Local administrative units (LAU)
To meet the demand for statistics at a local level, Eurostat maintains a system of local administrative units (LAUs) compatible with NUTS. These LAUs are the building blocks of NUTS and comprise the EU’s municipalities and communes.
Until 2016, there were 2 levels of LAUs:
- the upper LAU level (LAU level 1, formerly NUTS level 4) was defined for most but not all countries;
- the lower LAU level (LAU level 2, formerly NUTS level 5) consisted of municipalities or equivalent units in the 28 EU Member States (pre-Brexit).
Since 2017, there has only been one LAU level.
The LAUs are:
- administrative to help ensure that data are readily available and policies can be implemented effectively using these units
- a subdivision of the NUTS 3 regions covering the EU's whole economic territory
- appropriate for implementing local level typologies included in Tercet, namely the coastal area and the degree of urbanisation (DEGURBA) classification, including city and functional urban areas (FUA) definitions.
Since there are frequent changes to the LAUs, Eurostat publishes an updated list (or ‘correspondence table’) towards the end of each year.
EU countries have to send lists of their LAUs to Eurostat once a year. If available, Eurostat receives additionally basic administrative data through the annual LAU lists, namely each LAU’s total population and total area.
LAU components of cities and functional urban areas (FUA)
Historical population data from 1961 to 2011
This specific project, supported by the Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy, is independent from Eurostat’s standard collection of population data. The data in this collection contain estimates that are not necessarily consistent with official Eurostat figures. Use of the data for non-commercial purposes is allowed if all sources are properly mentioned.
In this data collection, European LAU population data has been complied for 1961-2011. The data collection covers EU countries, EFTA countries and certain candidate countries. The spatial level of detail for most countries corresponds to the LAU 2 level, while Greece, Lithuania, Slovenia and Türkiye have LAU 1 coverage. The geoposition and population data have been collected for 1 year in each decade. For comparability, data have been recalculated for the 2011 local administrative boundaries and interpolated for the following dates: 1 January in 1961, 1981, 1991, 2001 and 2011. In the table below, you can download reports in PDF format and figures in Excel format (zipped files). The downloadable report, Population data collection for European local administrative units from 1960 onward, describes the method used to compile the georeferenced European LAU population data.