Urban-intermediate-rural regions Around 40% of the EU27 population live in urban regions… …and almost a quarter in rural regions

STAT/12/51

30 March 2012

Urban-intermediate-rural regions
Around 40% of the EU27 population live in urban regions…
…and almost a quarter in rural regions

On 1 January 2011, 41% of the population of the EU27 lived in urban regions, 35% in intermediate regions and 23% in rural regions. These figures, published by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, are based on a new urban/rural typology1 developed by the European Commission. This classification is carried out on NUTS 3 regions2. The regions are classified as rural, intermediate or urban based on an analysis of population density and total population. A second dataset provides detailed statistics on the EU's main metropolitan areas3, also based on NUTS 3 regions.

Largest share of the population living in rural regions in Ireland, Slovakia and Estonia

On 1 January 2011, the largest proportion of the population lived in urban regions in nine Member States, in intermediate regions in seven and in rural regions in ten. In France, the share of the population living in urban and intermediate regions was equal.

The largest shares of the population living in urban regions were recorded in Malta (100% of the population), the Netherlands and the United Kingdom (both 71%) and Belgium (68%). Luxembourg and Cyprus are each considered as one NUTS 3 region and were classified as intermediate. With the exception of these two Member States, the largest proportions of the population living in intermediate regions were observed in Sweden (56%), Estonia (52%) and Bulgaria (45%). The largest shares of the population living in rural areas were registered in Ireland (73%), Slovakia (50%), Estonia (48%) and Hungary (47%).

Fastest urban population growth in Sweden and Denmark in 2010

In the EU27 in 2010, the population of urban regions grew by 5.2 per 1000 inhabitants and intermediate regions by 2.2‰, while rural regions decreased by 0.8‰. In nearly all Member States, it was in urban regions that the population grew most rapidly. Ireland was an exception with growth in its rural population, while the urban population declined. The highest population growth in urban regions in 2010 was observed in Sweden (+17.3 per 1000 inhabitants), Denmark (+15.0‰), the Czech Republic (+10.2‰) and Finland (+10.0‰). Lithuania4
(-13.6‰), Ireland (-5.7‰) and Latvia (-5.4‰) recorded a decrease in their urban populations.

The rural population rose in ten Member states and fell in fourteen. The largest increases were registered in Belgium (+7.3‰ in 2009), Ireland (+6.1‰) and France (+5.1‰ in 2009), and the largest decreases in Lithuania4
(-31.6‰), Bulgaria (-13.2‰) and Latvia (-11.6‰).

Population by urban-rural typology, 1 January 2011

- No NUTS 3 region classified within this type

* EU27 aggregates refer to available data and are estimates

** Data for 1 January 2010

*** Cyprus and Luxembourg are each considered as one NUTS 3 region

Population change* per 1000 inhabitants by urban-rural typology, 2010

- No NUTS 3 region classified within this type

* The ratio of the total population change during the year to the average population

** EU27 aggregates refer to available data and are estimates

*** 2009 data

**** Cyprus and Luxembourg are each considered as one NUTS 3 region

• The urban–rural typology is based on a classification of grid cells of 1 km² as either urban or rural. To be considered as urban, grid cells should fulfill two conditions: a population density of at least 300 inhabitants per km² and a minimum population of 5 000 inhabitants in contiguous cells above the density threshold. The other cells are considered as rural. NUTS 3 regions have been classified into three groups based on the classification of these grid cells:

- predominantly urban region: population in grid cells classified as urban make up more than 80% of the total population;

- intermediate region: population in grid cells classified as urban make up between 50% and 80% of the total population (population in rural cells between 20% and 50%);

- predominantly rural region: population in grid cells classified as rural make up 50% or more of the total population.

For further information: http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page/portal/rural_development/introduction

and http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/statistics_explained/index.php/Regional_typologies_overview

• For further information about the NUTS classification:

http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page/portal/nuts_nomenclature/introduction

• For further information: http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page/portal/region_cities/metropolitan_regions

• Due to administrative reasons emigration recorded in Lithuania in 2010 may include emigration that took place over the previous years. For comparison, the growth rate in 2009 for urban regions was +0.6‰, for intermediate regions -5.7‰ and for rural regions -10.7‰.