European Union (EU) Member States are often compared with each other, but in reality it can be difficult to contrast small countries like Luxembourg or Malta with larger ones such as France or Germany. Analysing data at a regional level can highlight disparities either across the EU or within Member States, such as an east-west divide in Germany or a north-south divide in Italy.
Regions in Europe — 2021 interactive edition is an interactive publication that presents data for 240 EU regions, as well as 16 regions of the EFTA countries . At the heart of regional statistics is the NUTS classification which aims to ensure that regions can be compared with each other. This classification is composed of different hierarchical levels; this publication is based primarily on NUTS level 2.
Have a closer look at the map to see the names of the regions that are covered.
The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic at the start of 2020 has had a profound and lasting impact on a wide range of social, economic and environmental issues both within the EU and further afield. At the time of writing, the pandemic is still on-going and many of the EU Member States have some form of containment measures in place. The (initial) impact of the pandemic and associated measures is already visible for some of the indicators presented in this edition.
Regions in Europe — 2021 interactive edition offers a selection of visualisations accompanied by short texts that allow you to get a deeper understanding of the social, economic and environmental situation across European regions. The publication is divided into three principal sections: people and society, economic activities, the environment and natural resources.
Scroll down, play around with the visualisations, or select information for a specific region.
Regions in Europe
2021 interactive edition
Education
Alongside health, education is often considered as one of the most important services. What is the most common level of educational attainment in your region and how easy is it for recent graduates with at least an upper secondary level of education to find employment?
Educational attainment
Digital society
Internet use affects people’s everyday lives in many ways, both at work and at home. This has been particularly evident during the COVID-19 pandemic, as pupils and students have made increased use of online studying while many in the workforce have experienced a shift towards making greater use of digital technologies while working and spending more of their leisure time at home.
Note that data from household surveys of information and communication technology usage generally refer to the first quarter of each reference year and often concern activities during the previous 3 or 12 months. As such, it is likely that the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic was hardly captured by the 2020 surveys.
Daily internet users
Economic activities
Economy
The central measure of economic output is gross domestic product (GDP) . It provides information on the monetary value of all goods and services that are produced within a country or a region. What level of economic output was recorded in the region where you live, study or work? Which part of the economy contributed the most value added in your region?
Gross domestic product
Research and development
Research and development (R&D) has the potential to improve the daily lives of millions of people, both within the EU and elsewhere, by helping to solve some of the world’s largest societal and generational challenges. How does your region fare in terms of its R&D expenditure ? What share of your region’s workforce is employed as R&D personnel?
Gross domestic expenditure on R&D
Tourism
The wealth of the EU’s culture, the variety of its landscapes and the quality of its tourist infrastructure are likely to be among the reasons why in 2019 — according to the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) — the EU was the destination for more than one third of the world’s international tourists.
Is your region among the most frequented tourist destinations in the EU? Is your region mostly visited by domestic or foreign tourists? How did the number of nights spent in tourist accommodation within your region develop over recent years?
Nights spent
Environment and natural resources
Environmental challenges affect everyone. Climate change is transforming the world, with more frequent, extreme weather events such as heatwaves, forest fires and floods. Transport, agriculture and many other aspects of society affect the environment. Have a look below to see what is the situation in your region.
Transport
The environmental impact of the EU’s transport sector may be linked, among other factors, to widespread ownership of motor vehicles, an increasing share of freight being transported by road, and the rapid growth of air transport.
Air transport
Environment
The effects of certain phenomena — for example, the rapid disappearance of vast areas of forest — have contributed towards a growing awareness and recognition that land is a finite resource and its use constitutes one of the principal drivers of environmental change.
Share of forest area
Agriculture
In 2016, there were 10.3 million farms in the EU; together they used 157 million hectares of land for agricultural production. This means that approximately two fifths of the EU’s land was farmed. This section looks at two specific topics: regional patterns of livestock and cereal farming.
A majority of the animals farmed in the EU are reared for slaughter, whilst others are raised for breeding or, in the case of some cows, sheep and goats, to be milked. The livestock sector can have a considerable environmental impact, for example through enteric fermentation, the management of manure, or indirectly through the conversion of land from other uses in order to grow crops to be processed as feed for livestock.
Alongside permanent grassland for livestock rearing, the other main use of agricultural land in the EU is for arable farming (which is dedicated to growing crops). The production of cereals is one of the most important outputs of the EU’s agricultural sector.