 By this index Spain is the country with the highest variation between regions in the degree of regionalism, interpreted as reflecting "internal tensions within the Spanish state, where the dominant Castilian-speaking group seems to have become increasingly loyal to the state in response to pressures from non-Castilian areas for devolution or secession".Madrid, Castilla y León, Castilla-La Mancha, Cantabria and Murcia are among the lowest 10 regions in Europe on this index, while the Basque Country, Catalonia, and the Canary Islands are among the top 10.There has been "a persistent tension between Spanish national identity, nationalism, and state-building on the one hand, and the corresponding forces in the ethno-regions on the other" as the result of the way in which the Spanish state became integrated.