Archive:Coastal region statistics

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This article contains a range of official statistics that are currently available and presented in terms of EU coastal regions.

These coastal regions are defined as standard statistical regions (NUTS level 3)

which have a sea border or
which have at least half of their population within 50 km of the coast
Hamburg

The statistics contained in this article are not extensive, but illustrate how data from different statistical domains can be used in the context of the Integrated EU Maritime Policy.

Main statistical findings

Inhabitants of coastal regions prefer the seaside

In 2007, 196 million^[1] people lived in the 446 EU coastal regions; these people represent 43 % of the population of the 22 EU countries having a sea border. Coastal regions (NUTS3) either have a coastline (83 %) or have at least more than half of their population within 50 km from the coastline (17 %) and Hamburg has been added to the list as well. It is noteworthy that in almost all (96.7%) coastal regions having a coastline the majority of people live within 50 km of sea as well. As shown in Table 1, almost all coastal regions have a population density in this coastal strip of more than 50%. Moreover, 91 % of coastal region inhabitants reside within 50 km of the sea. Therefore, residents of coastal regions (coastal population) exert greater pressure near the coastline.

This coastal population is concentrated in 194 cities with over 100 000 inhabitants located within 50 km of the sea. These urban centres house 38 % of the inhabitants of coastal regions. The largest cities are London, Athinai, Napoli and Roma.
The share of the national population living in a coastal area mainly depends on the geographical characteristics of a country, such as the length of the coastline and its configuration. In the case of island states such as Malta or Cyprus or peninsulas such as Denmark, this share is 100 % because all regions of these countries are considered to be coastal. Conversely, the share of inhabitants of coastal regions is only 4 % of the total population in Romania and 9 % in Germany.
As can be seen in Figure 1, coastal regions in Northern Sweden and Finland are very large. A consequence of this is that the total population of these coastal regions are considered as coastal population, even if part of this population lives far away from the sea. On the other hand, thanks to their small population, these coastal regions do not lead to a distortion of the Swedish and Finish coastal population. However, this distortion is quite limited as a significant share of inhabitants of coastal regions and economic activities are in fact located near the sea.

Ageing in coastal regions and attractiveness of the coastline for senior citizens

In 2007, 41 % of people aged 65 and over resided in one of the coastal regions belonging to the 22 Member States with a sea border. On average, ageing in these regions is not greater than in the total population of coastal Member States. However, the share of seniors (people aged 65 and over) compared to the national average shows a wide disparity between regions. Thus, as shown in Figure 4, in almost 60 % of coastal regions, the share of seniors is higher than the national level and in 34 % of these regions the over-representation is greater than 1.1 times the national level. Coastal regions of the United Kingdom such as East Sussex or the Isle of Wight have more than 1.4 times the national average of people aged 65 and over. This is also the case on the Belgian coast in the region of Veurne. Conversely, in the coastal region of Tulcea in Romania or in the Bulgarian region of Varna the share of seniors is about 0.88 times the national level.
Several demographic factors explain the difference in age structure between these regions and the national level. On the one hand, population ageing is due to longer life expectancy and decelerating or decreasing birth rates. But this ageing is not uniform and varies across countries and regions. On the other hand, the over-representation of seniors also originates in migratory movements to coastal regions.
In each region, the combination of these demographic factors is expressed differently. For instance, in 2007, in the Spanish coastal region of Asturias and in the French region of Pyrénées Orientales the over-representation of seniors has the same level. However, as shown in figures 2 and 3, the demographic profiles of these regions are different.

Example of Spanish coastal region of Asturias
In 2007, the share of seniors in the Spanish coastal region of Asturias was 1.3 times the national share. This over-representation of seniors is not a recent phenomenon as clearly shown in Figure 2 (2001). In fact, the pyramid highlights an over-representation of people aged 40 years and more as compared to the national level and not only an over-representation of seniors. In contrast, people aged 40 years and less and, in particular, children aged 14 years and less are under-represented in this region. Between 2001 and 2007, the population of the region remained stable. However, the two largest cities of the region, Gijon and Oviedo, gained inhabitants. At the same time, most rural areas lost inhabitants and the ageing of the population became more acute.

Example of French coastal region of Pyrénées Orientales
Seniors are also over-represented in the French department of Pyrénées Orientales, where their share is greater than 1.3 times the national level. However, as shown in Figure 3, the configuration is different from the Spanish coastal region of Asturias. Here only seniors are over-represented. Furthermore, the number of younger people in this French coastal region is increasing which has the effect of slowing down the population ageing.

Unemployment rates in coastal regions vary greatly

In 2007, as shown in Figure 5, the unemployment rate in the coastal regions as compared to the national level was highly dispersed. In half of the Belgian coastal regions, the unemployment rate is lower than 0.56 times the national level. Conversely, in half of the Romanian coastal regions, the unemployment rates are 1.7 times higher than the national level. However, the closeness of the sea border is not systematically the most discriminating geographical factor for the relative levels of unemployment. In Italy and to a lesser extent in Spain and Finland, significant differences exist between the southern and northern regions. Similarly, in Germany, the difference in unemployment is more significant between the eastern and western regions.
The three Latvian coastal regions show an unemployment rate below the national level. And at the same time, the two coastal regions of Romania are more exposed and have an unemployment rate higher than the national level.
These differences can be explained by the state of the economy, the population structure and education levels in these regions. The number of young people coming onto the labour market or the number of older people retiring has an influence on active population and therefore on the unemployment level. Several factors can also be combined. For example, in the French outermost coastal regions, the large flow of youths into the labour market and the limited labour supply partly explains the higher unemployment rates in these regions.

Services anchored in coastal regions

In 2007, around 88 million^[2] people had a job in the EU coastal regions. For the total of the coastal regions, the services sector is the biggest employer, accounting for 72 % of jobs in these regions as compared to 69 % for the total of the 22 EU coastal Member States. However, as shown in Figure 6, the structure of employment is not homogeneous among the coastal regions of the EU. In the Romanian coastal regions, the agricultural sector accounts for 32 % of jobs (30 % in the whole country), while it employs only 2 % of people in the Swedish coastal regions (equal to the national figure). Similarly, the service sector employs 80 % of people in Dutch coastal regions (77% in the Netherlands) and 56 % in Bulgarian coastal regions (52 % in the whole country). Thus, the employment structure varies from country to country. But also, the presence of large urban centres in a coastal region may increase the share of jobs offered in the service sector as financial and administrative services are very often in highly urbanised regions. In addition, tourist hotspots or the presence of large harbour infrastructures will have a positive impact on the weight of the jobs in services sectors such as tourism or maritime transport.

Tourism capacity, highly dense in some areas

Tourists are occasional users of coastal regions. Consequently, they exert an additional pressure while they are staying in these coastal regions. This pressure varies in intensity among the regions but also at different times of the year.
As Figure 7 shows, the density of tourism capacity is generally greater in the southern coastal regions of the EU and particularly around the Mediterranean coast as well as around the Belgian and Dutch coasts. In 2007, the density of tourism capacity in the Italian coastal region of Rimini was greater than 290 bed places per km². In contrast, the density is less than 1 bed place per km² in the Finnish region of Lappi. The higher the density of tourism capacity, the heavier the pressure can be as these regions will be able to welcome a substantial flow of tourists.
Climatic conditions and significant cultural heritage may have a positive impact on the density of tourism capacity.
Tourists can visit a coastal region for the attractiveness of the seaside, its sunny climate, particularly during the summer, but also for cultural reasons or for professional reasons.
When considering the lowest density of tourist capacity in the coastal areas of Northern Sweden and Finland, it must be taken into account that these regions have a large surface area, which mechanically decreases the density. However, the tourist density along the coasts of the Baltic Sea is on average lower than in regions located along other coastlines.

Arrivals and departures of marine passengers are concentrated in certain regions only

In 2007, about 410 million marine passengers embarked or disembarked in the EU coastal regions. As Figure 8 shows, these inflows and outflows are concentrated in a limited number of coastal regions. In 2007, the total number of passengers per coastal region was more than 2.5 million in 40 regions only, and less than 100 000 in more than half of the coastal regions. Thus, 77 % of marine passengers depart or arrive in only 9 % of coastal regions. The coastal areas most frequented by passengers are the coastal regions of Attiki (48 million) in Greece, the Italian coastal region of Napoli (20 million) and the coastal region of Skåne län in Sweden (15 million).
To make use of maritime transport facilities, passengers are therefore induced to go to or to cross coastal regions. However, the pressure does not necessarily increase with the number of passengers. While tourists exert an additional pressure on the coastal region where they stay, this is not always the case for marine passengers. These users may inhabit the region or simply cross it without staying there. However, the presence of tourist infrastructures in a coastal region influences the number of people frequenting it.
Figure 8 also shows a high concentration in the number of passengers in the coastal regions located fairly close to each other. This can be explained by the density of passenger traffic for short crossings. This is particularly the case between the coastal regions of Denmark but also between them and the Swedish coastal region of Skåne län and Västra Götalands län. Similarly, although maritime transport of passengers between the UK and France is competing with either rail or air transport, the number of arrivals and departures of maritime passengers are significant between the coastal region of Kent in the United Kingdom and the French department of Pas-de-Calais. The concentration of movements is even more marked among the Maltese islands, where there are no alternative connections.

Data sources and availability

Context

On 10 October 2007, the Commission presented its vision for an Integrated Maritime Policy for the European Union. The vision document – also called the Blue book – was accompanied by a detailed Action Plan . " An EU Integrated Maritime Policy will focus its action primarily in the following five areas; - Maximising the sustainable use of oceans and seas - Building a knowledge and innovation base for the Maritime Policy - Delivering the highest quality of life in coastal regions - Promoting Europe's leadership in international maritime affairs - Raising the visibility of maritime Europe" For the sake of greater coherence, this policy gives preference to a holistic approach, i.e. all areas or sectors concerned are taken into account. For example, the economic issues must incorporate environmental aspects and vice versa. Similarly, the development of a sector of activity will have to take account of all the sectors developed on the same territory or using the same maritime areas. As natural boundaries between the land and the sea, the coastal regions of Europe fall quite naturally under this policy. Coastal regions inhabitants, visitors and economic activities located in these areas have a direct or indirect impact on the sea.

Further Eurostat information

Publications

Portrait of EU coastal regions - Statistics in focus 38/2010

Tables

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Database

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