This article forms part of Eurostat’s methodology manual on territorial typologies.
The border typology is applied at the level of NUTS level 3 regions: it identifies border regions in the European Union (EU) as those regions with a land border, or those regions where more than half of the population lives within 25 km of such a border.
Classes for the typology and their conditions
Details of the typology
The border typology is a classification based on the following 2 categories
- border regions
- non-border regions (those regions that aren’t defined as border regions).
Methodology for the typology
In principle, border regions should ideally be defined as those regions which have part of their territory demarcated by an international border. However, for analytical purposes, border regions are defined as NUTS level 3 regions located along land borders or regions where a majority (> 50%) of the population are living close to a land border. There are 2 main types of border region for analyses
- internal border regions, in other words, those regions located on borders between EU countries (this category also includes any particular region that has both a land border with an EU country and with a non-EU country)
- external border regions, in other words, those regions located exclusively on borders between an EU country and a non-EU country/countries.
As the severity of border effects is likely to diminish as a function of the distance from a border, the definition of border regions is complemented with a population component. As such, border regions also include those regions which, although they don’t have a border, have more than half of their population living within 25 km of a border. Using this broad definition, the following different types of border region may be identified, those with
- a land border (internal or external)
- more than 50% of the population living within 25 km of a land border (internal or external)
- non-border regions.
As this typology is based on both the distance and the population distribution between a border and a region, there is a need to use grid-based population data when establishing the typology.
Note the border typology isn’t defined/recognised within the NUTS Regulation, although the NUTS level 3 regions themselves are defined therein. As such, EU legislation on border regions may, for specific reasons, make use of alternative definitions: for example, it may refer to both land and maritime borders or it could refer exclusively to the EU’s external borders. Although not covered here, the following additional types of border region may be considered
- a maritime border
- a maritime border with more than 50% of the population living within 25 km
- a land and a maritime border
- a land and a maritime border with more than 50% of the population living within 25 km.
Links to other spatial concepts/typologies
There are close links between the border typology and the urban-rural typology (see Chapter 5) as each border region is classified as a predominantly urban, intermediate or predominantly rural region. Some border regions may also be classified as mountain regions (see Chapter 10).
Results
Based on the above definitions, there are 393 NUTS 2024 level 3 border regions in the EU and 772 non-border regions. The EU’s border regions include the following classes: 362 regions have a land border (288 have an internal border and 74 have an external border with a non-EU country), while there are 31 additional regions where at least 50% of the population are living within 25 km of a land border.
Map 1 provides an overview of the final classification for the border typology showing the different classes described above.
Changes to the typology over time
The border typology was developed by Eurostat in association with the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy.
As noted above, the border typology isn’t defined/recognised within the NUTS Regulation and hence EU legislation may, for specific reasons, make use of alternative definitions (over time). For example, the exact definition of border regions within the context of cross-border cooperation has changed from 1 programming period to the next and currently includes support for regions with maritime borders, as well as external border regions. Regulation (EU) 2021/1059 provides specific provisions for territorial cooperation goals as, for example, border regions often perform less well economically and access to public services (such as hospitals or universities) is generally lower in border regions. The European Commission’s Interreg programme plays a role in promoting regional development and reducing economic disparities, by addressing regional needs regarding cooperation, governance and more secure borders. For the period from 2021 to 2027, Interreg is focused on addressing several challenges, including: climate change, the digital transformation and social inclusion. The programme covers all of the EU countries, as well as Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Norway, Serbia, Switzerland and Ukraine.
The flexible nature of definitions employed for border regions is 1 of the main reasons why a standardised definition of border regions has yet to be integrated into the legislation for territorial typologies.
Changes over time that impact on the classification
The border regions classification should be updated to reflect any changes to the underlying sources of information that are used in its compilation, in other words, changes to international borders or changes to the boundaries of NUTS level 3 regions and more importantly, changes to population distribution, in other words, the population grid.
The NUTS Regulation specifies that the classification of regions should remain stable for a period of at least 3 years; the most recent updates were for NUTS 2016, NUTS 2020 and NUTS 2024. After each revision of the NUTS classification, the distance between each international border and the boundaries of each NUTS level 3 region should be re-assessed in the event that some boundaries have moved closer to (or further away) from an international border; note that when the NUTS classification is revised it is also possible for some regions to be split or merged with other regions. Changes to international borders are far less common (although shouldn’t be entirely ruled out).
Future developments
The next update of the NUTS classification is planned for 2028.
Further information
Glossary entry
Published indicators
A variety of different statistical surveys collect data for NUTS level 3 regions and this information may be used to calculate data for border and non-border regions. This process involves aggregating the data for NUTS level 3 regions to compute a total or an average for all border (and non-border) regions within a territory (for example a Member State, or the EU as a whole).
Visualisation tools
Eurostat publishes data for the border typology through Regions and cities illustrated.
Database
Eurostat’s website provides information for a wide variety of indicators for the border typology. These statistics are available for the following statistical domains: demography, population projections, the labour market, crimes recorded by the police, economic accounts, business demography, intellectual property rights and transport. They are available here.
Examples
Rural Europe – various statistics on border regions
Urban Europe – various statistics on border regions