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Why So Few People Live In This HUGE Area In The Middle Of Spain

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  • Опубліковано 1 сер 2024
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    Spain is the fourth largest country in the European Union by population with more than 48 million people. Despite this, the vast majority of these people live either within the Madrid metropolitan area or within cities on the coast. This leaves a rather large ring in the middle of Spain with very few people relative to its size. So why does Spain have this "empty ring" at all?
    Rome map by Cristiano64 - Lavoro proprio, self-made, CC BY-SA 3.0, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...
    Dehesa image by Ardo Beltz - Self-photographed, CC BY-SA 3.0, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...
    Stock footage is acquired from www.storyblocks.com.
    Animation support provided by DH Designs (needahittman.com)

КОМЕНТАРІ • 373

  • @Poppy323F
    @Poppy323F 9 місяців тому +218

    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
      @joaoalbertodosanjosgomes1536 9 місяців тому +9

      My condolences.

    • @avilacanario
      @avilacanario 9 місяців тому +1

      What do you have on Portugal?

    • @aleografics311
      @aleografics311 9 місяців тому

      ​@@avilacanario?

    • @Drekt666
      @Drekt666 9 місяців тому +2

      It's just a lot of farm land.

    • @Peter_Schiavo
      @Peter_Schiavo 9 місяців тому +1

      @@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.

  • @fjp3305
    @fjp3305 9 місяців тому +55

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

  • @-Ruben
    @-Ruben 9 місяців тому +41

    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 😅

  • @devanman7920
    @devanman7920 9 місяців тому +53

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

    • @mardiffv.8775
      @mardiffv.8775 9 місяців тому +3

      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
      @metacosmos 8 місяців тому +1

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

    • @devanman7920
      @devanman7920 8 місяців тому +1

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

    • @metacosmos
      @metacosmos 8 місяців тому

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

  • @johndodd7870
    @johndodd7870 9 місяців тому +98

    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!

  • @salozinp
    @salozinp 9 місяців тому +15

    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.

  • @NigelDMarvin
    @NigelDMarvin 9 місяців тому +65

    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
      @Joshua-fi4ji 9 місяців тому +6

      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
      @ebonytv3414 9 місяців тому +1

      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
      @ebonytv3414 9 місяців тому +1

      @@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
      @Joshua-fi4ji 9 місяців тому

      @@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
      @ebonytv3414 9 місяців тому

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

  • @DonPedroman
    @DonPedroman 9 місяців тому +27

    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

  • @robthetraveler1099
    @robthetraveler1099 9 місяців тому +17

    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.

  • @Kan3sky
    @Kan3sky 9 місяців тому +34

    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
      @chipaguasustudios 9 місяців тому +3

      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
      @Kan3sky 9 місяців тому +3

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

    • @davidcorabar
      @davidcorabar 8 місяців тому +3

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

    • @danporti3942
      @danporti3942 8 місяців тому

      @@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
      @investigating.in.freedom38 8 місяців тому

      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.

  • @jabato9779
    @jabato9779 9 місяців тому +22

    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).

  • @Cuyi1990
    @Cuyi1990 9 місяців тому +12

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

    • @cristoux
      @cristoux 9 місяців тому +4

      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
      @Cuyi1990 9 місяців тому +2

      @@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
      @cristoux 9 місяців тому +2

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

    • @Alejojojo6
      @Alejojojo6 8 місяців тому

      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).

  • @royasturias1784
    @royasturias1784 9 місяців тому +3

    -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!

  • @nmgscp
    @nmgscp 9 місяців тому +19

    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
      @joehoe222 9 місяців тому +3

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

    • @javierjimenez3784
      @javierjimenez3784 9 місяців тому +1

      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
      @stopthenwo1209 9 місяців тому +2

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

  • @davea6314
    @davea6314 9 місяців тому +54

    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
      @Spartakist-ch4nb 9 місяців тому +1

      It still exploits workers in the rhird world

    • @davea6314
      @davea6314 9 місяців тому +3

      @@Spartakist-ch4nb Not Mondragon.

    • @lmarts
      @lmarts 9 місяців тому

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

    • @davea6314
      @davea6314 9 місяців тому +2

      @@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
      @Alejojojo6 8 місяців тому +1

      @@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.

  • @zozetamad3022
    @zozetamad3022 9 місяців тому +20

    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
      @plumebrise4801 9 місяців тому +2

      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
      @cristoux 9 місяців тому +2

      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
      @ditt9094 8 місяців тому

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

    • @ditt9094
      @ditt9094 8 місяців тому

      ​@@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.

  • @barrylyndon5084
    @barrylyndon5084 9 місяців тому +11

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

    • @maikeus3948
      @maikeus3948 9 місяців тому

      Navarra is also culturally and traditionally Basque.

    • @barrylyndon5084
      @barrylyndon5084 9 місяців тому +4

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

    • @maikeus3948
      @maikeus3948 9 місяців тому

      @@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
      @barrylyndon5084 9 місяців тому +4

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

    • @maikeus3948
      @maikeus3948 9 місяців тому

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

  • @joaquinboscheseverri9159
    @joaquinboscheseverri9159 9 місяців тому +14

    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

  • @miliba
    @miliba 9 місяців тому +10

    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

  • @scarletcrusade77
    @scarletcrusade77 9 місяців тому +18

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

  • @BN.ja05
    @BN.ja05 9 місяців тому +10

    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
      @Lucas24997 9 місяців тому +3

      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
      @angyliv8040 9 місяців тому +3

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

    • @BN.ja05
      @BN.ja05 9 місяців тому +1

      @@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
      @AdamSahr-cj4kf 9 місяців тому +1

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

    • @egutiguti3337
      @egutiguti3337 9 місяців тому +1

      Afortunadamente.

  • @DrizztCoage
    @DrizztCoage 9 місяців тому +7

    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
      @Finkiu 9 місяців тому +1

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

  • @baseballfan99
    @baseballfan99 9 місяців тому +2

    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.

  • @someinteresting
    @someinteresting 9 місяців тому +8

    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.

  • @guerreiro943
    @guerreiro943 9 місяців тому +3

    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.

  • @LearnLaughLiveLearn-Laugh-Live
    @LearnLaughLiveLearn-Laugh-Live 9 місяців тому +2

    Interesting content. Thank you.

  • @arifshahabuddin8888
    @arifshahabuddin8888 9 місяців тому +39

    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
      @TheOneAnd178 9 місяців тому +5

      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
      @arifshahabuddin8888 9 місяців тому +2

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

    • @neyou6940
      @neyou6940 9 місяців тому +3

      And before that It was the capital of the visigoth kingdom

    • @Muzakman37
      @Muzakman37 9 місяців тому +2

      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
      @egutiguti3337 9 місяців тому +1

      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.

  • @kosjeyr
    @kosjeyr 9 місяців тому +6

    Is that the mic in your hair, Geoff?

  • @StLouis-yu9iz
    @StLouis-yu9iz 9 місяців тому +16

    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
      @Peter_Schiavo 9 місяців тому +3

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

    • @StLouis-yu9iz
      @StLouis-yu9iz 9 місяців тому

      @@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.

  • @punditgi
    @punditgi 9 місяців тому +2

    Another fascinating video! 🎉😊

  • @erkkinho
    @erkkinho 9 місяців тому +4

    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.

  • @marcos1669
    @marcos1669 8 місяців тому +3

    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

  • @santorini8423
    @santorini8423 9 місяців тому +3

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

  • @BrianMacrabie-te8ob
    @BrianMacrabie-te8ob 8 місяців тому +1

    I enjoyed the video I learned alot thanks

  • @JosinPrimero
    @JosinPrimero 9 місяців тому +3

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

  • @elizabethdavis1696
    @elizabethdavis1696 9 місяців тому +6

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

  • @phoenixk4328
    @phoenixk4328 9 місяців тому +2

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

  • @maxpowr90
    @maxpowr90 9 місяців тому +35

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

    • @trapmuzik6708
      @trapmuzik6708 9 місяців тому +1

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

    • @Lucas24997
      @Lucas24997 9 місяців тому +4

      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

  • @jettjones9889
    @jettjones9889 9 місяців тому +5

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

  • @manelmunoz2375
    @manelmunoz2375 9 місяців тому +2

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

  • @sergiodma
    @sergiodma 9 місяців тому +16

    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
      @alexgg327 9 місяців тому +2

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

    • @_o..o_1871
      @_o..o_1871 9 місяців тому +1

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

    • @lmarts
      @lmarts 9 місяців тому +1

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

    • @sergiodma
      @sergiodma 9 місяців тому

      @@lmarts you must be andalusian.

    • @lmarts
      @lmarts 9 місяців тому +1

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

  • @sergiodma
    @sergiodma 9 місяців тому +3

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

    • @carlosruiz7104
      @carlosruiz7104 9 місяців тому

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

  • @Pakinov
    @Pakinov 9 місяців тому

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

  • @SeverityOne
    @SeverityOne 9 місяців тому +16

    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
      @Peter_Schiavo 9 місяців тому +2

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

    • @SeverityOne
      @SeverityOne 9 місяців тому

      @@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
      @egutiguti3337 9 місяців тому

      @@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.

  • @selinapersaud7629
    @selinapersaud7629 9 місяців тому +4

    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.

  • @sapinva
    @sapinva 9 місяців тому +8

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

    • @MrAngryCucaracha
      @MrAngryCucaracha 9 місяців тому

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

  • @oriolandres1085
    @oriolandres1085 9 місяців тому +3

    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...

  • @supervivo7069
    @supervivo7069 Місяць тому

    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.

  • @kikeb1534
    @kikeb1534 9 місяців тому +3

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

  • @mickpeterson3722
    @mickpeterson3722 9 місяців тому

    Does anyone know what software he uses for the maps?

  • @Carlos-wv3yj
    @Carlos-wv3yj 9 місяців тому +2

    Madrid and Barcelona sound so posh

  • @MarcPagan
    @MarcPagan 9 місяців тому +17

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

  • @MJ-sy2en
    @MJ-sy2en 9 місяців тому +2

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

  • @LailandiAdventures
    @LailandiAdventures 9 місяців тому

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

  • @ESPendatos
    @ESPendatos 8 місяців тому

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

  • @yungestchorizo3997
    @yungestchorizo3997 9 місяців тому +1

    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
      @mardiffv.8775 9 місяців тому

      So Ibiza has competition in partying?

    • @yungestchorizo3997
      @yungestchorizo3997 9 місяців тому

      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

  • @playu99
    @playu99 9 місяців тому +1

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

  • @TheJamonLance
    @TheJamonLance 9 місяців тому +1

    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.

  • @SierraCameros
    @SierraCameros 9 місяців тому +2

    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.

  • @SantaFe19484
    @SantaFe19484 6 місяців тому

    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.

  • @jabato9779
    @jabato9779 9 місяців тому +9

    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
      @srmagnet0191 9 місяців тому +1

      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

  • @tommyvercetti9434
    @tommyvercetti9434 9 місяців тому +1

    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.

  • @JoBalDez
    @JoBalDez 9 місяців тому

    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.

  • @douglasdea637
    @douglasdea637 9 місяців тому +3

    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
      @carlosruiz7104 9 місяців тому +1

      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

  • @aritzlizarragaolascoaga6254
    @aritzlizarragaolascoaga6254 9 місяців тому +1

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

  • @gergerger5888
    @gergerger5888 8 місяців тому

    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.

  • @sergiogrima8331
    @sergiogrima8331 9 місяців тому

    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.

  • @davidgreen7392
    @davidgreen7392 9 місяців тому +2

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

  • @queimportaqueimporta
    @queimportaqueimporta 9 місяців тому +2

    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.

  • @cmichaelhaugh8517
    @cmichaelhaugh8517 9 місяців тому

    Very interesting! This is one of your best videos.

  • @enriquecrespo7801
    @enriquecrespo7801 9 місяців тому +1

    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.

  • @AdorianGP
    @AdorianGP 9 місяців тому +2

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

  • @Moncalvillo-AM
    @Moncalvillo-AM 9 місяців тому +1

    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.

  • @SoyElLoboGris13
    @SoyElLoboGris13 9 місяців тому +2

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

  • @bent2419
    @bent2419 3 місяці тому

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

  • @Viktoria_Selene
    @Viktoria_Selene 9 місяців тому

    Dont forget about the two autonomous cities, ceuta and melilla

  • @likmaw
    @likmaw 9 місяців тому +1

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

  • @anthonyboomer641
    @anthonyboomer641 9 місяців тому +1

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

    • @mardiffv.8775
      @mardiffv.8775 9 місяців тому

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

  • @danielloureirotarilonte8216
    @danielloureirotarilonte8216 8 місяців тому

    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

  • @kikeb1534
    @kikeb1534 9 місяців тому +1

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

  • @dannyesse3043
    @dannyesse3043 9 місяців тому +2

    8 million isn't that few to be honest

  • @benjami4359
    @benjami4359 9 місяців тому

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

  • @josegfc5264
    @josegfc5264 9 місяців тому +1

    Talking about meseta and putting photos of canary islands

  • @georgyzhukov6409
    @georgyzhukov6409 9 місяців тому +3

    Awesome.vid and ears

  • @egutiguti3337
    @egutiguti3337 9 місяців тому +4

    El centro está algo despoblado, pero no por ello abandonado. En Castilla-La mancha se da el mayor porcentaje de cultivo vitivinícola de Europa. También el famoso y conocido y consumido mundialmente, queso manchego, en Extremadura se crian con bellotas el mayor número de cerdos ibéricos también conocidos y consumidos mundialmente. Al igual que en Teruel en Aragón y en Salamanca en Castilla y Leon, tierras de buenos jamones y buenos embutidos. En Castilla y Leon se produce el mayor cultivo de cereales, trigo sobre todo, de toda España. Podría seguir con otros ejemplos. Está poco poblada pero no abandonada ni vacía, simplemente es la mayor zona agrícola y ganadera de ovino y porcino de la península y debería estar muchísimo mejor considerada y valorada de lo que está, tal vez se debe a que sus ciudadanos son sufridos y trabajadores y no se quejan tanto como los demás. Cualquier turista que viene del extranjero lo primero que prueba es el jamón ibérico y muchos otros productos que se producen en la España vaciada.

  • @Infanzones
    @Infanzones 9 місяців тому +2

    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.

  • @aaronpenaperalta
    @aaronpenaperalta 9 місяців тому +2

    The video has a lot of facts that are not directly true, but what you say in 11:38 (THAT IS NOT THE BASQUE COUNTRY, you included Navarra and even parts of France!!!) is enough reason to be deleted 😵😵‍💫. Anyways, nice try.

  • @Morzo97
    @Morzo97 8 місяців тому

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

  • @FrankySilverFace
    @FrankySilverFace 9 місяців тому +3

    To find out for sure you should launch an inquisition 😂

  • @Mrvictory61
    @Mrvictory61 9 місяців тому

    Interesting 😊

  • @jaime8263
    @jaime8263 8 місяців тому

    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 :)

  • @ricardodelgadofrancisco2002
    @ricardodelgadofrancisco2002 9 місяців тому

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

  • @carlosruiz7104
    @carlosruiz7104 9 місяців тому

    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

  • @alonso9248
    @alonso9248 9 місяців тому +12

    All the myths in only few minutes: the Islam bring culture and science, the empire was colonial (NO), the Inquisition... myths and more myths.

  • @AulicExclusiva
    @AulicExclusiva 9 місяців тому +2

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

  • @jbstarkiller4626
    @jbstarkiller4626 9 місяців тому +1

    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. 🇪🇸

  • @user-xh8qx2ht6n
    @user-xh8qx2ht6n 8 місяців тому

    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

  • @Finkiu
    @Finkiu 9 місяців тому

    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.

  • @ava-he9li
    @ava-he9li 9 місяців тому +2

    Te has desviado demasiado y caído en estereotipos y clichés sin tocar en profundidad el tema

  • @montecorbit8280
    @montecorbit8280 9 місяців тому +1

    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....