4.2. Specialisation

The Basque Country continues to rank well in employment in high- and medium-high-tech manufacturing, but its position is still not as strong as regards to knowledgeintensive services

The comparative specialisation indicators in Table 19 focus on two groups of activities which are considered especially important: high- and medium-high-tech manufacturing and knowledge-intensive services. The Basque Country continues to have one of the highest proportions of employment in high- and mediumhigh-tech manufacturing in Europe, Spain and the group of comparable regions. Although the value dropped slightly in the last year, the trend graphs show that in recent years, employment levels in high- and medium-high-tech manufacturing have been above the European average and the average for the comparable regions, as well as Spain. However, the position with regard to knowledgeintensive services is not as favourable. This indicator is trending upward, but the Basque Country still falls in the middle of the ranking in comparison with European regions and low in relation to the comparable regions. Although it is above Spain, it remains below the average for Germany, Europe and the comparable regions.

Table 19. Status of the Basque Country in terms of specialisation indicators.
Table 19. Status of the Basque Country in terms of specialisation indicators. Employment in high- and medium-high-tech manufacturing
Table 19. Status of the Basque Country in terms of specialisation indicators. Employment in knowledge-intensive services
Source:  Except when no data were available, the rankings have been compiled based on 218 European regions (in blue), the Basque Country and the group of 30 comparable regions (in green), and the 19 Spanish autonomous communities and cities (in red).
Graph 17. Variation in specialisation indicators
Graph 17. Variation in specialisation indicators. Employment in high- and medium-high-tech manufacturing
Graph 17. Variation in specialisation indicators. Employment in knowledge-intensive services
Graph 17. Variation in specialisation indicators. Legend
Source: Eurostat. Elaboración propia

The comparative analysis of specialisation is supplemented below by a detailed analysis of scientific (measured in publications), technological (through an analysis of patents) and commercial/economic specialisation (focused on exports). This makes it possible to determine the territory’s different fields of specialisation. Having a more detailed understanding of these areas helps reveal the existence of strengths to support smart specialisation strategies and detect possible inadequacies that would be necessary to mitigate or offset.