The Financial Times ranks the Basque Country among the 10 most attractive European regions in Southern Europe for foreign investment

• It also recognises the "Invest in the Basque Country” strategy to attract inward investment as one of the 10 best of the medium-sized regions in Europe.

The Financial Times ranking of cities and regions has placed the Basque Country amongst the 10 most attractive European regions in Southern Europe for foreign investment and has recognised the "Invest in the Basque Country” strategy to attract inward investment as one of the 10 best of the medium-sized regions in Europe. The prestigious newspaper, the world reference in the business and economic press and an indispensable guide to international investment markets and movements, publishes this study every two years. The Basque Country topped the ranking as the best European medium-sized region in connectivity.

The fDi Intelligence division of the Financial Times produced this ranking by analysing 489 locations from different perspectives: economic potential, infrastructure, labour market, cost/benefit effectiveness, connectivity (logistics) and business friendliness. A panel of experts also assessed the strategy to attract investments of 146 European cities and regions.

The attractiveness of the Basque Country has increased in recent years, with direct inward investment doubling in the last six years, from a capital flow of €2,980 million (2006-2011) to €6,565 million (2012 to 2016). From the sectoral perspective, this inward investment in the Basque Country is currently focused in medium-high technology industrial sectors (82%) in line with the smart specialisation strategy – RIS3. Foreign capital companies in the Basque Country account for 13% of the GDP and over 52,000 jobs.

The activity of the SPRI’s Invest in the Basque Country division has contributed to these figures, as it proactively searches for trail-blazing companies with high valued added and generating jobs. Between 2014 and 2017, it managed 216 projects, 62 of which were successfully completed, involving an investment of €334.5 million and the generation of 1,329 new jobs and the maintenance of 2,637 jobs.