The Ebro river is not born in Aragón, is born in Cantabria.

As someone who lives in Extremadura (a part of the ring), I am happy not to have too many people here. I don't dislike people, but having space to walk, not having too many cars on the roads and having space is very relaxing. I haven't stayed for too long in crowded places, but the ones that were, it was too much for me 😅

As someone who lives in the southeast of Spain around Alicante, one of the most populous regions in terms of density, even there it feels empty in most places that are vaguely rural, a stark contrast to much of the rest of Europe.

@joaoalbertodosanjosgomes1536

9 ай бұрын

My condolences.

@avilacanario

9 ай бұрын

What do you have on Portugal?

@aleografics311

9 ай бұрын

​@@avilacanario?

@Drekt666

9 ай бұрын

It's just a lot of farm land.

@Peter_Schiavo

9 ай бұрын

@@avilacanario The beaches are great. The beer is cheap. We lived in Oliva for a year and the biggest downside is the obnoxious tourists in the Summer months from northern Europe.

Travelled around Spain for a month before. Such an incredible place the country has a bit of everything.

@mardiffv.8775

8 ай бұрын

Indeed Sir, Spain has a bit of everything. That is why the movie "Patton" was shot in Spain; it has both desert > North African desert and forest hills > the Ardennes, Belgium.

@metacosmos

8 ай бұрын

yes a bit of good things and a lot of bad things

@devanman7920

8 ай бұрын

@@metacosmos no country's perfect. It has problems but everywhere does

@metacosmos

8 ай бұрын

most ultra nationalistic believe that their country is perfect.@@devanman7920

Every time you do a "Why does nobody live here" video, the answer is always "No water, rocky soil, and cold winters." After you covered those factors for Spain, I wasn't ready for the twist ending!

The good thing about the less populated central area is that the little human pressure keeps the natural environment in a magnificent state. Forests, meadows, rivers, reservoirs and the greatest European diversity in flora and fauna. Spain is a country with multiple faces, one great history, a very powerful language, and one of the most strategic European countries, and one of the main members of NATO.

I have studied in Spain, specifically in Valladolid, a city of around 300,000 people. The city is in the empty, uh, doughnut(?), circle(?), ring(?) of Spain. And when I travelled to and from Madrid as well as other towns and cities in Spain, I was surprised by the emptiness of some parts of the country.

@Joshua-fi4ji

9 ай бұрын

My other half is from Málaga and I've been around Spain a lot. It always surprises me how empty it is even down there compared to England. We don't have room to breath in England these days.

@ebonytv3414

9 ай бұрын

England has plenty of space to breath,if you live in a city it’s busy outside of the he city’s have plenty of open space.

@ebonytv3414

9 ай бұрын

@@Joshua-fi4ji So, how much of England is built on? 🏠 The answer is just over 10%. But rather than focusing solely on the land that is built on, let's take a moment to appreciate the untapped potential and hidden beauty of the land that remains undeveloped.

@Joshua-fi4ji

9 ай бұрын

@@ebonytv3414 Most land is owned and used for something, be it housing or farms, especially down south and around the coasts. It's not like France, Spain or much of Scotland where you have huge areas of undeveloped land. Saying there's no space to breath is an exaggeration, but the population density the south of England is so much higher.

@ebonytv3414

9 ай бұрын

@@Joshua-fi4ji that was from British statistics not made up by me. Unlike your Exaggeration.

I live in Galicia, the part of the country where settlements are more spread out, when I went down to Castilla y León i felt an incredible contrast with the very concentrated towns surrounded by massive wheat fields

Yo soy de una de esas zonas, de Castilla La Mancha en concreto. La verdad es que esta situación, inedita en el resto de Europa, se debe a una combinación de abandono político, falta de industrialización e industrialización fuerte y rápida de la agricultura. La red de transporte y logística es buena, por lo menos en los últimos 25 años. Buen trabajo!

@chipaguasustudios

8 ай бұрын

Yo creo que si eligen una de esas zonas despobladas y la hacen una "zona económica especial" con bajos impuestos como del 10% máximo o algo así rápidamente se van a poblar e industrializar, no se porque su gobierno no lo hace xd

@Kan3sky

8 ай бұрын

@@chipaguasustudios porque gobierna el PSOE, y a esos les gusta vivir del clientelismo, no de una economía libre y dinámica.

@davidcorabar

8 ай бұрын

Claro, como Castilla y León, que lleva el PP 40 años seguidos y es la zona de España con mayor despoblación

@danporti3942

8 ай бұрын

@@Kan3sky Como te han respondido, esto es independiente del partido que gobierne, Castilla y Leon es del PP de siempre y está despobladísima. Tiene que ver simplemente con practicidad, estoy a medio camino entre Extremadura y Castilla-La Mancha y te aseguro que el problema principal es simplemente que Madrid está relativamente cerca, o se dan incentivos a las empresas para establecerse en estas zonas o es imposible que se alejen de Madrid para irse a un sitio desde el que van a tener que viajar y transportar a Madrid constantemente. Ha habido gobiernos de PP, de PSOE y todo lo que tú quieras, esto se tiene que organizar a nivel estatal, y eso implicaría "quitarle" empresas a Madrid, Valencia, Barcelona, Bilbao, etc, a largo plazo a la gente le harías un favor, a corto plazo implica más paro, más desplazamiento y relativo empobrecimiento de las grandes ciudades, cosa que no están dispuestos a hacer debido a que enfadar a corto plazo a gran parte de la población de zonas que representan el 80% del censo es simplemente políticamente suicida, y quien lo haga está condenado a perder las siguientes elecciones y además que el que venga detrás lo revierta para venir como "salvador" y asegurarse votos. Este tipo de planificaciones en un sistema democrático son simplemente inviables, por eso Franco pudo hacerlo, o los reyes absolutistas pudieron, pero es imposible a día de hoy. China lo hace, la URSS o Yugoslavia lo hizo, los países árabes lo hacen, Europa simplemente sólo lo haría si quien maneja el cotarro está dispuesto a hacerlo, y ahora mismo no les interesa.

@investigating.in.freedom38

8 ай бұрын

En tiempo de Cervantes se la conocía como Castilla la vacía. En el Quijote expone una vacía, refiriendo a Felipe II la característica del territorio, en contraste con la Cataluña que le muestra en la segunda parte.

You got a lot of this video right, but I feel like you overstated the extent to which the Meseta Central is arid/semi-arid and not very suited for agriculture. They certainly grow lots of grapes, wheat, and olives on the Meseta. Also, I don't know where the footage from 5:08-5:20 (repeats later in the video) is from, but it's not really the best representation of the Meseta Central... should be flatter/more gently rolling, and redder/browner, with some buttes off in the distance or something. Also a couple of pronunciation notes, the "h" in Spanish is always silent, so "Dehesa" would be "day-AYsa," and "Malaga" at 9:46 should be "MALL-ah-gah." Only a double L becomes a y sound, not a single L.

I like the geographical region of Celtiberia (not a political region). It is the most scarcely populated area in the ring, but full of nature, canyons, castles, medieval villages and good food. I drive through empty roads not seeing a car for quite long periods of time, but the roads are quite good so I enjoy the isolation of these beautiful undisturbed landscapes. I love it, no tourists (maybe a bunch of advance Spanish tourists who know the same secret places). I have criss-crossed much of it but still I have many unchecked in my To-visit list. Yes, I have a list and it is still evolving as I find more and more places for different sources (you won't find them in the main general touristic guides).

There was also significant Spanish emigration to other European countries such as France, Germany, and Switzerland during the Franco period that contributed to population decline especially in Andalusia.

@plumebrise4801

8 ай бұрын

Yeah ,today in France there is like 4 Millions French of Spanish Origin (Along with 5,5 Millions of Italian origin and 2 Millions of Portuguese origin)

@cristoux

8 ай бұрын

It is false to atribute that to Franco. Most of that emigration ocurred between 1914 and 1936. Then it continued after 1965. And it still continues today, specially after 2011.

@ditt9094

8 ай бұрын

​@@cristoux Spaniards abroad is 3%. is literally the lowest in all Europe.

@ditt9094

8 ай бұрын

​@@plumebrise48014 millions of Spaniards is literally impossible. there are not even 4 millions of spaniards abroad in all the history of Spain. maybe 4 million in Usa.

You should have switched Zaragoza and Huesca in the presentation map. It may be visually more attractive to present Zaragoza as being more empty than Huesca but that's not accurate

@joehoe222

9 ай бұрын

Agreed, been there, and Zaragoza is indeed more city like than rural. One of the more interesting places I've been in Europe.

@javierjimenez3784

9 ай бұрын

I was about to comment that. The Ebro valley and specifically Zaragoza are une of the few examples of density populated areas in “central” Spain. Zaragoza also received a lot of emigrants during the 20th century as a growing industrial city.

@stopthenwo1209

8 ай бұрын

Zaragoza is the fifth most important city in Spain, inaccurate map.

I'm an admirer of the amazing Mondragon workers' cooperative in Basque county. It is the largest successful workers' cooperative in the world! -Dave from Chicago, USA

@Spartakist-ch4nb

9 ай бұрын

It still exploits workers in the rhird world

@davea6314

9 ай бұрын

@@Spartakist-ch4nb Not Mondragon.

@lmarts

8 ай бұрын

Some people won't like reading Mondragón and will tell you its real name is in fact Arrasate (Basque name) 😉

@davea6314

8 ай бұрын

@@lmarts Mondragon is its international name just as that amazing great workers' coop knows that English is the dominant global lingua franca. There are many people like me here in the USA that immediately think of the Mondragon workers cooperative when anyone mentions Basque country. The people of Basque country should be proud of Mondragon.

@Alejojojo6

7 ай бұрын

@@lmartsThe oficial name of the cooperative is Mondragón, based out of the town of Mondragón which has a basque name Arrasate but does not mean the cooperative is named arrasate which is not.

11:45 the Basque Country isn't that big. You included La Rioja, Navarre and the French Basque Country there.

@cristoux

8 ай бұрын

Thanks for pointing out, he took the independentist definition. That is not the official administrative division and people in those regions think of themselves as Spanish.

@Cuyi1990

8 ай бұрын

@@cristoux I go to Logroño and Calahorra a lot (cities in La Rioja). People there don't feel Basque. The PP (right-wing) govern La Rioja.

@cristoux

8 ай бұрын

@@Cuyi1990 exactly what I meant. I edited for clarity.

@Alejojojo6

7 ай бұрын

Yeah that's Euskal Herria which isnt the same as The Basque country comunity proper as Eusk. Herria expands over several autonomous communities and countries (having some parts in France).

I've taken train rides from Madrid to Toledo and to Segovia. The tra(i)nsition from dense to thin population is very visible there

Can you do more European countries next? France's empty belt perhaps

On the map of the Basque country you have included Navarra, which is another separate Autonomous Community.

@maikeus3948

9 ай бұрын

Navarra is also culturally and traditionally Basque.

@barrylyndon5084

9 ай бұрын

@@maikeus3948 That has no administrative political relevance. Navarra at least was an independent Kingdom, the Basque Country never was.

@maikeus3948

9 ай бұрын

@@barrylyndon5084it’s a huge error to believe that administration is the only valid reality. In fact, it’s not. The history, culture and actual reality of Navarra can NOT be separated from being Basque.

@barrylyndon5084

9 ай бұрын

@@maikeus3948 No es motivo para que aparezcan en un mapa como un único territorio administrativo, porque NO LO SON.

@maikeus3948

9 ай бұрын

@@barrylyndon5084 léete la transitoria cuarta de la constitución, anda, y luego le cuentas que navarra de vasca no tiene nada.

-Empty ring -7.7 million people residing within it Make up your mind, for the highlighted blue doughnut around Metro Madrid has 1/6 of the kingdom's population (same number of people as Hong Kong SAR, China). So, most definitely NOT empty!

Excuse me, the Basque Country is truly half the size that appears in the video, you have join it with a nearby province wich is not basque

Despite all of this, speaking as someone who works on logistics and the supply chain across Europe (Mostly Imports and Exports from Spain), nowadays most of the areas of this so called "empty Spain" that neighbor the populated areas (See Burgos, Albacete, or Guadalajara, for instance) feature a lot of movement of freights and goods coming from all parts of Europe that ultimately end up distribted to the populated areas. A lot of these "empty" places nowadays serve as big warehouses so to speak, which brings jobs and moneyflow. And of course, you also have farmlands too, being El Éjido at Almería the biggest example. If you ever browse a transport freight market, most of the stuff we Export is around these places. (While Barcelona and Pais Vasco tend to mostly receive Imports, rather) These places might be "empty" in terms of population, but they are the backbone of Spain's economy in a way. A similar thing also happens with the "empty France" that despite being empty, there's a lot of cargo and freights to export/import from there. However I don't see this happen with Germany for instance, the emptiest part of Germany is just empty, so not all empty places are made equal.

@Finkiu

8 ай бұрын

Good analysis. But El Ejido is at the coast not in the empty Spain

Could you make a companion piece on Portugal. The situation there is comparable. And if you make a demographic map of the whole peninsula the costal regions would make a ring around the sparsely populated middle.

Interesting content. Thank you.

Great video. 😊I crossed it yesterday on the high speed AVE from Seville to Madrid, after a stop in Cordoba, but I was aware of it after watching the Vuelta a Espana on tv over the years.

Is that the mic in your hair, Geoff?

Lots of ecuadorians, colombians, other hispanic-americans and even brazilians and americans migrate to Spain and yet the ring remains underpopulated, that area simply has not much going for it besides agriculture and mining and thus it fails to attract high-skilled migrants, even migrants from Africa, muslim countries and eastern europe avoid that area because commerce and services are located elsewhere.

@Lucas24997

9 ай бұрын

Still there there are dynamic towns and cities who attract immigration, but lack of investment tends to make it hard for them to keep going

@angyliv8040

9 ай бұрын

We are a country with 48 millions we are not despopulated lol

@BN.ja05

9 ай бұрын

@@angyliv8040 La zona de la que se habla en el vídeo sí está poco poblada comparada al resto del país, y a pesar de su extensión territorial, España siempre a estado menos poblada que países aledaños de tamaño similar, como Francia, y después de la revolución industrial la diferencia demográfica con otros países de Europa occidental se ha marcado todavía más. Alemania, por ejemplo, tiene casi el doble de habitantes en un territorio mucho más chico.

@AdamSahr-cj4kf

9 ай бұрын

It's a good thing to have underpopulated areas. Urbanisation trashes the land and the ecosystem.

@egutiguti3337

9 ай бұрын

Afortunadamente.

Another fascinating video! 🎉😊

I feel like this is more of a good thing rather than a bad thing. It means more space for nature and wild animals to live their lives in peace away from human disturbance. Not everything has to revolve around development and economics. Nature deserves some space too.

The movement out from the central part of the country, especially Castilla and León, began already hundreds of years ago, when, curiously they were one of the most populated areas of Spain.

I enjoyed the video I learned alot thanks

I very much enjoyed your video Geoff of you probing Spains empty ring.

Do geographers study population pyramids? If so please consider doing some videos on those topics and the population futures of various countries

I've been to Spain a couple of times but I focused mostly on Andalusia and Madrid. In some future trip, I will go to the other regions (Catalonia, the Basque Country, etc.). One city well worth visiting in the ring is Toledo. It was the early historic capital of the Moors and later of the Reconquista. It also has a significant Spanish Civil War history. It has an important historically Jewish quarter. It's about one hour away from Madrid on their high speed train.

@TheOneAnd178

9 ай бұрын

Shockingly if see hard enough in the aragon part of the "empty ring", you can find Zaragoza, Spain's 5th largest city and metro region which all on its own has ~15% of the entire "empty ring's" population standing out as the huge exception.

@arifshahabuddin8888

9 ай бұрын

@@TheOneAnd178 Very true. I will have to visit Zaragoza. I must say, however, after watching this video, I felt empty inside.

@neyou6940

9 ай бұрын

And before that It was the capital of the visigoth kingdom

@Muzakman37

9 ай бұрын

Definitely explore Extremadura, especially the northern half (Caceres province), there's nowhere else like it in Spain, and it's home to glorious medieval towns/cities like Caceres & Trujillo as well as the remarkable Roman city of Merida. Also explore Aragon, another uniquely rugged, beautiful region that's remarkably varied. Both regions are seriously empty and you'll have entire vistas to yourself.

@egutiguti3337

9 ай бұрын

Antes de eso, Toledo fue la primera capital de los visigodos. Y un orgullo y un impulso en la reconquista para los cristianos al volver a reconquistarla a los moros. Allí convivían judíos, moros y cristianos, pero cada etnia dividida en sus propios barrios, hasta la expulsión, primero de judíos y posteriormente de los moros, es una de las ciudades con un casco medieval mejor conservados al igual que Segovia. Y también hay que decir que el arco de herradura fue un invento visigodo, después adoptado por los moros invasores.

Greetings from someone whose family came from the empty ring to the coast in Barcelona

Kinda reminds me of the American federal government encouraging growth in the south and west at the expense of the Midwest and Northeast (Rust Belt). Providing cheap water and energy for a.c. whilst MASSIVELY subsidizing/encouraging the car. 😢

@Peter_Schiavo

9 ай бұрын

There's no choice in these rural areas. A car is essential.

@StLouis-yu9iz

8 ай бұрын

@@Peter_Schiavo I am not talking about rural areas so much as sun belt cities that are built with the car envisioned as the primary (so only practical) means of transportation.

I feel like the ring is even bigger than that, reaching the northern part of Leon and Huesca up to the Pyrenees

@carlosruiz7104

8 ай бұрын

El anillo debería abarcar león, Palencia (no se porque no lo remarca), huesca, Navarra, orense, Lugo y Lérida

I was in Spain just a little less than three months ago. by the way, I really like your names for the empty parts of countries. I think they’re very clever.

Quita del empty ring a Valladolid y Zaragoza, por favor...

I am from Spain i dont think this has to do with Franco, most developed countries had this transition from rural to urban population because of industrialization, so is more of a "natural" thing

@ChristopherSobieniak

3 ай бұрын

I would think so.

Basically it's the same problem as West Virginia or any other mountainous region.

@trapmuzik6708

9 ай бұрын

yeah mountains is not great for farming hard to support a large population

@Lucas24997

9 ай бұрын

Not really, that region is not more montainous than the rest of the country, and in there is the biggest flatlands area of the entire country, La Mancha

2:12 it was Muslim Arabs who invaded The peninsula and established the empire. north africans were in the army

Does anyone know what software he uses for the maps?

Fun fact: despite the emptyness, three of the Spanish presidents come from Castilla y León. It's the region that ranks higher in terms of education every year, according to PISA, in the country.

@alexgg327

9 ай бұрын

I confirm, I live there and I took the PISA exam

@_o..o_1871

8 ай бұрын

I agree. I am “PISA in the country”. Nice to meet you!

@lmarts

8 ай бұрын

One of them is a psychopath. He used to wear a short moustache. High education won't give you empathy and ethical behaviour.

@sergiodma

8 ай бұрын

@@lmarts you must be andalusian.

@lmarts

8 ай бұрын

@@sergiodma nope. I'm Valencian, with a master's degree. Not as bigot as your reply makes you seem.

People leaving rural areas for large cities is hardly the fault of Franco. It’s a happened in every developed country.

It's pretty impressive when you fly around central spain, look down and see almost no cities or towns

Madrid and Barcelona sound so posh

As one of Spanish ancestry .....gracias for a fun, well researched, and interesting video.

I once rode the bus from Madrid to Salamanca, a city near the Portuguese border. Let me tell you, there was absolutely nothing but super tiny villages along the way.

Im from the emty ring (near Segovia). There are actually quite a lot of small villages at some party and we have the craziest partys. If you ask any spanish person they will tell you that zhe villages go craaazy in summer 🤙🏽

@mardiffv.8775

8 ай бұрын

So Ibiza has competition in partying?

@yungestchorizo3997

8 ай бұрын

i mean its different. In ibiza you don't know anyone and its more like tourist partys.. I'm talking about what thee people do with the little they have @@mardiffv.8775

Excellent video, Geoff. Very well researched. One thing of note is that Spain has an extensive network of motorways (freeways), and the second-longest high-speed train network in the world after China, but ahead of Japan, France and Germany. Part of the reason for these is the empty ring. We'll be visiting Barcelona next year. Yay!

@Peter_Schiavo

9 ай бұрын

The highways are very good and, at least for now, toll free. The EU would like that to change.

@SeverityOne

9 ай бұрын

@@Peter_Schiavo The EU doesn't care whether you levy toll or not. Do you think that the EU could impose tolls when Germany (and the Netherlands) don't levy it? Never going to happen. What the EU wants is that countries run a responsible budget; in other words, don't spend money on fanciful projects, so that a minister can have a photo op. Considering that Spain is in the lower half of EU when it comes to GDP (PPP), what it spends on infrastructure appears disproportionate. Its motorway and high speed rail network may make sense given its geography, but not given its economy.

@egutiguti3337

9 ай бұрын

@@SeverityOnebueno, la red de alta velocidad creo que también llegará a ser muy rentable económicamente debido al incremento del turismo, que cada vez más, se mueve desde la costa para conocer el interior y esto es muy apropiado con la alta velocidad.

I'm afraid you are wrong. Don't blame Franco for the "Empty Spain" (or "Emptied Spain"), but the efforts of all the Spanish Governments since s.XVIII to built a large city (Madrid) in the middle of the country. Centralized authority, radial systems of roads and trains, all the cultural institutions drained to "the capital"... instead of strengthnening the local industries and economies. And this effort is still alive...

Great vid. The map at 3:44 is a bit deceiving, because it is an actual one and you are talking about the napoleonic wars.

Great video. Just a little detail: you've forgotten the two Autonomous Cities: Ceuta &Melilla. They're equivalent to Autonomous Regions (though smaller) and their autonomy is protected by the Spanish Constitution.

All I can think of is that's where area zero is lol. Great crater of Paldea.

I live in the empty ring and damn I wish it was more empty in the supermarkets on Saturdays, the queues take an age!

Why did you include the Autonomous Community of Navarre in the Basque Country? Why?

I've noticed this ring. I play a game called Eurorails which includes the Iberian peninsula. Madrid is the lone major city there with a few smaller cities along the coast. Building rail lines to Madrid and the other cities can be quite profitable and is usually necessary to win the game (not all the time though.)

@carlosruiz7104

8 ай бұрын

En el interior peninsular está Zaragoza con unos 700.000 habitantes y Valladolid con 330.000 habitantes y un área metropolitana de más de 450. 000 habitantes. Luego también hay una serie de ciudsdes con más de 100.000 habitantes como León, Burgos, Salamanca, Albacete, Talavera de la Reina, Badajoz y Logroño. Lógicamente la población vive dispersa en estas zonas, pero es una región muy rica en ciudades muy importantes aunque sean de escasa población y ojo que en la lista no incluyó a Mérida, Cáceres, Plasencia, Toledo, Segovia, Ávila, Teruel, Palencia, Zamora , etc..... Que son ciudades con un legado histórico y arquitectónico espectacular

as spaniard myself, the solution is easy yet unpopular. Move and distribite the humongous public workforce that is not customer facing to the empty ring, as well as provide elderly care in the area rather than in the cities, so pensionists are incentivized to move there.

Interesting 😊

La recosquista didnt come from north of europe came from north of spain.

The 4th place most populated in Spain after Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia is Alicante with 2 million inhabitants, more than Sevilla or Bilbao.

The movement of people to around the edges, is much like most countries.

Every time you do a "Why So Few People". I get excited and check the property values, usually ending in disappointment.

@MrAngryCucaracha

8 ай бұрын

You can find very cheap houses, but there is a reason why those areas are cheap.

Very interesting! This is one of your best videos.

As someone who lives in Zaragoza, i took that as a insult

Greetins from the empty La Rioja. It feels great to live here. When I go to Madrid it's all full of people, some of them dangerous. In some parts of Madrid I even feel as a foreigner. Not to mention the Mediterranean coast, I can't think of a worst place to live (from my personal PoV). It's all massified and dirty. No thanks. BTW, stop playing the Franco card. He was a son of a ***** but the loss of rural population wasn't his fault. It had begun much earlier and happened in other countries too.

Because sady we're a country of waiters and without beaches there are no German and British tourists to serve mojitos to. But fear not, if things keep going like this every major city near the coast will be property of AirBnB so we will have to move to the unhabited areas. It's already happening where I live in the Canary Islands were hotels can't find more waiters because people just can't afford the inflated rent prices.

Dont forget about the two autonomous cities, ceuta and melilla

I appreciate the effort, but as a spaniard I see A LOT of misinformation in this video TBH

“Why does nobody live there?” Me, as someone who lives there 🙃

Awesome.vid and ears

Looking those maps it may seem that the cities of Barcelona and Valencia are away from the coast; that is wrong, both are coast cities. On the other hand, Sevilla is on its place

The population difference between "the empty ring" and the coastal areas + Madrid became more and more prominent AFTER the dictatorship ended. Indeed, Franco made several decisions in order to promote and keep economic activity in the inner Spain (like dams or towns creation), while after democracy, capitalism took over the country and most of companies moved to bigger cities to be more efficient. Don't get me wrong, Franco was a dictator and was a pain in the ass for the country, but it has been the decisions of his democratic successors that have enhanced the empty ring situation to the current extreme. Feel free to check the % population distribution from 1939 and 2023 to confirm my point.

If this sounds shocking, consider the following: China is the world's most populous country (possibly the second now), but two thirds of its land area is empty, or least sparsely populated. That might make a future video.

Spain has also 2 more territories in northern Africa, Ceuta and Melilla.

LMAO that's not a map of the Basque Country. That's a map of Euskal Herria, that includes Navarra and parts of France too. Good video.

The people who lived in those territories were dragged to Catalonia, the Basque Country, the Balearic Islands, the Valencian Community and Madrid in the face of a job offer that exceeded their expectations.

Valencia only have about 800.000 inhabitants. The region V. maybe 2,5 mill.

When ever i heard about Span still and always remember fiction book “Sands of time” by sedny Sheldon.

8 million isn't that few to be honest

Reconquista started in the region of Asturias, not in France!!!

Me resulta curioso el ver cua do se colorea el mapa peninsular español, están todas las provincias o algunas conunidades coloreadas enteras y en ellas metes a León y Palencia sin bien no daber porqué, pprque lógicamente pertenecen a la España mesetaria y por supuesto a la España vacia y en el mapa de Navarra, que lógicamente no es meseta, pero si una region con muy poca ppblayen realización a su tamaño

In the north you got wrong the map of the Basque Country, you included other region (Navarra) and part of France as part of the Basque Country and they are not. Also, you missed the Cantabria region as part of the northern regions, which is also beautiful and a rugged mountainous region.

@srmagnet0191

9 ай бұрын

Basque country en inglés hace referencia a "Euskal Herria" lo que viene siendo la antigua Vasconia y por lo tanto incluye a navarra. Pais Vasco en castellano se traduce como "Euskadi" y eso si que es solo la comunidad autonoma. No se ha equivocado es que esta hablando de cosas distintas

I wonder, does this "Empty Zone" extend into Portugal?

@mardiffv.8775

8 ай бұрын

Yes indeed, the Portugese are mainly located on the Southern coast.

Huesca is close to the border with france. And is empty. Ans more so the empty map is even bigger

To find out for sure you should launch an inquisition 😂

Siempre, siempre, siempre que un extranjero, habla del País Vasco y pone un mapa, pone como territorio vasco el Reino de Navarra, La Rioja y Cantabria. Señores el País Vasco son 7000 km cuadrados y nada más. Quizá influenciados por el nazionalismo vasco y su expansionismo a territorios que no son vascos. A ver si leemos más e informamos bien o callen.

I wouldn't say that Toledo or Ciudad Real are empty, as they habe more population than several provinces in the coast, and not only concentrated in its capital like Valladolid or Zaragoza.

Talking about meseta and putting photos of canary islands

You forgot to mention that Zaragoza in Aragon is the 4th most populated city in Spain (I mean, it shouldn't be included in that depopulated areas) anyways, NICE VID mate :)

2:10 You got it wrong, it was the Moops!

Aqui otro manchego nacido en los 60S,decirte que estoy de acuerdo contigo,mis padres,tios ,primos y hermanos todos vivimos repartidos entre Madrid,Barcelona,Valencia e Islas Baleares,la razon muy simple era donde habia trabajo y 5 decadas despues sigue siendo igual

You included Navarra into the basque country. They also speak basque, but they are another region

The USA, Canada, Australia, have vast empty regions. Is this Franco's fault as well?

¿La reconquista fue por parte de los reinos del norte y este de Europa??? Fue el reino de Asturias el que inició la reconquista y el resto de reinos del norte de la peninsula. Con ayuda del resto de europa en cruzadas como la de la toma de granada pero decir que fueron los paises de Europa los que hicieron la reconquista es del todo inexacto

Why did you exclude lots of empty regions like Huesca or Leon? Empty Spain is even bigger than what it is shown in this map.

2:25 This is blatantly false, especially in Spain. Which already had a long legacy of all of those things during the Visagothic rule, contrary to popular belief. 🇪🇸

Great video about the “España vaciada”

You putted Navarra like part of basque country

At 1:01 Spanish the second most spoken language.... You misspoke there!! Mandarin is the most spoken native language....not the most spoken language. When you add in people who learn as a second or third or more language, English is the most spoken of all!! English is also the most learned language as well....