DS Degree of urbanisation > Methodology - EN

The degree of urbanisation methodology classifies local administrative units (LAU or communes) as cities, towns and suburbs, and rural areas based on a combination of geographical contiguity and population density.

The basis for the classification is the data for 1 km² population grid cells. Each cell has the same shape and surface area, thereby avoiding distortions caused by using territorial units varying in size.

The methodology is applied in 2 steps:

  1. the 1 km2 grid cells are classified based on population density, contiguity, and population size
  2. LAUs are classified - based on the type of grid cells their population resides in - into 3 types of areas:
  • cities: these are densely populated areas where at least 50% of the population lives in one or more urban centres
  • towns and suburbs: these are intermediate density areas where less than 50% of the population lives in an urban centre and at least 50% of the population lives in an urban cluster
  • rural areas: these are thinly populated areas where more than 50% of the population lives in rural grid cells.

Please also see our  schematic overview of the system of the degree of urbanisation classification. 

Further reading