"Regional Statistics Newsletter" Newsletter Issues

Registration open for SCORUS conference- 5-6 June in Brussels and hybrid event (08/05/2024)

We are excited to announce that registration is now open for the SCORUS conference on REGIONAL AND LOCAL STATISTICS FOR MORE INFORMED POLICY MAKING co-organised and hosted by Eurostat and DG Regional and Urban policy scheduled to take place on 5-6 June in Brussels as a hybrid event. We strongly encourage you to register as early as possible and by 22 May the latest, following the link below (MAIN URL). Please note that registration is a two-step procedure. Participants who would like to attend in person will receive an additional link to register for visitors passes allowing them to enter the building (subject to availability). Should you have any immediate questions or need further assistance, do not hesitate to reach out to ESTAT-REGIO@ec.europa.eu.

Updated figures for urban and rural living in the EU - infographics (08/05/2024)

Explore the differences between Urban and Rural living in the EU through the infographics and the QR code.

How to create maps using Eurostat data (07/05/2024)

Eurostat hosted a webinar on How to create maps using Eurostat data. In this webinar you will learn more about the geographic information system of the European Commission, abbreviated as GISCO, and how to use Eurostat data to create your own statistical maps with the so-called IMAGE tool.

Podcast: how do we show data with maps? - Part 2 (07/05/2024)

The four speakers in this episode (Joseph Davies and Hannes Reuter from unit E.4, Konstantina Michalopoulou from unit B.4, and Riccardo Sgaramella, coordinator of the EU Annual Report on the State of Regions and Cities at the Committee of the Regions) all deal with maps from a different angle.The speakers discuss how maps can both illuminate and distort data visualisation, focusing on geographical information systems and the potential pitfalls in mapmaking.

Statistical Report- Integration of statistical and geospatial information (07/05/2024)

Experiences and observations from the national statistical authorities, 2016–2020 presents details of projects enacted with grants provided during the second period of this initiative. It showcases the broad range of applications that have been developed using geospatial information implementing the Global Statistical Geospatial Framework (GSGF).

Launch EU Regional Social Progress Index 2.0- 2024 Edition 23 MAY 2023, 10:00-13:00 (07/05/2024)

On 23 May 2024, the Committee of the Regions is hosting the launch the 2024 edition of the EU regional Social Progress Index (EU-SPI). Location: Committee of the Regions, rue Belliard/Belliardstraat 101, room JDE 51

Online booking platforms in 2023: 678.6 million nights (08/05/2024)

The most popular regions (at NUTS 2 level) for short-term rental accommodation booked via online platforms in the third quarter of 2023 were Jadranska Hrvatska in Croatia (23.7 million nights), Andalucía in Spain (14.0 million nights), and the French Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur (12.2 million nights).

Passenger cars per inhabitant remain stable in 2022 (07/05/2024)

In 2022, there were on average 0.56 passenger cars per inhabitant in the EU – same as in 2021. Among the 10 regions with the highest motorisation rate, 6 were in Italy, and 1 in Finland, Greece, the Netherlands and Czechia.

Key regions for inland waterway freight transport in 2022 (07/05/2024)

In 2022, the Dutch region of Zuid-Holland, home to the port of Rotterdam, led the rankings, handling 172.0 million tonnes of freight, which accounted for 17.8% of the total inland waterway freight handled in the EU. Half of the total volume handled in just 6 regions.

CALL FOR ABSTRACTS SCORUS CONFERENCE JUNE 5 – 6, 2024 – BRUSSELS, BELGIUM (21/03/2024)

The Standing Committee of Regional and Urban Statistics (SCORUS) of the International Association for Official Statistics (IAOS), the Directorate General on Regional and Urban Policy and Eurostat kindly invites the statistical community to present abstracts for the in person conference (link below as main URL), to be held on June 5-6 2024 in Brussels, Belgium. Deadline for the abstract submission is 22 April, 2024, whereas the selection of the abstracts is foreseen on 6 May, 2024.

Podcast: how do we show data with maps? - Part 1 (21/03/2024)

Stats in a Wrap- In the first part of the episode, the podcast explores how maps have shaped our awareness of the world and how maps have left political legacies, and how to communicate statistical concepts with maps effectively.

Most EU regions record an increase in real GDP in 2022 (21/03/2024)

In 2022, real GDP increased in 231 out of 242 EU regions, while decreases were noted in 11 regions. The region with the largest growth in GDP volume was in Algarve in Portugal, with +17.0%. Another Portuguese region ranked second highest, Região Autónoma da Madeira (+14.2%), followed by the Southern region of Ireland (+13.5%), Illes Balears in Spain (+12.5%) and Province Brabant Wallon in Belgium (+10.9%).

EU life expectancy at birth in 2022 (21/03/2024)

In 2022, the life expectancy at birth in the EU was 80.6 years, up by 0.5 years from 2021. The EU region with the highest life expectancy at birth was the Spanish region of Comunidad de Madrid (85.2 years), followed by Provincia Autonoma di Trento in Italy (84.4 years), Ile de France in France (84.1 years), Stockholm in Sweden (84.0 years), and Comunidad Foral de Navarra in Spain (83.9 years).

The largest metropolitan regions in the EU in 2023 (21/03/2024)

The EU's largest metropolitan region in 2023 was Paris in France, with a population of 12.4 million people, followed by the Spanish metropolitan regions of Madrid and Barcelona with 6.9 and 5.8 million inhabitants, respectively. Berlin, with a total population of 5.5 million, and the Ruhrgebiet metropolitan region in Germany (5.1 million residents), completed the top 5.

41% of people employed as scientists and engineers are women (21/03/2024)

The highest shares of women employed in science and technology occupations in 2022, in NUTS1 regions, were observed in Lithuania (a single region at NUTS 1 level) (64.1%), in the French region of Corse (63.9%) and in Latvia (also a single region at NUTS 1 level) (62.7%).

EU individuals using social networks in 2023 (21/03/2024)

In 224 out of 273 EU regions, participation in social networks stood above 50%. The highest shares were registered in 6 Danish regions: Midtjylland (93%), Hovedstaden (the capital region) (92%), Syddanmark (90%), Nordjylland and Sjælland (both 89%).

Lessons learned in Applying the Degree of Urbanization- UN Statistical Commission virtual event (25/01/2024)

Eurostat is co-organising and moderating a United Nations Statistical Commission’s side event on 1 February at 15:00 CET. Join the webinar and hear from experts around the world on applying the degree of urbanization – a new methodology defining cities, urban and rural areas. Since 2020 several countries implemented the methodology. The session will summarize the lessons learned as well as the way forward. Registration is by the link below.

Natural population decrease in most EU regions in 2021 (25/01/2024)

In 2021, the EU’s crude rate of natural population change was -2.7 per 1 000 people. At the NUTS 3 level, 980 regions out of 1 164, for which data are available, had a negative rate of natural population change, 173 regions registered a positive rate and 11 regions saw no change (same number of births as deaths).

Gender employment gap in 2022 (25/01/2024)

The gender employment gap is defined as the difference between the employment rates of men and women aged 20-64. In 2022, the EU’s gender employment gap was 10.7 percentage points (pp), 0.2 pp lower than in 2021. There were only two EU regions, among those classified at level 2 of the nomenclature of territorial units for statistics (NUTS 2), that registered a higher employment rate among women in 2022: the Capital Region of Lithuania (Sostinės regionas) and South Finland (Etelä-Suomi) in Finland.

Tourism peak months across EU regions in 2022 (25/01/2024)

In nearly 3 of 4 EU regions at level 2 of the nomenclature of territorial units for statistics (NUTS 2), August was the month with the highest concentration in the number of nights spent (170 out of the 242 EU NUTS 2 regions). It was followed by July in 62 EU regions, covering most of northern Europe and parts of Belgium, Czechia, Germany, France, Italy, Hungary and Slovakia. The EU region with the highest level of seasonality concentrated in July and August was Calabria, in Italy, with 64.8%.

Regional cereals and milk production in 2021 (25/01/2024)

Cereals and milk are key agricultural products in the EU. The EU region that produced cereals with the highest value in 2021 was Castilla y León in Spain (€2. 3 billion). The region that produced the highest value of milk in 2021 was Southern in Ireland (€2.4 billion), which was followed by Bretagne in France (€2.0 billion), and Lombardia in Italy (€1.8 billion).

REGIONAL, URBAN AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT STATISTICS Working Group meeting, 20 - 21 November 2023 (17/11/2023)

Join the Eurostat - SCORUS webinars on Monday 20 November 2023 16:00-17:30 (CET) Innovation in subnational statistics – new data sources, new methods, new geographies; Tuesday 21 November 2023 11:30-12:30 (CET): Communication of data at regional and local level. Register and join online!

Women in high-tech (17/11/2023)

At the regional level (NUTS 2 regions), the French (Ile-de-France) and Spanish (Comunidad de Madrid) capital regions registered the highest number of people employed in high-technology sectors, 420 000 and 289 000, respectively. The share of women in high-technology employment across NUTS 2 regions, ranged from a high of 50.2% in the Hungarian region of Nyugat-Dunántúl down to 8.3% in the Greek region of Thessalia.

Regions with the highest life expectancy (17/11/2023)

In 2021, the overall life expectancy at birth in the EU was 80.1 years. The life expectancy for women in the EU stood at 82.9 years, which was 5.7 years longer than that for men, who averaged 77.2 years. At the time of their birth, women are expected to live longer in all 242 NUTS 2 regions where data is available.

Tertiary educational attainment in 2022 (17/11/2023)

In 2022, more than two-fifths (42.0%) of the EU population aged 25–34 had a tertiary level of educational attainment (some people within this age group might still be studying). Of the 240 NUTS 2 regions for which data are available (no data for Mayotte in France or Åland in Finland), there were 72 regions (equivalent to 30% of all EU regions) where this share had already reached or surpassed the EU’s policy target for this area: 45.0%.

Road fatalities by region in 2021 (17/11/2023)

The EU region with the highest rate of road fatalities at NUTS 2 level was the French outermost region of Guadeloupe, recording 159 road fatalities per million inhabitants, followed by Severozapaden in north-west Bulgaria (133) and Guyane, another French outermost region (120).

Launch of the 2023 Perception Survey on Quality of Life in European Cities, 12 December 2023 (17/11/2023)

Location: Charlemagne, room LORD JENKINS, Rue de la Loi 170, Brussels (09:30 - 13:00 CET) Please contact REGIO-B1-WORKSHOPS-AND-SEMINARS@ec.europa.eu for further information. The survey is conducted on a total of 83 European cities. It covers all capital cities of the countries concerned (except for Switzerland), together with between one and six more cities in the larger countries. In 2023, in each city, more than 800 citizens were contacted, for a total of 71 153 completed interviews. The survey exclusively focuses on perceived quality of life, showing how satisfied people are with various aspects of urban life, such as employment opportunities, availability of green and recreational public spaces, public transports or environmental issues (i.e. air quality).

Eurostat regional yearbook is out (24/10/2023)

Regional yearbook 2023 edition! The Eurostat regional yearbook, the Statistical Atlas, as well as the Regions in Europe present the deeper and more focused data on EU regions. This edition of regional yearbook focuses on the European Year of Skills, designed to support individuals to get the right skills for quality jobs while helping businesses address skills shortages. Extended chapters on education and the labour market gauge how the different regions are faring.

Regions with the most highly-skilled employed people (24/10/2023)

In 2022, there were approximately 80 million highly-skilled people employed across the EU, accounting for 44.2% of the total number of people employed aged 25–64. The distribution of highly-skilled employed people at regional level varied a lot. 106 out of the 241 reported regions were equal to or above the EU average.

Regional reliability on agriculture (24/10/2023)

The agriculture, forestry and fishing sector continues to be a significant source of employment, particularly in eastern and southern EU countries. Looking at the NUTS 3 regional data, Romania's Vaslui (61.7%) and Neamţ (51.4%) regions reported the highest employment rates in this sector.

Adults in education and training across EU regions (24/10/2023)

In 2022, 96 out of 240 NUTS2 regions had participation rates equal to or above the EU average of 11.9%. This group included every region of Denmark, Spain, the Netherlands, Austria, Slovenia, Finland and Sweden, as well as Estonia, Luxembourg and Malta (all single regions at this level of detail). There was higher participation rates for women in 192 out of 233 NUTS 2 regions

Regional variations in EU employment rates (24/10/2023)

The highest regional employment rate among NUTS 2 regions in 2022 was recorded in the Finnish archipelago of Åland, at 89.7%, followed by the Polish capital region of Warszawski stołeczny (85.4%), the Dutch region of Utrecht (85.1%) and the Swedish capital region of Stockholm (also 85.1%).

Register for Eurostat's workshop on cross-border statistics at European Week of Regions and Cities - 10 October 2023 in Brussels (15/09/2023)

Building evidence of cross-border interaction to inform decision making has always been an important part of cross-border policy. During the session, the three speakers will highlight the challenges and opportunities arising from three different perspectives: local, national and European.

Register for Eurostat's Regional Yearbook talk at European Week of Regions and Cities - 12 October 2023 in Brussels (15/09/2023)

The editors of the Eurostat Regional Yearbook will give fascinating insights into the lives of 447 million people in the EU, covering a variety of topics from demography and education to the labour market. The speakers will use interactive visuals to show how the regions are coping with the green and digital transition.

Create your maps with IMAGE, our map generator tool (15/09/2023)

The Interactive Map Generator (IMAGE) is a web-based tool that allows users to quickly make professional statistical maps in several predefined map layouts. You can add your data, or load data directly from the Eurostat database.

Deaths by suicide down by almost 14% in a decade (15/09/2023)

The regions with the smallest number of deaths resulting from suicide were Mayotte in France (1.4), North Aegean (2.3) and Central Macedonia (2.9) in Greece, Campania in Italy (2.9), and South-West region in Bulgaria (3.0), all with a standardised death rate for self-harm of 3 or less deaths per 100 000 inhabitants.

Nights booked via online platforms: uneven EU growth (15/09/2023)

Regional data for 2022 on guest nights spent in short-term rental accommodation booked via Airbnb, Booking, Expedia Group, or TripAdvisor shows that the overall growth of platform tourism since pre-pandemic times is spread unevenly across Europe.

Older people report better health status in cities (19/06/2023)

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%).

Unemployment rate varied widely across EU regions (19/06/2023)

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).

Number of cars per inhabitant increased in 2021 (19/06/2023)

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.

Beehive numbers in EU (19/06/2023)

In 2020, the highest number of beehives on farms in any one region was found in the Spanish region of Extremadura (300 220), followed by the Portuguese region of Norte (257 040). The Romanian region of Nord-Vest (250 510) registered the third-largest number.

Eurostat Regional Yearbook is a multiplatform publishing package (19/06/2023)

Did you know that Eurostat Regional Yearbook is not just a printed publication, but a multiplatform publishing package? You can download it as a pdf, find more comprehensive articles as Statistics Explained, play with the data in the interactive edition: the Regions in Europe, furthermore check the digitalised maps on the Statistical Atlas. The latest edition is scheduled to be released at the beginning of October 2023.

Eurostat Workshop EURegionsWeek 2023- Save the date: 10 October 2023 (19/06/2023)

Join Eurostat's Session at European Week of Regions and Cities in October 2023- Breaking barriers on cross-border statistical cooperation – Challenges and Opportunities. During the session three speakers will highlight the challenges and opportunities from three different perspectives: from the local, national and European perspectives. They will highlight accomplished work (on defining, coding, cross-border cities and variables for the data collection) as well as the plans for the future. Registration opens on 30 July 2023!

The short video of the Eurostat Regional Yearbook package is out on Instagram (21/03/2023)

Do you know how your region is doing within the European Union? Check the teaser for the Eurostat Regional Yearbook package on Instagram.

EU digital skills divide: cities outpace rural areas (21/03/2023)

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.

Gender gap for income narrower in rural areas (21/03/2023)

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%.

Life expectancy at birth down to 80.1 years in 2021 (21/03/2023)

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.

New Eurostat publication- Rural Europe (24/01/2023)

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.

New Eurostat publication- Urban Europe (24/01/2023)

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

Join the Webinar on Applying the Degree of Urbanization – side event of the United Nations Statistical Commission on 31 January 2023 at 3pm Brussels time (24/01/2023)

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: