In 2021, the average number of passenger cars per inhabitant in the EU increased from 0.53 to 0.57. Data show that western EU countries recorded higher motorisation rates (passenger cars per 1 000 inhabitants) than central and eastern EU members. However, at a regional level, there were significant disparities in car ownership within the EU.
Compared with 2021, the highest decreases of unemployment rate were recorded in the South Aegean region in Greece (-8.1 pp), the Canary Islands region in Spain (-5.6 pp) and Western Greece (-4.9 pp). The EU average unemployment rate for young people aged between 15 and 29 was 11.3% in 2022 (-1.7 pp compared with 2021).
In 2021, at EU level, 43% of people aged 65 and over living in cities reported that they had a good or very good health status; this was 2 percentage points (pp) higher than the national average for all people of this age group (41%).
The youth unemployment rate was 16.6 % in the EU. Among the EU’s metropolitan regions, the largest difference in the youth unemployment rate compared with the respective national average was recorded in Palermo (+26.1 percentage points (pp) compared with the national average for Italy). The youth unemployment rate was lower than the national average in Bergamo (-18.4 pp compared with the national average for Italy).
The regions with the largest growth in GDP volume after the Notio Aigaio region in Greece were the Southern region of Ireland (+16.3%) and Jadranska Hrvatska in Croatia (+16.0%). The leading regions in the ranking of regional GDP per capita in 2021 expressed in terms of national PPS after Luxembourg were in Southern Ireland (261% of the EU average), Eastern and Midland Ireland (239%) and Région de Bruxelles Capitale / Brussels Hoofdstedelijk Gewest (204%; Brussels).
The EU gender gap for median equivalised net income was close to 5% during the last decade. In 2021, considering the differences in the degree of urbanisation, the EU gender gap for net income was narrower for people living in rural areas than for those living in cities: 4.0% against 4.8%.
In 2021, the life expectancy at birth in the EU was 80.1 years. In 2019, life expectancy at birth reached 81.3 years but then fell in 2020 to 80.4 (-0.9 years) and in 2021 decreased further (-0.3 years compared with 2020), probably as a result of the sudden increase in mortality because of the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, the regions in the EU with the highest levels of life expectancy at birth were located in Spain, Italy and France.
Do you know how your region is doing within the European Union? Check the teaser for the Eurostat Regional Yearbook package on Instagram.
In 2021, just over one quarter (26%) of the EU population aged 16–74 years reported above-basic overall digital skills. Across 26 of the 27 EU countries, the highest share of people with above-basic overall digital skills was registered for those living in cities.
The publication on Urban Europe features subnational statistics with different territorial typologies by using intuitive visualisations, innovative data presentations and concise text. The publications have six chapters in common with Rural Europe publication- on education and training, the labour market, income and living conditions, and digital society and economy. Urban Europe contains another four on demographic developments, economic activity, quality of life, and cities of equality
In March 2020, the UN Statistical Commission endorsed a new methodology, the degree of urbanization, for delineation of cities, urban and rural areas for international and regional statistical comparison purposes. This session will give a brief overview on the progress made since 2020. It will show case national experiences with applying the methodology from across the globe. International organizations will also present on their accomplishments and planned actions to support the implementation. Registration is by the link below:
The publication on Rural Europe features subnational statistics with different territorial typologies by using intuitive visualisations, innovative data presentations and concise text. The publications have six chapters in common with Urban Europe publication- on education and training, the labour market, income and living conditions, and digital society and economy. Rural Europe contains another three chapters on demographic developments, women and men, and quality of life.
The eighth episode of the Eurostat podcast series Stats in a Wrap covers hot topics in regional statistics while highlighting the data available from Eurostat, such as the Eurostat regional yearbook and Regions in Europe – 2022 interactive edition. The podcast guest from OECD talked about their recent publication Regions and Cities at a glance 2022 as well (https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/urban-rural-and-regional-development/oecd-regions-and-cities-at-a-glance-2022_14108660-en).
In 2020, 129 regions had their total population estimated to be living within 15 minutes driving time of a hospital; this equated to slightly more than 1 in 10 regions within the EU. Most of these were capital or urban regions with relatively high population density.
In 2020, life expectancy of a female newborn in the EU was 83.2 years, 5.7 years higher than for a male newborn (77.5 years). Data shows that life expectancy is higher for women than for men in every single region of the EU.
Some of the highest incidence rates for road fatalities in 2020 were recorded in rural regions, with the highest incidence rates being mostly located in Belgium, Bulgaria, Greece, outermost regions of France, Poland and Romania. By contrast, urban regions tended to report a much lower incidence of road fatalities.
In 2021, in nearly three out of four EU regions (172 out of the 234 EU regions with available data), August was the month with the highest concentration in the number of nights spent, followed by July in 40 EU regions. October was the top month for 15 EU regions.
The labour market slack in the EU, which comprises all people who have an unmet need for employment, amounted to 14.0% of the extended labour force among people aged 15–74 years in 2021.132 out of 242 regions (or 54.5%) reported shares below the EU average, with the remainder (45.5%) recording shares that were equal to or above the EU average.
After growth rates of more than 2.0% in 2017 and 2018, the EU’s annual rate of change of gross value added slowed down to 1.8% in 2019. The direct and indirect effects of the COVID-19 crisis resulted in a 5.9% contraction in 2020 in the EU. In terms of economic impact, the annual real rate of change in gross value added (GVA) was negative in 215 out of 219 regions for which data are available.
In 2021, among the 240 NUTS level 2 regions for which data are available, there were 21 regions where this measure of educational attainment was at least 95.0%.
