Maritime service areas - Issue number 41/2011 - Products Statistics in Focus

Highlighting the impact of coastal maritime activities on the hinterland

Maritime service (impact) areas account for 79 % of the population of the EU coastal regions (NUTS3) and cover 36 % of their surface area. However, the share of the EU regional population living in maritime service areas was highly dispersed. The aim of this spatial analysis is to map the maritime service areas and to provide related sets of socio-economic data referring to surface area and population. This paper presents the method and data used during the study and the first outputs. The outputs of this analysis will be used as part of the EU Integrated Maritime Policy to define a socio-economic profile of the EU coastal regions and to highlight the inland impact of maritime activities on different geographic scales.