Bastanès is in the former province of Béarn some 12 km east by south-east of Sauveterre-de-Béarn and some 13 km south of Orthez. Access to the commune is by the D947 road from Loubieng in the north which passes south-east through the western part of the commune and the village and continues south-east to Navarrenx. The D27 branches off the D947 near the village and goes north-west to Bugnein. The commune is mainly farmland in the south-west with the rest mixed forest and farmland.

The Gave d'Oloron forms the south-western border of the commune as it flows north-west to join the Gave de Pau at Peyrehorade. The Saleys river forms the north-eastern border of the commune as it flows north-west to eventually join the Gave d'Oloron east of Saint-Pé-de-Léren. The Barthes stream rises just east of the village and flows north-west to join the Gave d'Oloron at Audaux. The Hérre river rises in the east of the commune and flows north-west to join the Saleys east of Castetbon.

The commune name in Gascon Occitan is also Bastanès. According to Michel Grosclaude the name comes from the gascon basta meaning "gorse" with an obscure suffix, probably giving "moorish terrain".

The following table details the origins of the commune name and other names in the commune.

Sources:

• Raymond: Topographic Dictionary of the Department of Basses-Pyrenees, 1863, on the page numbers indicated in the table. (in French)
• Grosclaude: Toponymic Dictionary of communes, Béarn, 2006 (in French)
• Cassini: 1750 Cassini Map
• Cassini1: 1790 Cassini Map
• Ldh/EHESS/Cassini: Des villages de Cassini aux communes d'aujourd'hui: Commune data sheet Bastanès, EHESS (in French).

Origins:

• Marca: Pierre de Marca, History of Béarn.
• Luntz: Contracts retained by Luntz
• Notaries: Notaries of Navarrenx
• Reformation: Reformation of Béarn
• Insinuations: Insinuations of the Diocese of Oloron

Paul Raymond noted on page 23 of his 1863 dictionary that in 1385 Bastanès had 28 fires and depended on the bailiwick of Navarrenx.

This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items. (April 2021)

List of Successive Mayors

The commune is part of five inter-communal structures:

• the Communauté de communes du Béarn des Gaves;
• the AEP association of Navarrenx;
• the energy association of Pyrénées-Atlantiques;
• the tax collection association of Navarrenx;
• the inter-communal association of the Gaves and the Saleys.

In 2017 the commune had 99 inhabitants.

Historical population

Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1793 203 —     1800 200 −0.21% 1821 250 +1.07% 1831 243 −0.28% 1836 287 +3.38% 1841 288 +0.07% 1846 289 +0.07% 1851 275 −0.99% 1856 271 −0.29% 1861 243 −2.16% 1866 230 −1.09% 1872 227 −0.22% 1876 231 +0.44% 1881 231 +0.00% 1886 226 −0.44% 1891 250 +2.04% 1896 243 −0.57% 1901 234 −0.75%	Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1906 227 −0.61% 1911 211 −1.45% 1921 169 −2.20% 1926 152 −2.10% 1931 147 −0.67% 1936 140 −0.97% 1946 122 −1.37% 1954 129 +0.70% 1962 136 +0.66% 1968 143 +0.84% 1975 132 −1.14% 1982 143 +1.15% 1990 105 −3.79% 1999 97 −0.88% 2007 100 +0.38% 2012 102 +0.40% 2017 99 −0.60%
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Source: EHESS and INSEE

Economic activity is mainly agricultural - livestock, pastures, and corn. The commune is included in the Appellation d'origine contrôlée of Ossau-iraty

The Parish Church of Saint-Laurent (1860) is registered as an historical monument.

The commune was on the route of the 16th stage of the Tour de France in 2007 on the 25 July. The stage was 218 km from Orthez to the Col d'Aubisque at Gourette.

• Communes of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department

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