Editing Basque language (section)

=== Demographics ===
[[File:Linguistic map Southwestern Europe-en.gif|thumb|right|Map showing the historical retreat and expansion of Basque within the context of its linguistic neighbours between the years 1000 and 2000]]
[[File:Euskara iparraldean.ogv|thumb|Testimonies of Basque sociolinguistic dynamics (French Basque Country)]]

[[File:Euskarazko hitz egiteagatik zigortutako Bedaioko ikasle baten koadernoa 2.jpg|thumb|[[Writing lines|Lines]] in an exercise book given as punishment during [[Franco's regime]]. The line is "{{lang|es|En la escuela no tengo que hablar vasco}}" ({{Translation|"I must not speak in Basque at school"}}).]]

The 2021 sociolinguistic survey of all Basque-speaking territories showed that, of all people aged 16 and above:<ref name=basquetribune />
* In the [[Basque Autonomous Community]], 36.2% were fluent Basque speakers, 18.5% [[passive speaker (language)|passive speakers]] and 45.3% did not speak Basque. The percentage was highest in [[Gipuzkoa]] (51.8% speakers) and [[Bizkaia]] (30.6%) and lowest in Álava (22.4%). These results represent an increase from previous years (33.9% in 2016, 30.1% in 2006, 29.5% in 2001, 27.7% in 1996 and 24.1% in 1991). The highest percentage of speakers can now be found in the 16–24 age range (74.5%) vs. 22.0% in the 65+ age range.
* In the [[French Basque Country]], in 2021, 20.0% were fluent Basque speakers. Because the French Basque Country is not under the influence of the Basque Autonomous Country government, people in the region have fewer incentives from government authorities to learn the language. As such, these results represent another decrease from previous years (22.5% in 2006, 24.8% in 2001 and 26.4 in 1996 or 56,146 in 1996 to 51,197 in 2016). However, for those in the 16-24 age range, the proportion of Basque speakers increased to 21.5%, from 12.2% 20 years earlier.
* In [[Navarre]], 14.1% were fluent Basque speakers, 10.5% passive speakers, and 75.4% did not speak Basque. The percentage was highest in the Basque-speaking zone in the north (62.3% speakers, including 85.9% of youth) and lowest in the non-Basque-speaking zone in the south (1.6%). The overall proportion of 14.1% represented a slight increase from previous years (12.9% in 2016, 11.1% in 2006,10.3% in 2001, 9.6% in 1996 and 9.5% in 1991). Among age groups, the highest percentage of speakers can now be found in the 16–24 age range (28%) vs. 8.3% in the 65+ age range.

In 2021, out of a population of 2,634,800 over 16 years of age (1,838,800 in the Autonomous community, 546,000 in Navarre and 250,000 in the Northern Basque Country), 806,000 spoke Basque, which amounted to 30.6% of the population. Compared to the 1991 figures, this represents an overall increase of 266,000, from 539,110 speakers 30 years previously (430,000 in the BAC,{{clarify|date=October 2024}} 40,110 in FCN,{{clarify|date=October 2024}} and 69,000 in the Northern provinces). This number has tended to increase, as in all regions the age group most likely to speak Basque was those between 16 and 24 years old. In the BAC, the proportion in this age group who spoke the language (74.5%) was nearly triple the comparable figure from 1991, when barely a quarter of the population spoke Basque.<ref name=basquetribune />

While there is a general increase in the number of Basque speakers during this period, this is mainly because of [[bilingualism]]. Basque transmission as a sole mother tongue has decreased from 19% in 1991 to 15.1% in 2016, while Basque and another language being used as mother language increased from 3% to 5.4% in the same time period. General public attitude towards efforts to promote the Basque language have also been more positive, with the share of people against these efforts falling from 20.9% in 1991 to 16% in 2016.<ref name="InkestaVI"/>

In 2021, the study found that in the BAC, when both parents were Basque speakers, 98% of children were only communicated to in Basque, while 2% were communicated to in both Basque and Spanish. When only one parent was a Basque speaker and their first language was Basque, 84% used Basque and Spanish and 16% only Spanish. In Navarre, the family language of 94.3% of the youngest respondents with both Basque parents was Basque. In the Northern Basque Country, however, when both parents were Basque-speaking, just two-thirds transmitted only Basque to their offspring, and as age decreased, the transmission rate also decreased.<ref name=basquetribune />

{| class="wikitable sortable" width=50% style=" text-align:left;clear:all; margin-left:20px; margin-right;"
|+Basque speakers (as a % of each region's population), gains/losses compared to previous survey
|-bgcolor=#efefef class="sortable"
!scope="col"|&nbsp;
!scope="col"|Across all
!scope="col"|{{Abbr|BAC|Basque Autonomous Community}}
!scope="col"|Navarre
!scope="col"|{{Abbr|FBC|French Basque Community}}
|-
|1991<ref name="InkestaIV">''Sixth Sociolinguistic Survey'' Gobierno Vasco, Servicio Central de Publicaciones del Gobierno Vasco 2016, {{ISBN|978-84-457-3502-2}}</ref>
|22.3%
|24.1%
|9.5%
| -
|-
| 1996<ref name="InkestaIV" />
| 24.4% ({{increase}} 2.1%)
| 27.7% ({{increase}} 3.6%)
| 9.6% ({{increase}} 0.1%)
| 26.4%
|-
| 2001<ref name="InkestaIV" />
| 25.4% ({{increase}} 1%)
| 29.4% ({{increase}} 1.7%)
| 10.3% ({{increase}} 0.7%)
| 24.8% ({{decrease}} 1.6%)
|-
| 2006<ref name="InkestaIV" />
| 25.7% ({{increase}} 0.3%)
| 30.1% ({{increase}} 0.7%)
| 11.1% ({{increase}} 0.8%)
| 22.5% ({{decrease}} 2.3%)
|-
| 2011<ref>''V. Inkesta Soziolinguistikoa'' Gobierno Vasco, Servicio Central de Publicaciones del Gobierno Vasco 2003, {{ISBN|978-84-457-3303-5}}</ref>
| 27.0% ({{increase}} 1.3%)
| 32.0% ({{increase}} 1.9%)
| 11.7% ({{increase}} 0.6%)
| 21.4% ({{decrease}} 1.1%)
|-
| 2016<ref name="InkestaVI">''VI. Inkesta Soziolinguistikoa'' Gobierno Vasco, Servicio Central de Publicaciones del Gobierno Vasco 2016</ref>
| 28.4% ({{increase}} 1.4%)
| 33.9% ({{increase}} 1.9%)
| 12.9% ({{increase}} 1.2%)
| 20.5% ({{decrease}} 0.9%)
|-
| 2021<ref name=basquetribune />
| 30.6% ({{increase}} 2.2%)
| 36.2% ({{increase}} 2.3%)
| 14.1% ({{increase}} 1.2%)
| 20.0% ({{decrease}} 0.5%)
|-
|}

Basque is used as a language of commerce both in the Basque Country and in locations around the world where Basques immigrated throughout history.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Ray |first=Nina M. |date=1 January 2009 |title=Basque Studies: Commerce, Heritage, And A Language Less Commonly Taught, But Whole-Heartedly Celebrated |url=https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/gbl/vol12/iss1/10/ |journal=Global Business Languages |volume=12 |page=10 |id={{ProQuest|85685222}}}}</ref>