Methodology
Coastal regions in the EU are based on the nomenclature of territorial units for statistics (NUTS) level 3 and are defined as
- having a border with a coastline or
- having more than half their population within 50 km of the coastline, based on population data for 1 km2 grid cells or
- having a strong maritime influence (the region of Hamburg in Germany).
The basic coastal typology classifies 2 categories: Coastal regions and Non-coastal regions.
For the full list of coastal regions, please consult the NUTS 2021 file and select the spreadsheet named ‘coastal regions’.
Island regions are NUTS 3 regions that are entirely composed of 1 or more islands. In this context, islands are defined as territories having:
- a minimum surface of 1 km2
- a minimum distance between the island and the mainland of 1 km
- a resident population of more than 50 inhabitants
- no fixed link (e.g. a bridge, a tunnel or a dyke) between the island and the mainland.
For the full list of island regions, please consult the NUTS 2021 file and select the spreadsheet named ‘island regions’.