Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics

{{Short description|European Union standard for country subdivisions}} {{Use dmy dates|date=November 2022}} {{EngvarB|date=May 2013}} [[File:NUTS visual diagram.jpg|thumb|A diagram of the three main divisions of the NUTS system developed by Eurostat]]

'''Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics''' ({{langx|fr|Nomenclature des unités territoriales statistiques}}; '''NUTS''') is a geocode standard for referencing the administrative divisions of countries for statistical purposes.<ref name="ramon01">{{cite web|url=https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/nuts|title=NUTS – Nomenclature of territorial units for statistics |publisher=European Commission|access-date=2016-12-18}}</ref><ref name="ramon02">{{cite web|url=https://www.europarl.europa.eu/factsheets/en/sheet/99/common-classification-of-territorial-units-for-statistics-nuts-|title=Common classification of territorial units for statistics (NUTS)|publisher=European Commission|access-date=2024-07-16}}</ref><ref name="ecwiki01">{{Cite web|url=https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Main_Page|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100219053638/http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/statistics_explained/index.php/NUTS|url-status=dead|title=Statistics Explained|archive-date=19 February 2010|publisher=European Commission}}</ref><ref>{{CELEX|32008R0176|text=Regulation (EC) No 176/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 February 2008 amending Regulation (EC) No 1059/2003 on the establishment of a common classification of territorial units for statistics (NUTS) by reason of the accession of Bulgaria and Romania to the European Union}}</ref><ref>{{CELEX|32005R1888|text=Regulation (EC) No 1888/2005 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 October 2005 amending Regulation (EC) No 1059/2003 on the establishment of a common classification of territorial units for statistics (NUTS) by reason of the accession of the Czech Republic, Estonia, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Slovenia and Slovakia to the European Union}}</ref><ref>{{CELEX|32007R0105|text=Commission Regulation (EC) No 105/2007 of 1 February 2007 amending the annexes to Regulation (EC) No 1059/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the establishment of a common classification of territorial units for statistics (NUTS)}}</ref><ref>{{CELEX|32003R1059|text=Regulation (EC) No 1059/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 May 2003 on the establishment of a common classification of territorial units for statistics (NUTS)}}</ref> The standard, adopted in 2003,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/nuts/history|title=History of NUTS – Eurostat|publisher=European Commission}}</ref> is developed and regulated by the European Union (EU), and thus covers only the EU member states in detail. The Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics is instrumental in the European Union's Structural Funds and Cohesion Fund delivery mechanisms and for locating the area where goods and services subject to European public procurement legislation are to be delivered.

For each EU member country, a hierarchy of three NUTS levels is established by Eurostat in agreement with each member state; the subdivisions in some levels do not necessarily correspond to administrative divisions within the country. A NUTS code begins with a two-letter code referencing the country, as abbreviated in the European Union's Interinstitutional Style Guide.<ref>{{cite web|title=Annex A6 Country and territory codes|url=https://publications.europa.eu/code/en/en-5000600.htm|website=publications.europa.eu|date=2020-02-01|access-date=2020-03-20}}</ref> The subdivision of the country is then referred to with one number. A second or third subdivision level is referred to with another number each. Each numbering starts with 1, as 0 is used for the upper level. Where the subdivision has more than nine entities, capital letters are used to continue the numbering. Below the three NUTS levels are local administrative units (LAUs). A similar statistical system is defined for the candidate countries and members of the European Free Trade Association, but they are not part of NUTS governed by the regulations.

The current NUTS classification, dated 21 November 2016 and effective from 1 January 2018 (now updated to current members {{as of|2020|lc=on}}), lists 92 regions at NUTS 1, 244 regions at NUTS 2, 1215 regions at NUTS 3 level, and 99,387 local administrative units (LAUs).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/nuts/background|title=Background – Eurostat|publisher=European Commission}}</ref><ref>{{CELEX|32016R2066|text=Commission Regulation (EU) 2016/2066 of 21 November 2016 amending the annexes to Regulation (EC) No 1059/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the establishment of a common classification of territorial units for statistics (NUTS)}}</ref>

==National structures== Not all countries have every level of division, depending on their size. For example, Luxembourg and Cyprus only have local administrative units (LAUs); the three NUTS divisions each correspond to the entire country itself.

===Member states=== {| class="wikitable" |- style="background:#ddd;" ! colspan=2 | Countries ! colspan=2 | NUTS 1 ! colspan=2 | NUTS 2 ! colspan=2 | NUTS 3 ! colspan=2 | Local administrative units (LAU) |- style="background:#abcdef" ! Member State ! align=right | 27 ! ! align=right | 92 ! ! align=right | 240 ! ! align=right | 1,164 ! ! align=right | 92,054 |- | Austria | AT | Groups of states | align=right | 3 | States | align=right | 9 | Groups of districts | align=right | 35 | Municipalities ({{lang|de|Gemeinden}}) | align=right | 2,093 |- | Belgium | BE | Regions | align=right | 3 | Provinces (+ Brussels) | align=right | 11 | Arrondissements (Verviers split into two) | align=right | 44 | Municipalities ({{lang|de|gemeenten}} / {{lang|fr|communes}}) | align=right | 581 |- | Bulgaria | BG | — | align=right | 1 | Planning regions | align=right | 4 | Oblasts | align=right | 28 | Municipalities ({{lang|bg|общини}}, {{lang|bg-Latn|obshtini}}) | align=right | 265 |- | Croatia | HR | — | align=right | 1 | Regions | align=right | 4 | Counties ({{lang|hr|županije}}) + Zagreb | align=right | 21 | Municipalities ({{lang|hr|općine}}) | align=right | 556 |- | Cyprus | CY | — | align=right | 1 | — | align=right | 1 | — | align=right | 1 | Municipalities, communities ({{lang|el|δήμοι, κοινότητες}}, {{lang|el-Latn|dimoi, koinotites}}) | align=right | 538 |- | Czech Republic | CZ | — | align=right | 1 | Statistical areas | align=right | 8 | Administrative regions ({{lang|cs|kraje}}) | align=right | 14 | Municipalities ({{lang|cs|obce}}) | align=right | 6,258 |- | Denmark | DK | — | align=right | 1 | Regions ({{lang|da|Regioner}}) | align=right | 5 | Provinces ({{lang|da|Landsdele}}) | align=right | 11 | Municipalities ({{lang|da|kommuner}}) and 1 unincorporated area | align=right | 99 |- | Estonia | EE | — | align=right | 1 | — | align=right | 1 | Groups of counties | align=right | 5 | Municipalities ({{lang|et|Vald, linn}}) | align=right | 79 |- | Finland | FI | Mainland Finland, Åland | align=right | 2 | Large areas ({{lang|fi|Suuralueet}} / {{lang|sv|Storområden}}) | align=right | 5 | Regions ({{lang|fi|Maakunnat}} / {{lang|sv|Landskap}}) | align=right | 19 | Municipalities ({{lang|fi|kunnat}} / {{lang|sv|kommuner}}) | align=right | 309 |- | France | FR | Regions + DOM | align=right | 14 | Former regions (1982–2015) + DOM | align=right | 27 | Departments + DOM | align=right | 101 | Communes | align=right | 34,936 |- | Germany | DE | States ({{lang|de|Bundesland}}) | align=right | 16 | Inconsistent, some whole States ({{lang|de|Bundesland}}), some Government regions ({{lang|de|Regierungsbezirk}}) (or equivalent, or dissolved) | align=right | 38 | Districts ({{lang|de|Kreis}}) | align=right | 401 | Municipalities ({{lang|de|Gemeinden}}) | align=right | 10,957 |- | Greece | EL{{Efn|The European Union uses EL as the country code for Greece instead of the ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 code GR.}} | Groups of development regions | align=right | 4 | Regions | align=right | 13 | Prefectures | align=right | 52 | Municipal districts/Community districts<br />({{lang|el|δημοτικό διαμέρισμα, κοινότικο διαμέρισμα}}, {{lang|el-Latn|demotiko diamerisma, koinotiko diamerisma}}) | align="right" | 6,142 |- | Hungary | HU | Statistical large regions ({{lang|hu|statisztikai nagyrégiók}}) | align=right | 3 | Planning and statistical regions ({{lang|hu|tervezési-statisztikai régió}}) | align=right | 8 | Counties ({{lang|hu|vármegye}}) + Budapest | align=right | 20 | Settlements ({{lang|hu|települések}}) | align=right | 3,155 |- | Ireland | IE | — | align=right | 1 | Regions | align=right | 3 | Regional Authority Regions | align=right | 8 | Local electoral areas | align="right" | 166 |- | Italy | IT | Groups of regions | align=right | 5 | Regions (Trentino-Alto Adige split into two) | align=right | 21 | Provinces Metropolitan Cities | align=right | 110 | Municipalities ({{lang|it|comuni}}) | align=right | 7,896 |- | Latvia | LV | — | align=right | 1 | — | align=right | 1 | Statistical regions | align=right | 5 | Municipalities, state cities ({{lang|lv|valstspilsētas, novadi}}) | align=right | 43 |- | Lithuania | LT | — | align=right | 1 | Regions | align=right | 2 | Counties | align=right | 10 | Municipalities ({{lang|lt|savivaldybės}}) | align=right | 60 |- | Luxembourg | LU | — | align=right | 1 | — | align=right | 1 | — | align=right | 1 | Communes ({{langx|fr|communes}}, {{langx|de|Gemeinden}}, {{langx|lb|Gemengen}}) | align=right | 100 |- | Malta | MT | — | align=right | 1 | — | align=right | 1 | Islands | align=right | 2 | Local councils ({{lang|mt|kunsilli}}) | align=right | 68 |- | Netherlands | NL | Groups of provinces | align=right | 4 | Provinces | align=right | 12 | COROP regions | align=right | 40 | Municipalities ({{lang|nl|gemeenten}}) | align=right | 342 |- | Poland | PL | Macroregions ({{lang|pl|Makroregiony}}) | align=right | 7 | Voivodeships + Warsaw metro | align=right | 17 | Subregions ({{lang|pl|Podregiony}}) | align=right | 74 | Municipalities ({{lang|pl|gminy}}) | align=right | 2,477 |- | Portugal | PT | Continent + Azores + Madeira | align=right | 3 | Statistical regions + autonomous regions | align=right | 9 | Groups of municipalities | align=right | 26 | Municipalities ({{lang|pt|concelhos}}) | align=right | 3,092 |- | Romania | RO | Macroregions | align=right | 4 | Regions | align=right | 8 | Counties + Bucharest | align=right | 42 | Communes + Municipalities + Cities ({{lang|ro|comune + municipii + orașe}}) | align=right | 3,181 |- | Slovakia | SK | — | align=right | 1 | Oblasts | align=right | 4 | Regions ({{lang|sk|Kraje}}) | align=right | 8 | Municipalities ({{lang|sk|obce}}) | align=right | 2,927 |- | Slovenia | SI | — | align=right | 1 | Macroregions | align=right | 2 | Statistical regions | align=right | 12 | Municipalities ({{lang|sv|občine}}) | align=right | 212 |- | Spain | ES | Groups of autonomous communities | align=right | 7 | 17 Autonomous communities and 2 autonomous cities | align=right | 19 | Provinces + Islands + Ceuta and Melilla | align=right | 59 | Municipalities ({{lang|es|municipios}}) | align=right | 8,132 |- | Sweden | SE | Regions ({{lang|sv|Grupper av riksområden}}) | align=right | 3 | National Areas ({{lang|sv|Riksområde}}) | align=right | 8 | Counties ({{lang|sv|Län}}) | align=right | 21 | Municipalities ({{lang|sv|kommuner}}) | align=right | 290 |}

===Candidate countries and potential candidates=== {| class="wikitable" |- style="background:#ddd;" ! colspan=2 | Country ! colspan=2 | NUTS 1 ! colspan=2 | NUTS 2 ! colspan=2 | NUTS 3 ! colspan=2 | LAU 1 ! colspan=2 | LAU 2 |- style="background:#abcdef" ! Countries ! align=right | 7 ! ! align=right | 26 ! ! align=right | 65 ! ! align=right | 275 ! ! align=right | 2,708 ! ! align=right | 77,899 |- | Albania | AL | — | align=right | 1 | Regions (non-administrative) | align=right | 3 | Counties | align=right | 12 | Bashki | align=right | 61 | Municipalities ({{lang|sq|komunë}}) / Communes ({{lang|sq|bashki / komunë}}) | align=right | 373 |- |Bosnia and Herzegovina |BA |— | align="right" |1 |Administrative statistical territorial unit | align="right" |3 |Statistical regions | align="right" |16* |– | align="right" |– |Municipalities | align="right" |143 |- |Georgia |GE |— | align="right" |1* |Regions (non-administrative) | align="right" |3* | | align="right" | |Regions | align="right" |12 |Municipalities | align="right" |76 |- |Kosovo |XK |— | align="right" |1 |— | align="right" |1 |Districts | align="right" |7 |– | align="right" |– |Municipalities | align="right" |38 |- | Moldova | MD | — | align="right" | 1* | Western part (the right side of Dniester) and Eastern part (left side of Dniester). | align="right" | 2* | Statistical regions | align="right" | 6* | Districts of Moldova (known locally as Level 2 Local Public Administrations/LPAs) | align="right" | 37 | Level 1 Local Public Administrations/LPAs | align="right" | 893 |- | Montenegro | ME | — | align=right | 1 | — | align=right | 1 | Statistical regions | align=right | 3 | Municipalities ({{lang|sh|општине}}, {{lang|sh-Latn|opštine}}) | align=right | 24 | Settlements ({{lang|sh|насеља}}, {{lang|sh-Latn|naselja}}) | align=right | 1,256 |- | North Macedonia | MK | — | align=right | 1 | — | align=right | 1 | Statistical regions | align=right | 8 | Municipalities ({{lang|mk|општини}}, {{lang|mk-Latn|opštini}}) | align=right | 80 | Settlements ({{lang|mk|населени места}}, {{lang|mk-Latn|naseleni mesta}}) | align=right | 1,776 |- | Serbia | RS | Groups of regions | align=right | 2 | Regions | align=right | 4 | Districts | align=right | 25 | Municipalities ({{lang|sh|општине и градови}}, {{lang|sh-Latn|opštine i gradovi}}) | align=right | 168 | Settlements (насељена места, ''naseljena mesta'') | align=right | 6,155 |- |Ukraine |UA |Statistical macroregions | align=right | 9 |Regions | align=right | 27 |Raions | align=right | 138 |Hromadas | align=right | 1774 |Starosta okruhs ({{Lang|uk|старостинські округи}}, {{Transliteration|uk|starostynski okruhy}}) + Settlements ({{Lang|uk|населені пункти}}, {{Transliteration|uk|naseleni punkty}}) | align=right | 29,831 |- | Turkey | TR | Regions | align=right | 12 | Sub-regions | align=right | 26 | Provinces ({{lang|tr|iller}}) | align=right | 81 | Districts ({{lang|tr|ilçeler}}) | align=right | 973 | Municipalities ({{lang|tr|belediyeler}}) | align=right | 37,675 |} <nowiki>*</nowiki> Georgia and Moldova have not been updated yet to Eurostat at any NUTS level<ref>{{Cite web |title=Correspondence tables - NUTS - Nomenclature of territorial units for statistics - Eurostat |url=https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/nuts/correspondence-tables |access-date=2026-05-31 |website=ec.europa.eu}}</ref>; Bosnia and Herzegovina has been updated up to NUTS2 level, however the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina intends to use cantons as NUTS3 and the Republika Srpska its statistical regions.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Overview - NUTS - Nomenclature of territorial units for statistics - Eurostat |url=https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/nuts |access-date=2026-05-31 |website=ec.europa.eu}}</ref>

===EFTA countries=== {| class="wikitable" |- style="background:#ddd;" ! colspan=2 | Country ! colspan=2 | {{nowrap|NUTS 1}} ! colspan=2 | NUTS 2 ! colspan=2 | NUTS 3 ! colspan=2 | - ! colspan=2 | LAU |- style="background:#abcdef" ! {{nowrap|EFTA countries}} ! align=right | 4 ! ! align=right | 4 ! ! align=right | 16 ! ! align=right | 48 ! ! align=right | 122 ! ! align=right | 2,567 |- | Switzerland | CH | — | align=right | 1 | Regions | align=right | 7 | Cantons | align=right | 26 | | align=right | | Municipalities ({{langx|de|Gemeinden}}, {{lang|de|Einwohnergemeinden}} and {{lang|de|politische Gemeinden}}; {{langx|fr|communes}}; {{langx|it|comuni}}; {{langx|rm|vischnancas}}) | align=right | 2131 |- | Iceland | IS | — | align=right | 1 | — | align=right | 1 | Capital Region / Rest of country | align=right | 2 | Regions ({{lang|is|landshlutar}}) | align=right | 8 | Municipalities ({{lang|is|sveitarfélag}}) | align=right | 63 |- | Liechtenstein | LI | — | align=right | 1 | — | align=right | 1 | — | align=right | 1 | | align=right | | Municipalities ({{lang|de|Gemeinden}}) | align=right | 11 |- | Norway | NO | — | align=right | 1 | Regions | align=right | 5 | Counties ({{lang|no|Fylke}}) | align=right | 17 | Economic regions ({{lang|no|Økonomiske regioner}}) | align=right | 89 | Municipalities ({{lang|no|kommuner}}) | align=right | 357 |}

===Former EU member state===

{| class="wikitable" |- style="background:#ddd;" ! colspan=2 | Country ! colspan=2 | NUTS 1 ! colspan=2 | NUTS 2 ! colspan=2 | NUTS 3 ! colspan=2 | LAU |- | rowspan=4 | {{nowrap|United Kingdom}} | rowspan=4 | UK{{Efn|The European Union uses UK as the country code for the United Kingdom instead of the ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 code GB.}} | Regions of England | align=right | 9 | Sub-Regions: * groups of counties * individual counties * groups of London boroughs | align=right | 30 | Upper tier authorities and groups of unitary authorities and districts | align=right | 93 | Districts or unitary authorities | align=right | 326 |- | Wales | align=right | 1 | Groups of Principal Areas | align=right | 2 | Groups of Principal Areas | align=right | 12 | Principal Areas | align=right | 22 |- | Scotland | align=right | 1 | Groups of Council and/or Island Areas | align=right | 4 | Groups of Council Areas or Islands Areas | align=right | 23 | Council areas, subdivided by LEC where applicable | align=right | 41 |- | Northern Ireland | align=right | 1 | — | align=right | 1 | Groups of districts | align=right | 5 | Districts | align=right | 11 |}

==Maps==

{{Gallery |mode=nolines |width=300 |height=250 |File:NUTS 1 regions.svg |NUTS 1 in Europe |File:NUTS 2 regions.svg |NUTS 2 in Europe |File:NUTS 3 region (2017).svg |NUTS 3 in Europe }}

==Establishment== NUTS regions are generally based on existing national administrative subdivisions. In countries where only one or two regional subdivisions exist, or where the population of existing subdivisions is too small or too large, a second and/or third level is created. This may be on the first level (ex. France, Italy, Greece, and Spain), on the second (ex. Germany) and/or third level (ex. Belgium).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/ramon/nuts/basicnuts_regions_en.html |title=Europa – Eurostat – Regions – Basic principles of the NUTS |publisher=European Commission|access-date=2013-03-24|df=dmy-all}}</ref> In countries with small populations, where the entire country would be placed on the NUTS 2 or even NUTS 3 level (ex. Luxembourg, Cyprus), the regions at levels 1, 2 and 3 are identical to each other (and also to the entire country), but are coded with the appropriate length codes levels 1, 2 and 3.

The NUTS system favors existing administrative units, with one or more assigned to each NUTS level. Specific guidelines are based in population, leaving little or no role for other types of variables such as area, distance, topography, levels of jurisdiction or history, which can only be considered in (unspecified) types of special cases.<ref>[https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/regions-and-cities/overview Regions and cities. Overview] eurostat. Retrieved 31 December 2022</ref> From the NUTS Regulation, the average population size of the regions in the respective level shall lie within the following thresholds:<ref>https://www.cepal.org/sites/default/files/presentations/seminario_gsgf_principio-3_eurostat_nuts.pdf page=9</ref>

{| class="wikitable" |+ ! Level !! Minimum !! Maximum |- | NUTS 1 | 3 million | 7 million |- | NUTS 2 | 800,000 | 3 million |- | NUTS 3 | 150,000 | 800,000 |}

For non-administrative units, deviations from these population marks exist for particular geographical, socio-economic, historical, cultural or environmental circumstances, especially for islands and outermost regions.

==Examples== * IT: Italy ** ITC: Northwest Italy *** ITC1: Piedmont **** ITC11: Metropolitan City of Turin

==Notes== {{Reflist|group=note}} {{Reflist|group=lower-alpha|30em|refs=}}

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== {{commons category|Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics}} {{Wikidata property|P605}} * [http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/nuts/overview Eurostat portal – NUTS – Nomenclature of territorial units for statistics – Overview] ** [https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/nuts/history History of NUTS – Changes between versions] ** [https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/nuts/maps NUTS maps] ** [https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/nuts/non-eu-regions Statistical regions outside the EU] ** [http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/nuts/national-structures-eu Correspondence between the NUTS levels and the national structures (EU)] ** [http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/nuts/correspondence-tables/national-structures-non-eu Correspondence between the NUTS levels and the national structures (non-EU)] * [http://simap.ted.europa.eu/web/simap/nuts List of current NUTS codes at SIMAP (EU procurement portal)] * [https://github.com/jgaffuri/Nuts2json NUTS regions for web maps in JSON format] * {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20111201151906/http://nuts.geovocab.org/ NUTS classification as Linked Data]}} * [http://www.statoids.com/ Administrative Divisions of Countries ("Statoids")]

Category:Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics Category:Geocodes Category:Statistical data coding