YearBook 2013 Eurostat

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ISSN 1830-9674

S t a t i s t i c a l b o o k s

Eurostat regional yearbook 2013


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S t a t i s t i c a l b o o k s

Eurostat regional yearbook 2013


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Luxembourg: Publications Oce o the European Union, 2013

ISBN 978-92-79-29982-7

ISSN 1830-9674

doi:10.2785/44451

Cat. No: KS-HA-13-001-EN-C

Theme: General and regional statistics

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European Union, 2013

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3Eurostat regional yearbook 2013

ForewordForeword

ForewordTe European Union places considerable emphasis on co-

hesion policy, with the objective o bringing Europes re-gions and cities closer together in economic, social andenvironmental spheres.

Te Eurostat regional yearbook provides an overview o keystatistics available or each o the domains that are coveredby ocial European statistics. It is thus a helpul tool tounderstand the regional diversity that exists within Europeand also shows that considering national gures alone doesnot reveal the ull picture o what is happening in the Euro-pean Union; indeed, there are oen signicant dierences be-tween regions o the same country when one looks at smallergeographical areas. Tus, the Eurostat regional yearbook isa valuable supplement to Europe in fgures Eurostat year-book, which concentrates on national statistics or the Euro-pean Union and its Member States.

Regional statistics are based on a harmonised convention in the denition o regions which is contained in the classicationo territorial units or statistics, known by the acronym NUS. Tis classication has implications beyond the direct eld ostatistics. It is used more and more in other areas, and thus contributes to shaping the perception o EU citizens as regardshow they identiy with a certain regional structure. In this way NUS has the potential to contribute towards the gradualcreation o a common EU notion o regions.

While maintaining its ocus on the most recent data available, the 2013 edition o the Eurostat regional yearbook emphasisescomparisons o the regional situation over time. For economic issues, these comparisons generally ocus on the situationrom 2007 or 2008 onwards in other words, rom the onset o the global nancial and economic crisis while or otherdomains, such as population, health or education the analysis is more ocused on changes over a lengthier period o 5 or 10

years thereby analysing structural changes. Furthermore, the practice o previous editions to gradually enlarge the numbero statistical maps has been continued; these have the advantage o revealing regional variations at a glance.

Te content o this book is also available online in Statistics explained on the Eurostat website. Te latest data can also bedownloaded rom Eurostats database, where more disaggregated data can oen be ound.

Eurostat is the statistical oce o the European Union. Working together with national statistical authorities in the Europeanstatistical system, our mission is to be the leading provider o high-quality statistics on Europe.

I wish you an enjoyable reading experience!

Walter RadermacherDirector-General, Eurostat

Chie Statistician o the European Union


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4 Eurostat regional yearbook 2013

Abstract

Abstract

Statistical inormation is an important tool or understanding and quantiying the impact o political decisions in a specicterritory or region. Te Eurostat regional yearbook 2013 gives a detailed picture relating to a broad range o statistical topics

across the regions o the Member States o the European Union (EU), as well as the regions o European Free rade Associa-tion (EFA) and candidate countries. Each chapter presents statistical inormation in maps, gures and tables, accompaniedby a description o the main ndings, data sources and policy context. Tese regional indicators are presented or the ollow-ing 11 subjects: economy, population, health, education, the labour market, structural business statistics, tourism, the inor-mation society, agriculture, transport, and science, technology and innovation. In addition, our special ocus chapters areincluded in this edition: these look at European cities, the denitions o city and metro regions, income and living conditionsaccording to the degree o urbanisation, and rural development.

Editor-in-chie

Mariana Kotzeva

Editorseodra Brandmller and sa nnerorsEurostat, Unit E.4., Regional statistics and geographical inormation

Production

Inorma Srl, Giovanni Albertone, Simon Allen and Andrew Redpath

Map production

Abaco Srl, coordinated by Andries Engelbert, Michael Harrop, sa nnerors and Atanas rionovEurostat, Unit E.4., Regional statistics and geographical inormation

Dissemination

Isabelle FiasseEurostat, Unit B.6., Dissemination

Contact details

EurostatBtiment Joseph Bech5, rue Alphonse Weicker2721 LuxembourgLUXEMBOURGE-mail: [email protected]

For more inormation please consult

Internet: http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat

Data extraction

Most data were extracted on 15 February 2013. Data relating to structural business statistics (Chapter 6) were extracted at theend o February 2013. Data relating to regional GDP and demographic data were extracted in the middle o March 2013 andhave been included in several chapters: economy (Chapter 1), population (Chapter 2), agriculture (Chapter 9), science andtechnology (Chapter 11), and rural development (Chapter 15). Data relating to patents were also extracted in the middle oMarch 2013 and included in science and technology (Chapter 11).
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]://ec.europa.eu/eurostathttp://ec.europa.eu/eurostatmailto:[email protected]


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AcknowledgementsAcknowledgements

AcknowledgementsTe editors o the Eurostat regional yearbook 2013 would like to thank all o their colleagues who contributed to this publica-

tion and, in particular, those who were involved closely in the editorial work to establish the content or each specic chapter: Economy: Andreas Krger (Eurostat, Unit C2, National and regional accounts production) Population: Veronica Corsini and Gabriela Senchea Badea (Eurostat, Unit F2, Population) Health: Hartmut Buchow, Elodie Cayotte and Monica Pace (Eurostat, Unit F5, Education, health and social protection) Education: Sorin-Florin Gheorghiu, Dominique Groenez, Sylvain Jouhette, Ana Maria Martinez Palou, Jean Till and

Paolo urchetti (Eurostat, Unit F5, Education, health and social protection) Labour market: Gorja Bartsch and Daniela Scirankov (Eurostat, Unit E4, Regional statistics and geographical inorma-

tion); Eusebio Bezzina and Herv Renni (Eurostat, Unit F3, Labour market) Structural business statistics: Aleksandra Stawiska (Eurostat, Unit G2, Competitiveness o European businesses) Tourism: Christophe Demunter and Sylvie Villaume (Eurostat, Unit G3, Short-term statistics; tourism) Inormation society: Petronela Reinecke and Albrecht Wirthmann (Eurostat, Unit G6, Innovation and inormation society) Agriculture: Catherine Coyette, Ruben Garcia Nuevo, Marjo Kasanko, Annemiek Kremer, Miroslav Kukucka, Garry Ma-

hon, Pol Marquer, Carla Martins, Angelo Milella and Vincent ronet (Eurostat, Unit E1, Agriculture and sheries) Transport: Anna Bialas-Motyl and Jos Lange (Eurostat, Unit E6, ransport) Science, technology and innovation: Bernard Flix, ngeles Hermosa Lpez, Branka Metrovi, Reni Petkova, Veijo Ri-

tola and Genevive Villette (Eurostat, Unit G6, Innovation and inormation society) Focus on European cities: Filipe Alves, eodra Brandmller and Kristina Dourmashkin (Eurostat, Unit E4, Regional

statistics and geographical inormation) Focus on city and metro regions: Lewis Dijkstra and Hugo Poelman (Directorate-General or Regional and Urban Policy,

Unit B1, Economic analysis) Focus on income and living conditions: Didier Dupr, Boyan Genev and Georgiana Ivan (Eurostat, Unit F4, Quality o

lie) Focus on rural development: Pierluigi Brunori and Isabelle Collet (Eurostat, Unit E4, Regional statistics and geographical

inormation); Paloma Corts Pay and Edit Konya (Directorate-General or Agriculture and Rural Development, Unit L2,Economic analysis o EU agriculture)

We are also grateul to:

the Directorate-General or Translation o the European Commission, particularly the German and French translationunits;

the Publications Oce o the European Union, and in particular Nadine Jo, Unit B.2., Publications.


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Acknowledgements

ContentsForeword ........................................................................................................................................................................... 3

Abstract ............................................................................................................................................................................. 4Acknowledgements........................................................................................................................................................ 5

INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................................................... 11

EU statistics on regions and cities................................................................................................................................ 12

The NUTS classication............................................................................................................................................................................... 12Coerage and timeliness o statistics on regions and cities .......................................................................................................... 13More inormation about statistics on regions and cities ................................................................................................................ 14Eurobase Eurostats online database ............................................................................................................................................... 14Statistics explained....................................................................................................................................................................................... 14

EU policies......................................................................................................................................................................... 15

Europe 2020 strateg .................................................................................................................................................................................. 15Regional policies ........................................................................................................................................................................................... 15Future cohesion polic alignment with the Europe 2020 strateg....................................................................................... 16Rural deelopment polic ......................................................................................................................................................................... 16Future rural deelopment polic alignment with the Europe 2020 strateg and the reorm o the CAP .............. 17Urban policies ................................................................................................................................................................................................ 17Urban deelopment uture cohesion polic................................................................................................................................. 17

1. ECONOMy .................................................................................................................................................................. 19Main statistical ndings ................................................................................................................................................. 20

Regional GDP per inhabitant....................................................................................................................................................................

20A more detailed regional analsis........................................................................................................................................................... 21Changes oer time ....................................................................................................................................................................................... 21Focus on longer-term changes in selected regions ......................................................................................................................... 24Around a quarter o the EUs population lied in regions where GDP was less than 75 % o the EU-27 aerage ..... 24Major regional diferences within countries ....................................................................................................................................... 28

Data sources and aailabilit ........................................................................................................................................ 29

Comparisons between where people work and where the lie................................................................................................ 29Purchasing power parities ......................................................................................................................................................................... 29

Context.............................................................................................................................................................................. 29

Measuring economic deelopment....................................................................................................................................................... 29Economic policies......................................................................................................................................................................................... 30

2. POPULATION............................................................................................................................................................. 31Main statistical ndings ................................................................................................................................................. 32

Population size and densit ...................................................................................................................................................................... 32Population change....................................................................................................................................................................................... 34Decline in the ertilit rate ......................................................................................................................................................................... 38Declining inant mortalit ......................................................................................................................................................................... 40Lie expectanc gaps between men and women............................................................................................................................. 40Demographic ageing .................................................................................................................................................................................. 43

Data sources and aailabilit ........................................................................................................................................ 47Context .............................................................................................................................................................................. 50


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3. HEALTH ........................................................................................................................................................................ 51

Main statistical ndings ................................................................................................................................................. 52

Causes o death ............................................................................................................................................................................................. 52Diseases o the circulator sstem.......................................................................................................................................................... 52Diseases o the respirator sstem ......................................................................................................................................................... 53Cancer (malignant neoplasms) ................................................................................................................................................................ 56Hospital beds.................................................................................................................................................................................................. 60Healthcare proessionals............................................................................................................................................................................ 61


Causes o death ............................................................................................................................................................................................. 61Healthcare ....................................................................................................................................................................................................... 64

Context .............................................................................................................................................................................. 64

4. EDUCATION ............................................................................................................................................................... 65


Participation o 4-ear-olds in education............................................................................................................................................. 66Students aged 17 in education................................................................................................................................................................ 66Earl leaers rom education and training........................................................................................................................................... 68Students in tertiar education ................................................................................................................................................................. 71Tertiar educational attainment.............................................................................................................................................................. 75


Context .............................................................................................................................................................................. 80

Diersit o national education sstems .............................................................................................................................................. 80Education and training 2020 .................................................................................................................................................................... 80

5. LABOUR MARKET .................................................................................................................................................... 83


Emploment rates ........................................................................................................................................................................................ 84Changes in emploment rates rom 2008 to 2011 ........................................................................................................................... 84Male and emale emploment rates ...................................................................................................................................................... 86Emploment rates or older workers ..................................................................................................................................................... 88Unemploment rates................................................................................................................................................................................... 91Changes in unemploment rates............................................................................................................................................................ 93youth unemploment................................................................................................................................................................................. 96

Earnings at a regional leel ....................................................................................................................................................................... 100Data sources and aailabilit ........................................................................................................................................ 100

Context .............................................................................................................................................................................. 101

6. STRUCTURAL BUSINESS STATISTICS ............................................................................................................... 105


Industrial and serices specialisation .................................................................................................................................................... 106Detailed specialisation within the non-nancial business econom......................................................................................... 110Range o specialisation............................................................................................................................................................................... 112Business concentration............................................................................................................................................................................... 115



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7. TOURISM ..................................................................................................................................................................... 119


Number o oernight stas........................................................................................................................................................................ 120Recent trends in hotel tourism ................................................................................................................................................................ 122Recent trends in camping tourism ......................................................................................................................................................... 123Share o inbound tourism.......................................................................................................................................................................... 123Top 20 tourist regions in the EU-27 isited b oreign tourists .................................................................................................... 123Most popular regions .................................................................................................................................................................................. 128Tourism intensit........................................................................................................................................................................................... 130Aerage length o sta ................................................................................................................................................................................ 130Accommodation capacit.......................................................................................................................................................................... 130Size o accommodation establishments .............................................................................................................................................. 133


Context .............................................................................................................................................................................. 136Tourism diersit........................................................................................................................................................................................... 136Policies.............................................................................................................................................................................................................. 137

8. INFORMATION SOCIETy ....................................................................................................................................... 139


Access to inormation and communication technologies............................................................................................................. 140Regular use o the Internet........................................................................................................................................................................ 143E-commerce b indiiduals....................................................................................................................................................................... 143


Context .............................................................................................................................................................................. 147

9. AGRICULTURE ........................................................................................................................................................... 149


Economic signicance o agriculture .................................................................................................................................................... 150Agricultural labour productiit.............................................................................................................................................................. 152Structure o agricultural holdings........................................................................................................................................................... 153Liestock and crops...................................................................................................................................................................................... 156Agri-enironmental indicators................................................................................................................................................................. 160


Context .............................................................................................................................................................................. 166

10. TRANSPORT ............................................................................................................................................................ 167


Motorwa networks..................................................................................................................................................................................... 168Stock o passenger cars, buses and coaches....................................................................................................................................... 168Stock o road reight ehicles ................................................................................................................................................................... 170Road saet...................................................................................................................................................................................................... 175Air transport.................................................................................................................................................................................................... 175Rail transport.................................................................................................................................................................................................. 178Maritime transport ....................................................................................................................................................................................... 179



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11. SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGy ........................................................................................................................... 185Main statistical ndings ................................................................................................................................................. 186

Research and deelopment intensit.................................................................................................................................................... 186

Researchers..................................................................................................................................................................................................... 188Human resources in science and technolog..................................................................................................................................... 190Emploment in high-tech sectors .......................................................................................................................................................... 193Patents .............................................................................................................................................................................................................. 194


Context .............................................................................................................................................................................. 196

12. FOCUS ON EUROPEAN CITIES ......................................................................................................................... 199Main statistical ndings ................................................................................................................................................. 200

Liing in cities and urban areas ............................................................................................................................................................... 200Age and old age ............................................................................................................................................................................................ 204Transport.......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 207

Tourism.............................................................................................................................................................................. 211

Cultural acilities .............................................................................................................................................................. 211


Context .............................................................................................................................................................................. 215

Europe 2020.................................................................................................................................................................................................... 215Sustainable inestment .............................................................................................................................................................................. 215

13. FOCUS ON CITIES AND METRO REGIONS ................................................................................................... 217

Main statistical ndings ................................................................................................................................................. 218Larger urban zones:

a cit and its commuting zone................................................................................................................................................................. 218A tpolog o metro(politan) regions.................................................................................................................................................... 219Links between the denition o a cit and its commuting zone and the degree o urbanisation tpolog............... 222No link between metro regions and the urbanrural regional tpolog................................................................................. 222

Context .............................................................................................................................................................................. 223

14. FOCUS ON INCOME AND LIvING CONDITIONS ....................................................................................... 225


People at risk o poert or social exclusion ....................................................................................................................................... 226People at risk o poert............................................................................................................................................................................. 227

Seere material depriation rate............................................................................................................................................................. 228People liing in households with er low work intensit ............................................................................................................ 229Oercrowded households ......................................................................................................................................................................... 230Oerburden o housing costs................................................................................................................................................................... 230Seere housing depriation...................................................................................................................................................................... 231A comparison summarising indicators across the whole o the EU ........................................................................................... 232A comparison summarising indicators across the Member States............................................................................................. 233


Degree o urbanisation............................................................................................................................................................................... 234Statistics on income and liing conditions.......................................................................................................................................... 234

Indicator denitions..................................................................................................................................................................................... 234Context .............................................................................................................................................................................. 235


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15. FOCUS ON RURAL DEvELOPMENT ................................................................................................................ 237


Focus on the population in predominantl rural regions.............................................................................................................. 238Focus on the labour market in predominantl rural regions........................................................................................................ 246Focus on the econom in predominantl rural regions ................................................................................................................. 251Focus on agriculture and tourism in rural regions............................................................................................................................ 252


Urbanrural tpolog.................................................................................................................................................................................. 260Context.............................................................................................................................................................................. 260

Regional issues or rural areas .................................................................................................................................................................. 260Policies.............................................................................................................................................................................................................. 262Emploment in rural areas ........................................................................................................................................................................ 262

Annex 1 Classication o territorial units or statistics, 2010 ersion .............................................................. 263

European Union: NUTS leel 2 regions ................................................................................................................................................. 263EFTA countries: statistical regions at leel 2........................................................................................................................................ 266Acceding and candidate countries: statistical regions at leel 2................................................................................................. 266

Annex 2 Cities participating in the Urban Audit data collection ..................................................................... 267

European Union: Urban Audit cities ...................................................................................................................................................... 267EFTA countries: Urban Audit cities.......................................................................................................................................................... 275Acceding and candidate countries: Urban Audit cities................................................................................................................... 275


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Introduction

Eurostat, the statistical oce o the European Union (EU),is responsible or collecting and disseminating national andregional data, primarily or the Member States o the EU,but also or European Free rade Assoication (EFA), ac-

ceding and candidate countries. Te aim o this publicationis to give a avour o the statistics that Eurostat collects onregions and cities and to present the most recent gures oreach statistical subject.

EU statistics on regionsand citiesTe Member States within the EU are oen compared witheach other, but in reality it is very dicult to compare a smallMember State like Malta, which has around 420 000 inhab-itants, or Luxembourg, which has around 540 000 inhabit-ants, with Germany, the most populous EU Member State atclose to 82 million inhabitants. Comparing regional data thatare as detailed as possible is oen more meaningul and italso highlights the disparities or similarities within theMember States themselves.

The NUTS classication

At the heart o regional statistics is the NUS classication(the classication o territorial units or statistics). Tis is a re-

gional classication or the Member States o the EU provid-ing a harmonised hierarchy o regions: the NUS classicationsubdivides each Member State into regions at three dierentlevels, NUS levels 1, 2 and 3, rom larger to smaller areas. Iavailable, administrative structures are used or the dierentNUS levels. In Member States where there is no administra-tive layer corresponding to a particular level, articial regionsare created by aggregating smaller administrative regions.

Te NUS regulation Regulation (EC) No 1059/2003 othe European Parliament and o the Council was adoptedin May 2003 and entered into orce in July 2003. It has sincebeen amended twice and also supplemented twice with in-

ormation pertaining to new Member States (10 new Mem-ber States in 2004 and two more in 2008). Te second regularamendment (Commission Regulation (EU) No 31/2011) wasadopted in January 2011 and entered into orce on 1 Janu-ary 2012 and is reerred to as NUS 2010: the data presentedin this publication are based exclusively on NUS 2010. Tenext round o revisions to the NUS (which is expected tolead to NUS 2013) was opened in 2012 and a list o propos-als or amendments was established by February 2013.

The main principles o the NUTS classifcation

Principle 1: the NUS regulation denes the ollowing min-imum and maximum population thresholds or the size o

the NUS regions.

LevelMinimum

populationMaximum

population

NUTS 1 regions 3 million 7 millionNUTS 2 regions 800 000 3 millionNUTS 3 regions 150 000 800 000

Principle 2: NUS avours administrative divisions (normativecriterion). For practical reasons the NUS classication is basedon the administrative divisions applied in the EU Member States.Tat generally comprises two main regional levels; the addition-al third level is created by aggregating administrative units.

Principle 3: NUS avours general geographical units. Teseare normally more suitable or any given indicator than geo-graphical units specic to certain elds o activity.

Regions have also been dened and agreed with the EFA,acceding and candidate countries on a bilateral basis; theseregions are called statistical regions and ollow exactly thesame rules as the NUS regions in the EU, except that thereis no legal base. Tere is no agreement with Serbia.

It should be noted that some EU Member States have a rela-tively small population and are thereore not divided intomore than one NUS level 2 region. Tus, or these Member

States, data presented or NUS level 2 regions are identicalto national data. According to the 2010 version o the NUSclassication, this applies to six Member States: Estonia, Cy-prus, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg and Malta. It also ap-plies to the statistical regions at level 2 in the EFA countrieso Iceland and Liechtenstein and in the candidate countrieso Montenegro and the ormer Yugoslav Republic o Mac-edonia (1). In each o these cases, the whole country consistso one single level 2 NUS or statistical region.

For more inormation about the NUS classication, pleasereer to the dedicated NUS section on the Eurostat website.

The use o NUTS in this publication

Most statistics in the Eurostatregional yearbook are based onNUS level 2 regions, but some maps are based on NUSlevel 3 regions (the most detailed NUS level) and these aregenerally included when data at this level o detail are avail-able. Tere are also a ew maps where use is made o NUSlevel 1 regions. Furthermore, there may be specic cases (ona map by map basis) where particular regions are presented

(1) The name o the ormer Yugoslav Republic o Macedonia is shown in tables and gures in this publication as FYR o Macedonia. This does not prejudge in any way the denitive nomencla-ture or this country, which is to be agreed ollowing the conclusion o negotiations currently taking place on t his subject at the United Nations.


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IntroductionIntroduction

using a dierent NUS level compared with the remainder othe regions in the same map these changes are document-ed in the ootnotes under each map and are generally madein order to improve the coverage o each map. In a ew speci-

ic cases where little or no regional data exists or a particularcountry and indicator, use has been made o national data.

One diculty with regional statistics is that the volume o datainevitably gets very large (there are as many as 1 294 NUS level3 regions or the EU-27) and there has to be some kind o selec-tion or sorting principle to make the data comprehensible. Sta-tistical maps are an excellent means o presenting large amountso statistical data in a user-riendly way. Tat is why this yearsEurostat regional yearbook, like previous editions, containsmany thematic maps in which the data are categorised into di-erent statistical classes represented by colour shades on a map(choropleth maps). Some chapters also make use o gures and

tables to present the data, selected and sorted according to prin-ciples designed to make the results more accessible.

Te paper version o the Eurostat regional yearbook con-tains a olding map inside the back cover. It shows all NUSlevel 2 regions in the Member States o the EU and the cor-responding level 2 statistical regions in the EFA, accedingand candidate countries; it also has a ull list o codes andnames o these regions. Te map is intended to help readersto locate the name and NUS code o a specic region on theother statistical maps in the publication. For more inorma-tion about the NUS classication, please reer to the dedi-cated NUS section on the Eurostat website.

Coerage and timeliness o statisticson regions and cities

Te Eurostat regional yearbook 2013 contains statistics on theMember States o the EU and, where available, data are alsoshown or the EFA countries (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Nor-way and Switzerland) and the acceding and candidate coun-tries (Montenegro, Croatia, the ormer Yugoslav Republic oMacedonia, Serbia and urkey).

Following the ratication o the accession treaty, Croatia becamethe 28th EU Member State on 1 July 2013; at the time o writ-ing Croatia was an acceding country and so analysis o Croatianregional data is presented alongside that o the candidate coun-tries. Since 27 July 2010, Iceland has been both an EFA coun-try and a candidate country; in this publication it is grouped to-gether with the other EFA countries. Where available, nationaldata are presented or Serbia as there is currently no agreementon regional boundaries, especially concerning Kosovo (2) thelatter is not covered in this publication.

Please note that the latest available reerence year varies; eachchapter aims to show the latest data available or its subjectarea. In the light o the recent nancial and economic cri-sis, which had severe implications or some o the subjectscovered, it is important to keep in mind the reerence yearwith respect to overall economic and social developments.Te ollowing table gives an overview o the latest availablereerence year that is generally presented or each chapter.

(2) This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244 and the ICJ opinion on the Kosovo declaration o independence.

Chapter number Subject Latest available reerence year NUTS version

1 Economy 2010 20102 Population 2011 or 1 January 2012 20103 Health 2010 20104 Education 2011 2010

5 Labour market2011 or labour orce;2010 or earnings

2010

6 Structural business statistics 2010 20107 Tourism 2011 20108 Inormation society 2011 2010

9 Agriculture2010 or regional accounts;2010 or arm structure data;

2011 or livestock, arable arming and vineyards

2010

10 Transport 2011 (2010 or motorisation rate) 2010

11 Science and technology2010 or R & D and researchers;2011 or human resources;2009 or patents

2010

12 Focus on European cities2011 or Urban Audit (2008 or transport data);2012 or perception surveys

2010

13 Focus on cities and metro regions Not relevant 201014 Focus on income and living conditions 2011 2010

15 Focus on rural development

2011 or 1 January 2012 or population;2010 or labour market;2010 or regional accounts;2010 or agriculture;2011 or tourism

2010
http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/statistics_explained/index.php/Regional_yearbook_introduction#cite_note-1http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/statistics_explained/index.php/Regional_yearbook_introduction#cite_note-1http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/statistics_explained/index.php/Regional_yearbook_introduction#cite_note-1http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/statistics_explained/index.php/Regional_yearbook_introduction#cite_note-1http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/statistics_explained/index.php/Regional_yearbook_introduction#cite_note-1


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Introduction

Eurostat may have more recent data than the inormationthat is shown in this publication. Data can be ound directlyon Eurostats website: the online data codes below all maps,tables and gures in the publication help to locate each data

source (see below or more inormation pertaining to Euro-stat online data codes). Te regional datasets on Eurostatswebsite generally include national data alongside the re-gional analysis o inormation. As such, both regional andnational data may be accessed through the online data codecited below each map, table or gure. In some exceptionalcases, use has been made o national datasets on Eurostatswebsite in order to ll gaps in the regional data sets.

More inormation about statisticson regions and cities

Regional statistics are ound on Eurostats website under theheading Regions and cities which is a subset o the domainor General and regional statistics. Databases with more di-mensions and longer time series than those presented in thispublication are available.

It is also possible to download a set o MS Excel les thatcontain the specic data used to produce the maps and otherillustrations or each chapter in this publication. Tese arealso available on Eurostats website on the Eurostat regionalyearbook product page.

More inormation about rural development

statistics

Inormation about Eurostats rural development statisticsis provided in a chapter that ocuses on rural development.More inormation is available in Eurostats dedicated Ruraldevelopment section which describes the methodology usedto dene urban and rural regions and provides links to ruraldevelopment policy. Databases with statistics related to de-mography, the economy and the labour market are availableor urban and rural regions.

More inormation about statistics on cities

Eurostats statistics on cities, based on the Urban Audit datacollection, provide a dierent ocus to complement regionalstatistics. Te main goal o the Urban Audit data collectionis to provide inormation to assess the quality o lie in Euro-pean towns and cities. Eurostat collects and publishes data onseveral hundred indicators relating to the quality o urban lieand living standards, including data on: demography, housing,health, crime, the labour market, economic activity, incomedisparities, local administration, civic involvement, educa-tional qualications, cultural inrastructure and tourism.

More inormation about Eurostats statistics on cities is pro-vided in a chapter that ocuses on European cities. For moreinormation about the Urban Audit data collection in gen-eral, please reer to the dedicated Regions and cities section.

Inormation about statistics on metropolitanregions

Inormation about Eurostats statistics on metropolitan re-gions is available in the dedicated Regions and cities sec-tion. Databases with statistics related to demography, theeconomy, the labour market and patents are available ormetropolitan regions.

Eurobase Eurostats online database

Under each table, gure or map in all Eurostat publicationsyou will nd hyperlinks with Eurostat online data codes, al-lowing easy access to the most recent data in Eurobase, Eu-rostats online database. A data code leads to either a two- orthree-dimensional table in the GM (table, graph, map) in-terace or to an open dataset which generally contains moredimensions and longer time series using the Data Explorerinterace (3). In the Eurostat regional yearbook, these onlinedata codes are given as part o the source below each table,gure and map.

In the PDF version o this publication, the reader is leddirectly to the reshest data when clicking on the hyperlinks

or Eurostat online data codes. Readers o the printed versioncan access the reshest data by typing a standardised hyper-link into a web browser, or example:

http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/product?code=&mode=view, where is to be replaced by theonline data code in question.

Statistics explained

All the chapters in the Eurostat regional yearbook are alsoincluded as articles in Statistics explained, Eurostats user-

riendly guide to European statistics, which is available onEurostats website. Statistics explained is a wiki-based sys-tem, with an approach somewhat similar to Wikipedia,which presents statistical topics in an easy-to-understandway. ogether, the articles make up an encyclopaedia o Eu-ropean statistics, which is completed by a statistical glossaryclariying the terms used. In addition, numerous links areprovided to the latest data and metadata, as well as urtherinormation, making Statistics explained a portal or regularand occasional users alike.

(3) There are two types o online data codes: (1) tables (accessed using the TGM interace) have eight-character codes, which consist o three or ve letters the rst o which is t ollowedby ve or three digits, or example tps00001 and tsdph220; (2) databases (accessed using the Data Exp lorer interace) have codes that use an underscore _ within the syntax o the code,or example nama_gdp_c.
http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/product?code=http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/product?code=


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In March 2013, Statistics explained contained more than530 statistical articles and more than 1 500 glossary items,and its content is regularly expanded, while ongoing eortsare being made to increase its user-riendliness (or example,

extending the portal to cover additional languages). Statis-tics explained is used as a tool to publish new content or theEurostat regional yearbook as each chapter is nalised. Tismeans that the latest text on each topic will be available inStatistics explained earlier than in the printed version and, inthis way, the most recent results are made available to userswithout the inevitable delays that are part and parcel o theprocess o producing printed publications. Since the 2011 edi-tion, the German and French versions o the Eurostat regionalyearbookare only available on Statistics explained, rather thanas printed publications. Furthermore, since the 2012 edition,a small number o articles (on the economy, population and

education) are available on Statistics explained in a urther 18European languages. Statistics explained can be accessed via alink on the right-hand side o Eurostats website or directly at:http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/statistics_explained.

EU policies

Europe 2020 strateg

Te Europe 2020 strategy, designed as the successor to theLisbon strategy, was adopted by the European Council on17 June 2010. It is the EUs common agenda or the next dec-ade and places an emphasis on the need or a new growthpact that can lead to a smart, sustainable and inclusive econ-omy, a path that can overcome the structural weaknesses inEuropes economy, improve its competitiveness and produc-tivity, and underpin a sustainable social market economy.

Te key areas o the strategy are limited to ve headline tar-gets or the EU as a whole, which are translated into nationaltargets or each EU Member State, reecting the specic situ-ation o each economy. Te aim is to reach a set o objec-tives on employment, innovation, education, social inclusionand climate/energy by the year 2020. Eurostat provides sta-tistical support or measuring the progress being made to-wards these strategic objectives. Te European Commissionadopted seven agship initiatives in addition to the head-line targets, in order to drive progress towards the Europe2020 goals. Te Europe 2020 targets and initiatives are men-tioned explicitly in many o the chapters within the Eurostatregional yearbook. More inormation about the strategy isavailable at: http://ec.europa.eu/europe2020/index_en.htm.

Data or the Europe 2020 headline indicators are available onEurostats website at: http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page/portal/europe_2020_indicators/headline_indicators.

Achieving the Europe 2020 goals will require active involve-ment across all regions o the EU: the Committee o the

Regions has set up a monitoring platorm to help mobiliseand involve regional and local authorities. Tis aims to acili-tate the exchange o inormation and good practices betweenlocal and regional policymakers, and to help the EU and its

Member States address challenges and obstacles, mainly bymeans o monitoring exercises at the territorial levels.

Regional policies

EU regional policy is designed to urther economic, socialand territorial cohesion, by reducing the gap in developmentbetween regions and among Member States o the EU. Re-gional policy helps nance specic projects or regions andcities, supporting job creation, competitiveness, economicgrowth, improved quality o lie and sustainable devel-opment; as such, it is in line with the priorities set by the

Europe 2020 strategy (see above). During the current pro-gramming period which covers 2007 to 2013, economic andsocial cohesion policy across the regions will benet romEUR 347 410 million. Te three main objectives are:

convergence, under which the poorest Member States andregions (gross domestic product (GDP) per inhabitant lessthan 75 % o the EU average) are eligible, accounting oraround 82 % o the unds or 2007 to 2013;

regional competitiveness and employment, accounting oraround 16 % o the unds; all regions which are not coveredby the convergence objective or transitional assistance areeligible or unding;

European territorial cooperation, accounting or around2.5 % o the unds available.

Regional statistics are employed or a range o policy-relatedpurposes, including the allocation o Structural Funds. NUSis used as an objective base to demarcate regional boundariesand determine geographic eligibility or unds, including:

the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), whichoperates in all EU Member States and co-nances physicalinvestments and, to a limited extent, training; the und canintervene in the three objectives o regional policy;

the European Social Fund (ESF), which aims to make theEUs workorce and companies better equipped to ace

global challenges through the promotion o better skillsand job prospects; the Cohesion Fund, which co-nances mainly transport

and environmental projects.

Te ERDF supports regions covered by all three objectives.In relation to convergence, it ocuses intervention on mod-ernising and diversiying economic structures, as well assaeguarding or creating sustainable jobs. As regards regionalcompetitiveness and employment, its priorities relate to in-novation and the knowledge-based economy, environmentand risk prevention, and access to transport and telecom-munications services o general economic interest. Finally, in

terms o its contribution to European territorial cooperation,the ERDF aims to develop economic and social cross-border
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Introduction

activities, the establishment and development o transnationalcooperation, and to increase the eciency o regional policythrough interregional promotion and cooperation, as well asthe networking and exchange o experiences between regional

and local authorities.

Te ESF aims to improve employment and job opportunitiesthrough interventions that are made within the ramework oconvergence and regional competitiveness and employmentobjectives. Te ESF supports actions in six elds: improvinghuman capital; improving access to employment and sustain-ability; increasing the adaptability o workers and enterprises(lielong learning, designing and spreading innovative workingorganisations); reinorcing social inclusion by combating dis-crimination and acilitating access to labour markets amongdisadvantaged people; strengthening institutional capacity atnational, regional and local levels; and promoting partnerships

or reorm in the elds o employment and inclusion.

Te Cohesion Fund supports actions within the rameworko the convergence objective; it nances activities includingtrans-European transport network and environmental projects,as well as energy or transport projects, as long as these dem-onstrate environmental benets (such as energy eciency, theuse o renewable energy, developing rail transport systems, orimproving public transport); this und concerns Bulgaria, theCzech Republic, Estonia, Greece, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania,Hungary, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia and Slo-vakia; while Spain is eligible to a phase-out und.

Future cohesion polic alignment withthe Europe 2020 strateg

In January 2011 the European Commission published a commu-nication on Regional policy contributing to sustainable growthin Europe 2020 (COM(2011) 17). Tis encourages EU Mem-ber States to reinorce their regional development expenditureon education, research and innovation and to develop smartspecialisation strategies or guiding their uture investment.

Preparations or cohesion policy aer 2013 (the end o the cur-rent unding period) are taking place within the broader discus-

sions o the overall EU budget and the Europe 2020 strategy.In October 2011 the European Commission adopted proposalsrelating to cohesion policy or the period 201420 and it is an-ticipated that the related legislation will enter into orce in 2014.Te package includes several proposals:

a set o common rules; regulations or the ERDF, the ESF and the Cohesion Fund; regulations or the European territorial cooperation goal

and or the European grouping o territorial cooperation(EGC);

regulations on the European Globalisation Fund (EGF)and the programme or social change and innovation;

a communication on the European Union Solidarity Fund(EUSF).

Tese initiatives are designed to boost growth and jobs acrossEurope. Te proposals ocus on ewer priorities in line withthese objectives and these will be at the heart o the partner-ship agreements between EU Member States and the European

Commission. It is oreseen that the unds will be rendered morecoherent and their impact strengthened by simpliying and har-monising the rules o dierent unds.

Te proposals also cover social investment, to help people acechallenges in the labour market, through the Globalisation Ad-justment Fund, a new programme or social change and inno-vation and a reinorced European Social Fund.

In December 2011 the European Commission published Teurban and regional dimension o Europe 2020 seventh pro-gress report on economic, social and territorial cohesion, whichlooks at the growth potential and hurdles aced by regions and

cities; this identies the gap or each region between the cur-rent situation and national 2020 targets and is intended to assistthe design, monitoring and evaluation o regional developmentstrategies it is not intended that all regions should reach thenational 2020 targets. Te report proposes that programmesshould select investment priorities bearing in mind the cur-rent situation and so concentrate on actions where investmentwill make the biggest contribution to smart, sustainable andinclusive growth.

More inormation is available rom the website o theDirectorate-General or Regional and Urban Policy at: http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/what/uture/index_en.cm.

Rural deelopment polic

Many rural areas ace signicant challenges, or example toimprove competitiveness in agriculture and orestry. Moregenerally, average income per head is lower in rural regionsthan in urban areas, while the skills base is narrower andthe service sector is less developed. However, rural ar-eas provide raw materials, opportunities or rest and rec-reation, and have a role to play in actions against climatechange. Te declared aim o the EUs rural developmentpolicy is to meet the challenges aced by rural areas and

unlock their potential.Rural development policy is part o the EUs commonagricultural policy (CAP). Te European Agricultural Fundor Rural Development (EAFRD) underlies rural developmentpolicy or the period 200713. It is ocused on three themes:

improving the competitiveness o agriculture and orestry; improving the environment and the countryside; improving the quality o lie in rural areas and the manage-

ment o economy activity in rural areas.

While unding o the rural development policy is centred onthe EAFRD, it is complemented by the ERDF and the ESF.

Te ollowing are the main areas in which the ERDF is activethat are related to rural development:
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creation o jobs outside o agriculture; development o access and connections between cities and

rural areas, especially in the context o the inormationsociety;

support or small and medium-sized enterprises in agri-culture (support or innovation and the development onew products), agro-ood activities and orestry;

risk control in agriculture and orestry; the development o basic village inrastructures, par-

ticularly in those Member States that joined the EU in2004 or 2007.

More inormation on rural development policy is availableat: http://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/rurdev/index_en.htm.

More inormation on the European Agricultural Fund orRural Development is available at: http://europa.eu/legisla-

tion_summaries/agriculture/general_ramework/l60032_en.htm.

Future rural deelopment polic alignment with the Europe 2020 strategand the reorm o the CAP

In October 2011, as part o a wider set o proposals or thereorm o the CAP, the European Commission presented aproposal or a regulation on support or rural development(COM(2011) 627 nal/3). In line with the Europe 2020 strat-egy, six EU-wide priorities were outlined:

ostering knowledge transer and innovation in agricul-ture, orestry and rural areas;

enhancing competitiveness o all types o agriculture andenhancing arm viability;

promoting ood chain organisation and risk managementin agriculture;

restoring, preserving and enhancing ecosystems depend-ent on agriculture and orestry;

promoting resource eciency and supporting the shi to-wards a low-carbon and climate-resilient economy in agri-culture, ood and orestry;

promoting social inclusion, poverty reduction and eco-nomic development in rural areas.

It is anticipated that this reormed support ramework will bein place by January 2014.

Urban policies

One particular ocus o economic and social cohesion pol-icy has been urban development. Europes cities are centreso economic activity, attracting innovation and employ-ment. Upwards o 70 % o the EUs population live in urbanareas. In addition, a considerable proportion ace problems

such as crime, poverty, unemployment, housing, trac orenvironmental pressures.

Te URBAN I and URBAN II EU initiatives ran rom 1994 to2006. As o 2007, the EU has reinorced the urban dimen-sion o regional policy and ully integrated this into cohesionpolicy, with particular attention given to promoting social

cohesion and environmental sustainability. Te EU contrib-utes to the sustainable development o urban areas through arange o policies and initiatives which cover many areas. TeEU strategic guidelines on cohesion speciy that programmeswith a ocus on urban areas can take dierent orms.

Tere are actions to promote cities as motors o regionaldevelopment: these aim to improve competitiveness, pro-mote entrepreneurship, innovation and the developmento services and boost the attractiveness o cities.

Other actions aim to promote internal cohesion withinurban areas: by improving the situation o deprived neigh-

bourhoods, notably through rehabilitating the physical en-vironment, redeveloping browneld sites, and preservingand developing their historical and cultural heritage.

Other actions aim to promote a more balanced, polycen-tric development o the EU by developing urban networksat a national and EU level: to achieve this objective, theseactions aim to put in place networks linking cities in bothphysical (inrastructure, inormation technologies, etc.)and human (promotion o cooperation, etc.) terms, whilepaying specic attention to urbanrural interaces.

Urban deelopment uture cohesionpolic

Among other issues, the European Commissions propos-als or cohesion policy in the period 201420 put an in-creased emphasis on investing in urban environments andin urban transport. For example, they proposed that: atleast 5 % o resources rom the ERDF should be ocused onsustainable urban development; innovative actions or sus-tainable urban development should be supported; and anurban development platorm should be established to de-velop networks between cities and to introduce exchangeson urban policy.

One element o this policy is the European Commissionsintention to seek direct, long-term interaction with mayors,aiming to identiy uture urban challenges and how they canbe tackled successully. Te Urban Forum has been designedas an opportunity to discuss new proposals or policy devel-opments with mayors, with a particular ocus on the role ocities in promoting sustainable growth. Te rst orum washeld on 16 February 2012 and ocused on:

the challenge o coordinating thematic investments in cit-ies and promoting integrated urban development;

innovative actions or sustainable urban development;

integrated territorial investment: how may it work or os-tering the urban dimension o the cohesion policy?
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Economy1

Gross domestic product (GDP) is a key measure o economicdevelopment and growth. Tis chapter presents a regionalanalysis o European Union (EU) GDP, based upon thelevel o GDP per inhabitant (oen used as an indicator o

living standards), as well as how this measure has changedin recent years. Economic accounts provide important inor-mation that may be used to make a regional analysis o theeconomy. Tese statistics (which are only available in currentprice terms) are also used or the allocation o expenditureunder the EUs cohesion policy (see Regional policies in theIntroduction). Every region in the EU is covered by cohesionpolicy: however, most Structural Funds are directed to NUSlevel 2 regions whose GDP per inhabitant is less than 75 % othe EU-27 average (on the basis o a 3-year average).

Main statistical ndingsGDP is initially calculated in national currencies, and thenconverted by purchasing power parities (PPPs) which takeaccount o dierent price levels between EU Member States,allowing or a more accurate comparison. By using PPPs(rather than market exchange rates), these indicators are con-verted into an articial common currency called a purchas-ing power standard (PPS). Te use o a PPS makes it possibleto compare purchasing power across the regions o EU Mem-ber States that use dierent currencies and where price levelsare dierent. For more inormation about the use o PPPs,please reer to the data sources and availability section below.

Regional GDP per inhabitant

Map 1.1 shows GDP per inhabitant in each NUS level 2 re-gion as a percentage o the EU-27 average, which in absoluteterms was 24 500 PPS in 2010, up rom 23 500 PPS in 2009 butstill slightly below the 2008 pre-nancial and economic crisislevel o 25 000 PPS. Among the NUS level 2 regions in theEU, GDP per inhabitant ranged rom 6 500 PPS (27 % o theEU-27 average) in Severozapaden in Bulgaria to 80 300 PPS(328 % o the EU-27 average) in the capital city region o In-ner London in the United Kingdom; between the two endso the distribution there was a actor o 12.4 to 1. Luxem-bourg (266 % o the EU-27 average), the Belgian capital cityregion o Rgion de Bruxelles-Capitale/Brussels Hoodst-edelijk Gewest (223 %) and the German region o Hamburg(202 %) occupied positions two to our in terms o a rankingo regions with the highest GDP per inhabitant. Tese wereollowed by the French capital city region, the Dutch city oGroningen and the capital city regions o Slovakia, the CzechRepublic, Sweden and Austria all with GDP per inhabitantlying in a range equivalent to 164 % to 180 % o the EU-27average. In general, many o the regions with a high GDP

per inhabitant (equivalent to 125 % o the EU-27 average orhigher) were capital city regions or neighbouring regions this was the case in Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark,Ireland, Spain, France, Luxembourg (which is just one re-

gion), the Netherlands, Austria, Slovakia, Finland, Swedenand the United Kingdom. In addition, there were several re-gions with an average GDP per inhabitant at least 25 % abovethe EU-27 average in southern Germany, around major citiesin western Germany, northern Spain and Italy, western Aus-tria, several regions o the Netherlands, the Belgian regionaround Antwerpen, the island region o land (Finland),the ar north o Sweden and North Eastern Scotland (in theUnited Kingdom). As such, the Slovakian and Czech capi-tal city regions o Praha and Bratislavsk kraj were the onlyregions in the Member States that joined the EU in 2004 or2007 among the 41 regions where the average GDP per in-

habitant was 25 % or more above the EU-27 average. Tenext most prosperous region (by this measure) in the Mem-ber States that joined the EU in 2004 or 2007 was a long waybehind, namely Bucuresti - Ilov in Romania at 111 % o theEU-27 average. Te Hungarian, Polish and Slovenian capitalcity regions were the only other regions in the Member Statesthat joined the EU in 2004 or 2007 that reported GDP perinhabitant (in PPS) equal to or above the EU-27 average.

Overall, there were 68 level 2 regions with an average GDPper inhabitant that was more than 25 % below the EU-27average. A total o 25 regions were concentrated in six o theEU-15 Member States: Greece (seven regions), Italy (vesouthern regions), France and Portugal (three regions each),the United Kingdom (two regions) and Spain (the regiono Extremadura). Te remaining 43 regions were in Mem-ber States that joined the EU in 2004 or 2007: all o these12 Member States had at least one region below this levelexcept or Cyprus and Malta. Among these regions therewere 22 regions where the average GDP per inhabitant wasless than 50 % o the EU-27 average, and these regions wereound in Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia.Around 38.4 million people lived in the 22 regions whoseGDP per inhabitant in PPS was less than 50 % o the EU-27 average, equivalent to 7.7 % o the EU-27 population.

In the EFA countries (no regional data or Switzerland andno data or Liechtenstein), GDP per inhabitant was above theEU-27 average, ranging rom 102 % o the EU-27 average inHedmark og Oppland to 192 % in Oslo og Akershus (bothNorway). Tere were two other Norwegian regions withGDP per inhabitant more than 25 % above the EU-27 aver-age (Agder og Rogaland and Vestlandet), while Swiss GDPper inhabitant was equivalent to 154 % o the EU-27 average.Generally low averages or GDP per inhabitant were record-ed in the ormer Yugoslav Republic o Macedonia (36 % othe EU-27 average), urkey (50 %) and Croatia (59 %).


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1EconomyEconomy

A more detailed regional analsis

Map 1.2 presents the same indicator as Map 1.1 but at themore detailed level 3 o the NUS classication. Under-

standably, the overall analysis is similar to that or the NUSlevel 2 regions, although there are a number o NUS level3 regions that are atypical or the higher level (NUS level 2)regions to which they belong. Tis phenomenon may oenresult rom commuting inows into central NUS level 3 re-gions rom surrounding areas, resulting in a concentration oeconomic activity in the most built-up areas.

For example, in the Bulgarian capital NUS level 2 region oYugozapaden the average GDP per inhabitant (in PPS terms)was 75 % o the EU-27 average, but at the more detailedNUS level 3, the region Soa (stolitsa) recorded a value o105 % or this indicator while the remaining our NUS level

3 regions had values below 40 %. A similar situation occurredin the Polish capital city NUS level 2 region o Mazowieckiewhere the NUS level 3 regions o Ostrolcko-siedlecki andRadomski recorded average GDP per inhabitant (in PPS)that was less than hal that recorded or Mazowieckie, the lat-ter being pulled up by a relatively high level or the NUSlevel 3 region o Miasto Warszawa.

Within the German region o Oberbayern (NUS level 2)there was a very large range in the values recorded or this in-dicator between the NUS level 3 regions: Frsteneldbruckrecorded average GDP per inhabitant (in PPS) that was 76 % othe EU-27 average whereas Mnchen Landkreis recorded a ra-

tio o 317 %. In a similar manner in Rheinhessen-Palz (NUSlevel 2) the NUS level 3 region Sdwestpalz recorded av-erage GDP per inhabitant (in PPS) that was 52 % o the EU-27 average whereas Ludwigshaen am Rhein (Kreisreie Stadt)recorded a value o 251 %. Te German NUS level 3 regionso Regensburg, Coburg, Schweinurt, Wolsburg, Koblenz andLudwigshaen am Rhein (all Kreisreie Stdte) each recordedaverage GDP per inhabitant that was more than double theaverage or the NUS level 2 regions o which they were part,namely Oberpalz, Oberranken, Unterranken, Braunsch-weig, Koblenz and Rheinhessen-Palz respectively. In a similarvein, the NUS level 3 region o Oost-Groningen in the Neth-erlands recorded average GDP per inhabitant (in PPS) that was68 % o the EU-27 average, which was less than hal the level(180 %) recorded in Groningen (NUS level 2) as a whole.

Across the NUS level 3 regions o the EU in 2010, GDPper inhabitant ranged rom 5 000 PPS (20 % o the EU-27average) in Vaslui in Romania to 143 800 PPS (587 %) inthe capital city region o Inner London - West in the UnitedKingdom; between the two ends o the distribution there wasa actor o 28.8 to 1. Along with Inner London - West veother NUS level 3 regions, recorded GDP per inhabitantthat was at least three times as high as the EU-27 average,our in Germany and one in France: Wolsburg, KreisreieStadt; Mnchen, Landkreis; Frankurt am Main, Kreisreie

Stadt; and Schweinurt, Kreisreie Stadt in Germany; andHauts-de-Seine in France. In a urther 23 NUS level 3 re-gions GDP per inhabitant was at least double the EU-27 aver-age and these regions were mainly in Germany (18 regions),

with two in the Netherlands and one each in Belgium, Franceand Luxembourg. At the other extreme, with GDP per in-habitant below 30 % o the EU-27 average, were 27 regions,including 17 in Bulgaria, eight in Romania and one each inLatvia and Hungary.

Among the level 3 regions in Norway, the capital city regiono Oslo recorded a GDP per inhabitant equivalent to 248 %o the EU-27 average, while none o the other Norwegian re-gions saw their average GDP per inhabitant a

Documents

YearBook 2013 Eurostat