- In this north-eastern region of Navarre there are four people per square kilometre, fifteen times less than the Community average. The serious ageing of the population and the lack of public services are the main concerns of the area.
The Foral Parliament will continue the plan to combat the Pyrenean depopulation of Navarre which it has launched in the last two legislatures. This can be deduced from the ratification by the specific committee responsible for this area which occupies 10% of the Community area. The president of EH Bildu will be Mikel Zabaleta, Vice-President Daniel López de Segura -Zurekin and Secretary Pablo Azcona of Geroa Bai. In view of this demographic problem, the parliamentary commitment recognizes the need for its own “visions and policies” that take into account the “gravity of this singular territory”.
The new working group will be based on the sociological study on the situation of the Eastern Pyrenees of Navarra in 2018. The data evidenced the demographic problem of the region: In 1900, 18,000 people lived in the northeast of Navarra, compared to the current 3,600. According to this, the loss of population is the highest in the Foral Community.
In fact, the only region in Navarre that lost population between 1999 and 2009 is the Pyrenees, with 6%. To this must be added the great dispersion of the population, since the density of the Pyrenean valleys is four inhabitants per square kilometre, while the average of the whole of Navarre is 60. In other words, in the north-west this figure is fifteen times lower.
In addition, the report notes that the average age of the inhabitants of the villages is “very high” and that “excessive aging is highlighted”, that is, the population over 80 years of age. This is especially significant among women over 80, who represent more than 12% of the total population.
The region of Pirenaica is also the region with the lowest percentage of young people in Navarra. In 1998, the young population was 1,216, while in 2007 it was 867 and currently only 600. The report identifies service deficiencies as the main cause of all this. For example, with regard to education, the closure of schools is clear: thirteen in 1990 and seven at present. In 1850 no people were out of school, in 1982 there were three villages, today there are fifteen.
In this regard, the Commission’s main tasks will be to urge the Government of Chivite to strengthen public services and to ensure that measures are put in place to achieve this objective.
