STAT/12/143
11 October 2012
Eurostat regional yearbook 2012
Data on more than 1 300 regions in the EU
The Statistical Atlas: A new interactive tool on the Eurostat website
In which EU region does agriculture contribute the most to the economy? And where is Research and Development most significant? Which region is the most densely populated? Where is the unemployment rate lowest and where is the GDP per inhabitant highest?
The answers to these questions and many more are found in the 2012 regional yearbook1 published by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union. The publication gives an overview of the most recent economic, social and demographic developments in the 271 NUTS level 2 regions2 and, for some indicators, the 1 303 NUTS level 3 regions2 of the 27 Member States of the European Union as well as, when available, the regions in the four EFTA countries (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland), the acceding country (Croatia) and three of the candidate countries (Montenegro, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Turkey).
As the publication contains many maps, which are the most user friendly way to present regional statistics, a new interactive tool, the Statistical Atlas, is also launched today on the Eurostat website3. This tool contains maps of all regions in the EU (down to NUTS level 3) as well as the possibility to display rivers, cities and roads. On these maps, the full range of statistical indicators included in the Regional Yearbook can be selected and displayed in a clear and readable way.
The Eurostat regional yearbook 2012 includes fourteen chapters on economy, population, health, education, labour market, structural business statistics, tourism, information society, agriculture, transport, science, technology & innovation, European cities, coastal regions and territorial typologies.
To illustrate the diversity of the regional data found in the Eurostat regional yearbook, this News Release presents a small selection of indicators from different statistical fields.
Highest R&D expenditure in % of GDP in Braunschweig, Brabant Wallon and Pohjois-Suomi
Expenditure on Research and Development (R&D) was equivalent to 2.01% of GDP in the EU27 in 2009. The share of R&D expenditure in GDP was 3% or more in 35 regions, which accounted for nearly half of all R&D expenditure in the EU27. Among these regions, eleven were in Germany, eight in the United Kingdom, four in Sweden, three each in Denmark and Finland and two each in Belgium, France and Austria.
The EU27 regions with the largest shares of R&D expenditure in GDP in 2009 were Braunschweig (7.93% of GDP) in Germany, Brabant Wallon (7.63%) in Belgium, Pohjois-Suomi (6.58%) in Finland, Cheshire (6.51%) in the United Kingdom, Stuttgart (6.44%) in Germany, East Anglia (5.59%) in the United Kingdom and Hovedstaden (5.27%) in Denmark.
Research & Development intensity by NUTS 2 regions, 2009
(R&D expenditure as a % of GDP)
Highest rate | Lowest rate | Highest rate | Lowest rate | ||||||
BE | Brabant Wallon | 7.63 | Prov. Luxembourg | 0.30 | HU | Közép-Magyarország | 1.53 | Dél-Dunántúl | 0.43 |
BG | Yugozapaden | 0.89 | Severen tsentralen | 0.13 | MT** | 0.54 | |||
CZ | Strední Cechy | 2.54 | Severozápad | 0.22 | NL | Noord-Brabant | 2.39 | Drenthe | 0.40 |
DK | Hovedstaden | 5.27 | Syddanmark | 0.75 | AT | Wien | 3.95 | Burgenland | 0.78 |
DE* | Braunschweig | 7.93 | Weser-Ems | 0.59 | PL | Mazowieckie | 1.19 | Lubuskie | 0.10 |
EE** | 1.43 | PT | Lisboa | 2.45 | Madeira | 0.28 | |||
IE | Border, Midland & Western | 1.75 | Southern & Eastern | 1.70 | RO | Bucuresti - Ilfov | 1.09 | Sud-Est | 0.17 |
EL* | Kriti | 0.91 | Dytiki Makedonia | 0.11 | SI | Zahodna Slovenija | 2.36 | Vzhodna Slovenija | 1.22 |
ES | Navarra | 2.19 | Ceuta | 0.16 | SK | Bratislavský kraj | 0.89 | Stredné Slovensko | 0.31 |
FR* | Midi-Pyrénées | 4.38 | Corse | 0.30 | FI | Pohjois-Suomi | 6.58 | Åland | 0.16 |
IT | Trento | 2.13 | Calabria | 0.46 | SE | Sydsverige | 4.73 | Mellersta Norrland | 0.91 |
CY** | 0.49 | UK | Cheshire | 6.51 | Cornwall & Isles of Scilly | 0.19 | |||
LV** | 0.46 | IS** | 3.11 | ||||||
LT** | 0.83 | HR | Sjeverozapadna Hrvatska | 1.54 | Sredisnja i Istocna (Panonska) Hrvatska | 0.18 | |||
LU** | 1.66 | ||||||||
* Data not available for Niederbayern and Oberpfalz (DE) and Martinique, Guyane and Réunion (FR); Greece: 2005 data
** Data correspond to national averages
Only two regions in Bulgaria and two in Romania have shares of agriculture in the economy of 10% or more
In 2009, agriculture in the EU27 generated 1.2% of the total gross added value of the economy, compared with 1.9% in 2000. There were 22 regions in the EU27 which had a share of more than 5% of agriculture in value added; seven in Romania, four each in Bulgaria and Greece, two each in Hungary, Poland and Portugal and one region in France.
The regions with the highest share of agriculture in the economy were Severozapaden (14.1%) and Severen tsentralen (11.9%) in Bulgaria, Nord-Est (10.2%) and Sud-Vest Oltenia (9.7%) in Romania, Severoiztochen (9.1%) in Bulgaria, Thessalia (8.9%) in Greece, Podlaskie (8.9%) in Poland and Champagne-Ardenne (7.9%) in France.
Share of agriculture in the economy by NUTS 2 regions, 2009
(% of total gross value added)
Highest rate | 2nd highest rate | Highest rate | 2nd highest rate | ||||||
BE* | 0.7 | LU* | 0.3 | ||||||
BG | Severozapaden | 14.1 | Severen tsentralen | 11.9 | HU | Dél-Alföld | 6.3 | Észak-Alföld | 5.9 |
CZ* | Jihozápad | 1.0 | Jihovýchod; Severovýchod and Strední Cechy | 0.9 | MT* | 1.1 | |||
DK | Nordjylland | 1.7 | Syddanmark | 1.6 | NL | Flevoland | 4.9 | Friesland | 4.6 |
DE | Mecklenburg-Vorpommern | 2.1 | Lüneburg and Weser-Ems | 1.9 | AT | Burgenland | 2.8 | Niederösterreich | 2.1 |
EE* | 1.5 | PL* | Podlaskie | 8.9 | Lubelskie | 6.4 | |||
IE | Border, Midland & Western | 0.8 | Southern & Eastern | 0.6 | PT | Açores | 6.6 | Alentejo | 5.4 |
EL | Thessalia | 8.9 | Dytiki Ellada | 6.5 | RO | Nord-Est | 10.2 | Sud-Vest Oltenia | 9.7 |
ES* | 2.2 | SI* | 1.3 | ||||||
FR | Champagne-Ardenne | 7.9 | Guyane | 3.7 | SK | Západné Slovensko | 1.2 | Bratislavský kraj; Východné Slovensko and Stredné Slovensko | 0.2 |
IT | Bolzano/Bozen | 3.9 | Calabria | 3.5 | FI | Länsi-Suomi | 1.7 | Pohjois-Suomi and Itä-Suomi | 1.6 |
CY* | 2.0 | SE | Sydsverige | 1.0 | Småland med öarna | 0.7 | |||
LV* | 1.4 | UK | Cumbria and North Yorkshire | 3.2 | Cornwall & Isles of Scilly | 2.8 | |||
LT* | 2.5 | ||||||||
* Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta and Poland: 2008 data; Data for Praha (CZ) not available; Belgium, Estonia, Spain, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta and Slovenia: Data correspond to national averages
Density of the population available at a very detailed level (NUTS level 3)
Some of the statistical indicators in the Regional Yearbook are shown on maps available at a very detailed level, at NUTS level 32, for which there are 1 303 regions in the EU27. The population density, meaning the number of inhabitants per square kilometre, is one of these indicators.
Among the NUTS 3 regions, the population density varied from over 20 000 inhabitants per km2 in Paris in France to 2 persons per km2 in Lappi in Finland.
It should be noted when analysing the figures, that the boundaries of cities at NUTS level 3, in particular in the case of capital cities, may not coincide with the built up urban area, as they may also include countryside around the city. This makes it difficult to compare regions including capital cities.
Population density by NUTS 3 region, 2010
(inhabitants per km²)
Highest rate | 2nd highest rate | Lowest rate | 2nd lowest rate | |||||
BE* | Bruxelles-Capitale / Brussel-Hoofdstad | 6 702 | Antwerpen | 1 029 | Bastogne | 43 | Neufchâteau | 44 |
BG | Sofia (stolitsa) | 961 | Varna | 124 | Sofia and Vidin | 36 | Lovech | 37 |
CZ | Hlavní mesto Praha | 2 582 | Moravskoslezský kraj | 234 | Jihocecký kraj | 66 | Plzenský kraj | 77 |
DK* | Byen København | 3 808 | Københavns omegn | 1 514 | Vestjylland | 59 | Bornholm | 72 |
DE* | München, Kreisfreie Stadt | 4 319 | Berlin | 3 872 | Mecklenburg-Strelitz | 37 | Müritz | 38 |
EE | Põhja-Eesti | 122 | Kirde-Eesti | 50 | Lääne-Eesti | 14 | Kesk-Eesti | 15 |
IE | Dublin | 1 314 | Mid-East | 89 | West | 32 | Border and Midland | 42 |
EL | Attiki | 1 080 | Thessaloniki | 328 | Evrytania | 11 | Grevena | 14 |
ES* | Melilla | 5 466 | Ceuta | 3 898 | Soria | 9 | Teruel | 10 |
FR* | Paris | 21 258 | Hauts-de-Seine | 8 924 | Guyane | 3 | Lozère | 15 |
IT* | Napoli | 2 630 | Milano | 2 008 | Ogliastra | 31 | Valle d'Aosta/Vallée d'Aoste | 39 |
CY* | 87 | |||||||
LV | Riga | 2 859 | Pieriga | 40 | Vidzeme | 16 | Kurzeme | 23 |
LT | Vilniaus apskritis | 90 | Kauno apskritis | 84 | Utenos apskritis | 25 | Taurages apskritis | 29 |
LU* | 196 | |||||||
HU* | Budapest | 3 290 | Pest | 193 | Somogy | 53 | Bács-Kiskun | 62 |
MT | Malta | 1 557 | Gozo & Comino / Għawdex u Kemmuna | 455 | ||||
NL | Agglomeratie | 3 195 | Groot-Amsterdam | 1 756 | Zeeuwsch-Vlaanderen | 146 | Zuidwest-Friesland | 176 |
AT | Wien | 4 315 | Rheintal- | 413 | Lungau | 21 | Liezen | 25 |
PL* | Miasto Warszawa | 3 322 | Miasto Lódz | 2 525 | Suwalski | 44 | Elcki | 45 |
PT* | Grande Porto | 1 578 | Grande Lisboa | 1 478 | Baixo Alentejo | 15 | Alentejo Litoral | 18 |
RO | Bucuresti | 8 484 | Ilfov | 212 | Caras-Severin | 38 | Tulcea | 48 |
SI | Osrednjeslovenska | 209 | Zasavska | 169 | Notranjsko-kraska | 37 | Goriska | 51 |
SK* | Bratislavský kraj | 305 | Trnavský kraj | 136 | Banskobystrický kraj | 69 | Presovský kraj | 90 |
FI | Uusimaa | 224 | Varsinais-Suomi | 44 | Lappi | 2 | Kainuu | 4 |
SE | Stockholms län | 312 | Skåne län | 112 | Norrbottens län | 3 | Västerbottens län | 5 |
UK* | Inner London - West | 10 263 | Inner London – East | 9 227 | Caithness & Sutherland& | 7 | Eilean Siar (Western Isles) | 9 |
IS | Höfudborgarsvædi | 205 | Landsbyggd | 1 | ||||
LI* | 231 | |||||||
NO* | Oslo | 1 361 | Akershus | 115 | Finnmark | 2 | Sogn og Fjordane; Troms; | 6 |
CH | Basel-Stadt | 5 039 | Genève | 1 853 | Graubünden | 27 | Uri | 34 |
HR | Grad Zagreb | 1 237 | Medimurska zupanija | 162 | Licko-senjska zupanija | 9 | Karlovacka zupanija | 36 |
ME* | 45 | |||||||
MK | Skopski | 332 | Poloski | 130 | Vardaski | 38 | Pelagoniski | 50 |
TR | Istanbul | 2 518 | Kocaeli | 427 | Tunceli | 11 | Erzincan | 19 |
* The population density is calculated as the ratio between the population (annual averages) and the land area, which is the territory's total area excluding the area under inland water. For Denmark, Germany, France, Italy, Cyprus, Hungary, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Liechtenstein and Montenegro, total area including inland waters has been used instead of land area.
Belgium, Sachsen (DE), Illes Balears and Canarias (ES), France, the United Kingdom and Norway: 2009 data.
For Cyprus, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein and Montenegro: Data correspond to national averages
Belgium (BE), Bulgaria (BG), the Czech Republic (CZ), Denmark (DK), Germany (DE), Estonia (EE), Ireland (IE), Greece (EL), Spain (ES), France (FR), Italy (IT), Cyprus (CY), Latvia (LV), Lithuania (LT), Luxembourg (LU), Hungary (HU), Malta (MT), the Netherlands (NL), Austria (AT), Poland (PL), Portugal (PT), Romania (RO), Slovenia (SI), Slovakia (SK), Finland (FI), Sweden (SE) and the United Kingdom (UK).
Iceland (IS), Norway (NO), Switzerland (CH), Liechtenstein (LI), Croatia (HR), Montenegro (ME), the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (MK) and Turkey (TR).
Eurostat regional yearbook 2012. Paper version - EUR 20 excluding VAT, PDF-version and underlying data - available free of charge on the Eurostat website:
http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/cache/ITY_OFFPUB/KS-HA-12-001/EN/KS-HA-12-001-EN.PDF. Also available as a Statistics Explained article: http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/statistics_explained/index.php/Eurostat_regional_yearbook.
The yearbook uses the Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics (NUTS 2006/EU-27), that entered into force on 1 January 2008.
The EU27 has 271 regions at NUTS level 2: Belgium (11 regions), Bulgaria (6), the Czech Republic (8), Denmark (5), Germany (39), Ireland (2), Greece (13), Spain (19), France (26), Italy (21), Hungary (7), the Netherlands (12), Austria (9), Poland (16), Portugal (7), Romania (8), Slovenia (2), Slovakia (4), Finland (5), Sweden (8) and the United Kingdom (37). Estonia, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg and Malta are all considered as single NUTS 2 regions.
EFTA countries: Norway (7 regions) and Switzerland (7). Iceland and Liechtenstein are considered as single level 2 regions.
Acceding country: Croatia (3 regions), Candidate countries: Turkey (26), Montenegro and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia are considered as a single level 2 region.
The EU27 has 1303 regions at NUTS level 3: Belgium (44 regions), Bulgaria (28), the Czech Republic (14), Denmark (11), Germany (429), Estonia (5), Ireland (8), Greece (51), Spain (59), France (100), Italy (107), Latvia (6), Lithuania (10), Hungary (20), Malta (2), the Netherlands (40), Austria (35), Poland (66), Portugal (30), Romania (42), Slovenia (12), Slovakia (8), Finland (20), Sweden (21) and the United Kingdom (133). Cyprus and Luxembourg are considered as single NUTS 3 regions.
EFTA countries: Iceland (2 regions), Norway (19) and Switzerland (26). Liechtenstein is considered as single level 3 region.
Acceding country: Croatia (21 regions), Candidate countries: the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (8) and Turkey (81). Montenegro is considered as a single level 3 region.
For a complete list of the European statistical regions see: http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page/portal/nuts_nomenclature/introduction
Issued by: Eurostat Press Office Louise CORSELLI-NORDBLAD Tel: +352-4301-33 444 | For further information on the data: Åsa ÖNNERFORS Tel: +352-4301- 37 705 |
Eurostat press releases on the internet: http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat
