Health Department Headquarters, Basque, Spain

At 28.2% the Basque population born outside this region, immigration is crucial to Basque demographics. Over the 20th century most this immigration came from other parts Spain, typically from Galicia or Castile-Leon. Over the last years, sizeable numbers this population have returned to their birthplaces whereas immigration to the Basque country currently originates abroad, chiefly from South America.
History
Before the Spanish Constitution 1978 and its system autonomous communities, these three provinces were known in Spanish as the Provincias Vascongadas. The political structure the new autonomous community is defined in the Gernika Statute, which was approved by a majority in a referendum held on 25 October 1979. Nowadays it is one the most decentralized regions in the world, in this regard it has been quoted as having "more autonomy than just about any other in Europe" by The Economist.