Archive:Jahrbuch der Regionen Vorwort

The Eurostat regional yearbook provides an overview of key statistics available for the regions of Europe. A close look at many of the very relevant social, economic and environmental indicators will quickly reveal that national figures do not show the full picture of what is happening in Europe in many, and perhaps most, cases. Very different developments are often visible if one looks at smaller geographical scales. Thus the Eurostat regional yearbook is a valuable supplement to Europe in figures — Eurostat yearbook, which concentrates exclusively on statistics on a national scale.

On this occasion I would like to draw your attention to a recent publication of the European Commission, Investing in Europe’s future — Fifth report on economic, social and territorial cohesion, which puts many of the statistics shown in the Eurostat regional yearbook into a European policy context.

The system of so-called NUTS (nomenclature of territorial units for statistics) on which the regional statistics are based has strong implications beyond the direct field of statistics. Its definition of regions is used more and more in other areas, and thus contributes to shaping the perception of European citizens in their identification with a certain regional structure. The NUTS system thus contributes to the gradual creation of a common European concept of regions.

In 2011, for the first time, you can find the content of this book updated online in ‘Statistics explained’. As usual, the latest and most complete versions of all the data can be downloaded from the Eurostat website.

Eurostat is the statistical office of the European Union. Working together with national statistical authorities in the European statistical system, we produce official statistics, which meet the highest possible standards of quality.

I wish you an enjoyable reading experience!

Walter Radermacher

Director-General, Eurostat – Chief Statistician of the European Union