basque statistical institute, 13,344 babies were born in the autonomous community last year, representing a 3.1% increase compared with 2024 and marking the first rise in births since 2011.

The increase was registered across the region’s three provinces — Bizkaia, Gipuzkoa and Álava — with Bizkaia recording the highest number of births in absolute terms.

Foreign-born mothers played a significant role in the increase. Among all foreign nationalities, Moroccan women accounted for the largest number of births, with 692 babies born in 2025. They were followed by mothers from Colombia, Algeria, Pakistan and several other countries.

The data showed that foreign mothers represented more than one-quarter of all births in the Basque Country, while more than one-third of mothers were born outside Spain, underscoring the growing role of immigrant communities in the region’s demographic profile.

Demographers have long identified the Basque Country as one of Europe’s lowest-fertility regions, with birth rates affected by population aging, delayed family formation and low fertility levels among native-born women.

Against that backdrop, younger immigrant populations have increasingly contributed to maintaining birth levels and slowing demographic decline.

Despite the positive figures, experts caution against interpreting the increase as evidence of a lasting reversal in fertility trends.

They note that structural challenges, including housing affordability, labor market conditions and the tendency to have children later in life, continue to weigh on birth rates across the region.

Still, the 2025 figures mark a notable demographic development for the Basque Country after more than a decade of uninterrupted declines and highlight the growing contribution of immigrant families, particularly those of Moroccan origin, to population renewal in northern Spain.