Eurostat regional yearbook 2009 (I)

From A for Abruzzo to Z for Zuid-Holland

Which EU region has the highest population density and which has the lowest? In which EU region do households use the internet the most? Which region has the highest proportion of the population who have completed tertiary education? The answers to these questions and many more are found in the 2009 regional yearbook1 from Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Communities. The publication gives an overview of the most recent economic, social and demographic developments in the 271 regions2 of the 27 Member States of the European Union as well as, when available, regions in the three candidate countries (Croatia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Turkey) and the four EFTA countries (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland). The Eurostat regional yearbook 2009 includes for the first time a chapter on the information society, and also contains chapters on population, cities, labour market, gross domestic product, household accounts, structural business statistics, science, technology & innovation, education, tourism and agriculture. To illustrate the diversity of data found in the Eurostat regional yearbook, this News Release presents three indicators from different statistical fields.
Highest population density in Inner London and Bruxelles, lowest in Guyane and Övre Norrland. On 1 January 2007, the EU27 had a total population of nearly half a billion and a population density of around 112 inhabitants per square kilometre. The regions with the highest population density were Inner London (9 354 inhabitants per km2) in the United Kingdom, Bruxelles/Brussel (6 405) in Belgium, Melilla (5 197 in 2006) in Spain, Wien (4 031) in Austria and Berlin (3 820) in Germany. The regions with the lowest population density were Guyane, a French Overseas Department, and Övre Norrland in Sweden (both 3 inhabitants per km2), Pohjois-Suomi (4) in Finland, Mellersta Norrland (5) in Sweden and Itä-Suomi (8) in Finland. There was a high population density of 500 inhabitants per square kilometre or more in 32 EU27 regions, including many capital city regions. Eight of these regions were found in the United Kingdom, six in Germany, four in the Netherlands, three each in Belgium and Spain and one each in the Czech Republic, Denmark, Greece, France, Austria, Portugal and Romania as well as Malta. The population density was below 50 inhabitants per square kilometre in 28 EU27 regions: five each in Greece and Sweden, four each in Spain and Finland, three in France, one each in Bulgaria, Ireland, Italy, Portugal and the United Kingdom as well as Estonia and Latvia. (fonte: Eurostat)