Greater Bilbao
The region of the Gran Bilbao (Greater Bilbao) is constituted by a set of municipalities along the Nervión river ending at its mouth, that due to their growth has gotten physically united looking like a single city.
The region's municipalities are: Alonsotegi, Arrigorriaga, Barakaldo, Basauri, Bilbao, Derio, Etxebarri, Erandio, Galdakao, Getxo, Larrabetzu, Lejona, Lezama, Loiu, Ortuella, Portugalete, Santurtzi, Sestao, Sondika, Trapagaran, Zamudio and Zaratamo,
In some occasions this region is mistakenly called Metropolitan Bilbao but this entity is greater than the official Gran Bilbao region limits, as defined by the Basque Country's Territorial Directives, including Abanto y Zierbena, Arrankudiaga, Barrika, Berango, Gorliz, Lemoniz, Muskiz, Plentzia, Sopelana, Miraballes, Urduliz and Zeberio.
It's the sixth most populated metropolitan area of Spain, with over 900,000, which is the most part of the 1,100,000 inhabitants of the Bizkaia province (the city of Bilbao has 353,000) and almost half of the Basque Country's population.
The main municipalities of the region and metropolitan area, Bilbao and Barakaldo, and the Basque and Spanish Governments constituted in 1992 the organization Bilbao Ria 2000 for the city-planning regeneration of Bilbao and its surroundings, indeed being these the municipalities more punished by the intense industrial activity and the great amount of contaminated grounds and industrial ruins that derived from that activity. Among the projects that it has impelled this institution is the recovery of Abandoibarra, once industrial ground and the place where the Guggenheim Museum and the Euskalduna Palace are located now.
Parallelly exists the association Bilbao Metropoli-30, constituted in 1991 by the City council of Bilbao, Biscay and Basque Governments and diverse public and private organizations for the regeneration of Metropolitan Bilbao.
Municipalities of the Bilbao Metropolitan Area
- Bilbao Metropolitan Area (35 municipalities)
| Abanto y Zierbena | 18,0 km² | 9.503 | 527,9 /km² |
| Alonsotegi | 16,0 km² | 2.745 | 171,6 /km² |
| Arrankudiaga | 20,8 km² | 4.018 | 193,2 /km² |
| Arrigorriaga | 22,8 km² | 12000 | 341 /km² |
| Baracaldo(Barakaldo) | 24,3 km² | 95.260 | 3.920,2 /km² |
| Barrika | 7,8 km² | 1.337 | 171,4 /km² |
| Basauri | 7,2 km² | 44.052 | 6.118,3 /km² |
| Berango | 8,8 km² | 5.904 | 670,9 /km² |
| Bilbao(Bilbo) | 41,3 km² | 353.173 | 8.551,4 /km² |
| Zeberio | 47,1 km² | 1.027 | 21,8 /km² |
| Zierbena | 9,2 km² | 1.283 | 139,5 /km² |
| Derio | 7,4 km² | 5.030 | 679,7 /km² |
| Etxebarri | 3,3 km² | 7.707 | 2.335,5 /km² |
| Erandio | 18,0 km² | 23.338 | 1.296,6 /km² |
| Galdakao | 31,7 km² | 29.594 | 933,6 /km² |
| Gorliz | 10,2 km² | 4.882 | 478,6 /km² |
| Getxo | 11,9 km² | 82.687 | 6.948,5 /km² |
| Larrabetzu | 21,5 km² | 1.647 | 76,6 /km² |
| Leioa | 8,5 km² | 28.858 | 3.395,1 /km² |
| Lemoiz | 14,3 km² | 925 | 64,7 /km² |
| Lezama | 16,5 km² | 2.287 | 138,6 /km² |
| Loiu | 15,3 km² | 2.205 | 144,1 /km² |
| Muskiz | 20,8 km² | 6.682 | 321,3 /km² |
| Ortuella | 7,7 km² | 8.554 | 1.110,9 /km² |
| Plentzia | 6,3 km² | 3.949 | 626,8 /km² |
| Portugalete | 3,2 km² | 49.788 | 15.558,8 /km² |
| Santurce(Santurtzi) | 7,2 km² | 47.155 | 6.549,3 /km² |
| Sestao | 3,5 km² | 30.350 | 8.671,4 /km² |
| Sondika | 6,3 km² | 4.300 | 682,5 /km² |
| Sopelana | 8,4 km² | 11.469 | 1.365,4 /km² |
| Ugao-Miraballes | 5,2 km² | 4.060 | 780,8 /km² |
| Urduliz | 7,8 km² | 3.241 | 415,5 /km² |
| Trapagaran | 13,1 km² | 12.580 | 960,3 /km² |
| Zamudio | 18,1 km² | 3.176 | 175,5 /km² |
| Zaratamo | 10,0 km² | 1.624 | 162,4 /km² |
| Total | 494,7 km² | 906.390 | 1.832,2 /km² |