The Basque Country has achieved to maintain high-quality natural scenery internationally recognized. It also offers very good life quality parameters with reference to health, housing, leisure, sports, etc. All these features make it an attractive country for its citizens. There are 40 towns that have over 10,000 inhabitants; it has wide housing opportunities, such as beautiful villas, recently constructed detached houses, etc. In October 2003, Bilbao was named “Healthiest city in Spain” at the Annual Meeting of the Pfizer Foundation, with the highest level of satisfaction of its inhabitants of all city dwellers in Spain.

As far as crime is concerned, the situation has remained stable over the last 10 years at around 55 points (number of cases open for every 1000 inhabitants), consolidating the crime ratio far below the average rates of the Spanish State, which was 96 points on average in 2006.

The Basque Country has highly regarded International Educational Centres, among which it is worth mentioning the following: The American School of Bilbao (registered in the State of Delaware), The German School of Bilbao, The French School of Bilbao, The School of the Irish Sisters (Mary Ward), Saint Patrick School and Saint George School.[move up]

Health Services

All the public sanitary resources are managed by the Basque Government through Osakidetza, which is the Basque Health Service. As far as experts are concerned, it offers the best sanitary service in the Spanish State, with 32% of the budget in 2007, with an effort never seen before in preventive medicine. The project "Euskadi in the Society of Technology Information" involves an important step, as it is considering the use of an electronic sanitary card with the aim of taking advantage of the new technologies in direct benefit of the patients. Life expectancy in the Basque Country is slightly superior to the European average and patients do not have to wait to be operated for longer than 20 days. There are over 2,000 social assistance centres dedicated to specific areas (women, senior citizens, disabled people, childhood, etc.), 444 non-hospital health centres and 45 general hospitals. About 20,000 professionals, affiliated to their respective medical colleges and associations, provide health care at these hospitals and assistance centres. Of this total, 15,423 are health professionals, of which 4,284 are doctors.[move up]

Culture and Customs

The Basque population is tightly connected to the natural resources of the country: the land and the sea have determined a way of being and an idiosyncrasy which are reflected as a characteristic feature in the local customs, culture and sports. Some of these sports have crossed the borders of the Basque Country, such as the Basque "pelota game" in its different modalities (the famous Jai Alai of Manila, Miami, or the unfortunately disappeared Jai Alai of La Havana), the carrying and lifting of stones, trunk chopping and regattas. It is also worth mentioning other relevant cultural events such as music and the active participation of the citizens in choirs, which is a deeply rooted activity. There are two symphonic orchestras where many prestigious singers perform, not forgetting cinema, opera and jazz….

Dancing also remains alive in the heart of the Basque society as part of its personality. It reflects a ritual sense evocating the daily work, religion, courtesy and love that define this country, conscientious guardian of its culture and folklore. Artists of international renown, such as Ainhoa Arteta, Igor Yebra or Lucia Lacarra, leading ballerina of the New Year’s Concert in Vienna 2007, reflect this sensitivity. Besides, the Basque Country has various historical attractions, such as dolmens, cave paintings, cromlechs, and gothic, Romanic and renaissance churches. The innovation of the cultural infrastructures is also permanent: The prestigious and well-known Guggenheim museum, Frank Gerhy’s avant-garde design, the Kursaal, the venue for the International Cinema Festival of San Sebastián- Zinemaldia and the recently inaugurated Artium in Vitoria. The creative genius is represented by relevant writers such as Samaniego, Pio Baroja, Miguel de Unamuno, Blas de Otero, Gabriel Aresti, Ignacio de Aldekoa, and more recently by Bernardo Atxaga, Unai Elorriaga, Lucía Etxebarria and Espido Freire; painters such as Zuloaga, the Zubiaurre brothers or José Mª Uzelay; musicians such as Maurice Ravel, Usandizaga, Arriaga, Iradier or Guridi; and contemporary artists such as Chillida, Oteiza and Basterretxea. [move up]

Tourism

The Basque Country offers a broad range of tourist options. In summer the number of tourists increases in the surroundings of the Basque coast and the capitals in order to enjoy the different cultural attractions. As far as nature is concerned, the Basque Country has a varied offer with: 6 natural parks, 1 biosphere reserve, 4 protected biotypes and 44 beaches of different sizes along its 250 kilometre coastline. In September 2007, there were 317 rural hotels or rural guest houses with more than 3,540 vacancies, 401 hotels with 24,115 vacancies and 21 campsites offering 8,120 vacancies. The region also features 3,900 restaurants and is known for its fine cuisine and world-wide recognized cooks such as, Arzak, Subijana, and Martin Berasategi, whose establishments feature 3 Michelin stars, together with others of great renown such as Arguiñano, plus new generations represented by Canales, Aitor Elizegui and Andoni Luis Aduriz, among others.[move up]

Leisure and Sports

The Basque Country provides a wide range of opportunities to practise a great number of sports: mountaineering, trekking and climbing; hang-gliding, gliding, surfing, windsurfing, swimming, golf, tennis, handball, rugby, football and basketball. There are also over 6,500 associations and clubs, 3,218 sports facilities, 12 golf courses, 17 marinas offering over 3,800 docking spaces, 318 tennis courts, etc. Mundaka is, each year, one of the venues of the World Surfing Championship (Billabong Pro). Concerning mountaineering, we can mention Juanito Oiarzabal, world record holder concerning the number of 8,000 metre high mountains climbed (21), together with Alberto Iñurrategi, one of the few people who has climbed the fourteen highest mountains in the world, as well as Edurne Pasabán, who has climbed nine 8,000 metre mountains and who holds second position as the second woman with the greatest number of climbs.The Basque pelota and its different varieties are deeply rooted in the tradition of the country: hand pelota, pala, remonte, cesta punta, trinquete, xare, etc. As far as cycling is concerned, we can mention the Euskaltel-Euskadi team, which takes part in international races, and features important cyclists, such as Haimar Zubeldia, Igor Antón, Samuel Sanchez or Mikel Astarloza, as well as World Champions such as Igor Astarloa who won the world championship in 2003, Abraham Olano – World champion in 1995 and time-trial world champion in 1998, as well as, Joane Somarriba, a member of the female cyclist team that won two Giros in Italy and three Tours de France and, in 2003, became the time trial world champion. [move up]