Euskadi or Euskal Herria — what’s the difference?

Two words, two realities

Euskadi and Euskal Herria are often used as if they meant the same thing. They don’t.

Euskal Herria — the 7 historic provinces

A historical and cultural term meaning ‘the land of the Basque language’. It refers to all 7 provinces where Basque (euskara) is traditionally spoken:

• Iparralde (the French side, 3 provinces): Labourd (Lapurdi), Lower Navarre (Nafarroa Beherea), Soule (Zuberoa)
• Hegoalde (the Spanish side, 4 provinces): Biscay (Bizkaia), Gipuzkoa, Álava (Araba), Navarre (Nafarroa)

Motto: Zazpiak Bat, ‘the seven make one’.

Euskadi — the Basque Autonomous Community

A neologism coined in 1896 by Sabino Arana, the founder of Basque nationalism, in the spelling Euzkadi. Today it officially refers to the Basque Autonomous Community in Spain, which is made up of only 3 provinces: Biscay, Gipuzkoa and Álava.

Navarre (Nafarroa) and the 3 French provinces are not part of it.

Why it matters

Using ‘Euskadi’ to mean the whole Basque Country amounts to:

• Leaving out Iparralde (the French side)
• Leaving out Navarre, which has its own status as a Chartered Community (Comunidad Foral)

That’s why this site is called euskalherria.app and not ‘euskadi.app’ — to cover all 7 provinces, without exception.

What the purists remember

Zazpiak bat. The seven make one. Euskal Herria is the country. Euskadi is a modern administrative region within it.