Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics or NUTS (french: Nomenclature des unités territoriales statistiques) is a

geocode A geocode is a code that represents a geographic entity (location or object). It is a unique identifier of the entity, to distinguish it from others in a finite set of geographic entities. In general the ''geocode'' is a human-readable and ...

standard Standard may refer to: Symbols * Colours, standards and guidons, kinds of military signs * Standard (emblem), a type of a large symbol or emblem used for identification Norms, conventions or requirements * Standard (metrology), an object th ...

for referencing the

subdivisions Subdivision may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Subdivision (metre), in music * ''Subdivision'' (film), 2009 * "Subdivision", an episode of ''Prison Break'' (season 2) * ''Subdivisions'' (EP), by Sinch, 2005 * "Subdivisions" (song), by Rush ...

countries A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state (polity), state, nation, or other polity, political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, so ...

for statistical purposes. The standard, adopted in 2003, is developed and regulated by the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

, and thus only covers the member states of the EU in detail. The Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics is instrumental in the European Union's

Structural Funds and Cohesion Fund The European Structural and Investment Funds (ESI Funds, ESIFs) are financial tools governed by a common rulebook, set up to implement the regional policy of the European Union, as well as the structural policy pillars of the Common Agricultural ...

delivery mechanisms and for locating the area where goods and services subject to European

public procurement Government procurement or public procurement is the procurement of goods, services and works on behalf of a public authority, such as a government agency. Amounting to 12 percent of global GDP in 2018, government procurement accounts for a subst ...

legislation are to be delivered. For each EU member country, a hierarchy of three NUTS levels is established by

Eurostat Eurostat ('European Statistical Office'; DG ESTAT) is a Directorate-General of the European Commission located in the Kirchberg, Luxembourg, Kirchberg quarter of Luxembourg City, Luxembourg. Eurostat's main responsibilities are to provide statis ...

in agreement with each member state; the subdivisions in some levels do not necessarily correspond to

administrative division Administrative division, administrative unit,Article 3(1). country subdivision, administrative region, subnational entity, constituent state, as well as many similar terms, are generic names for geographical areas into which a particular, ind ...

s within the country. A NUTS code begins with a two-letter code referencing the country, as abbreviated in the

's Interinstitutional Style Guide. 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 The European Free Trade Association (EFTA) is a regional trade organization and free trade area consisting of four List of sovereign states and dependent territories in Europe, European states: Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerlan ...

, 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 ), lists 92 regions at

NUTS 1 The Classification of Territorial Units for Statistics (NUTS, for the French ) is a geocode standard for referencing the administrative divisions of countries for statistical purposes. The standard was developed by the European Union. There ...

, 244 regions at NUTS 2, 1215 regions at NUTS 3 level, and 99,387 local administrative units (LAUs).

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

}, german: Gemeinden, lb, Gemengen) , align=right , 102 , - , Malta , MT , — , align=right , 1 , — , align=right , 1 ,

Islands An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...

, align=right , 2 , Local councils () , align=right , 68 , - , Netherlands , NL , Groups of provinces , align=right , 4 ,

Provinces A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outsi ...

, align=right , 12 , COROP regions , align=right , 40 ,

Municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

() , align=right , 355 , - , Poland , PL , Macroregions () , align=right , 7 ,

Voivodeships A voivodeship is the area administered by a voivode (Governor) in several countries of central and eastern Europe. Voivodeships have existed since medieval times and the area of extent of voivodeship resembles that of a duchy in western medieval ...

Warsaw metro The Warsaw Metro ( pl, Metro Warszawskie) is a rapid transit underground system serving the Polish capital Warsaw. It currently consists of two lines, the north-south Line M1 which links central Warsaw with its densely populated northern and sout ...

, align=right , 17 , Subregions () , align=right , 73 ,

() , align=right , 2,478 , - , Portugal , PT ,

Continent A continent is any of several large landmasses. Generally identified by convention rather than any strict criteria, up to seven geographical regions are commonly regarded as continents. Ordered from largest in area to smallest, these seven ...

Azores ) , motto =( en, "Rather die free than subjected in peace") , anthem= ( en, "Anthem of the Azores") , image_map=Locator_map_of_Azores_in_EU.svg , map_alt=Location of the Azores within the European Union , map_caption=Location of the Azores wi ...

Madeira ) , anthem = ( en, "Anthem of the Autonomous Region of Madeira") , song_type = Regional anthem , image_map=EU-Portugal_with_Madeira_circled.svg , map_alt=Location of Madeira , map_caption=Location of Madeira , subdivision_type=Sovereign st ...

, align=right , 3 , Coordination and development regions + autonomous regions , align=right , 7 , Groups of

municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

, align=right , 25 ,

Parishes A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

() , align=right , 3,400 , - , Romania , RO , Macroregions , align=right , 4 ,

Regions In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

, align=right , 8 ,

Counties A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...

, align=right , 42 , Communes + Municipalities + Cities () , align=right , 3,181 , - , Slovakia , SK , — , align=right , 1 , Oblasts , align=right , 4 ,

() , align=right , 8 ,

() , align=right , 2,926 , - , Slovenia , SI , — , align=right , 1 , Macroregions , align=right , 2 , Statistical regions , align=right , 12 ,

() , align=right , 212 , - , Spain , ES , Groups of autonomous communities , align=right , 7 , 17 Autonomous communities and 2 autonomous cities , align=right , 19 ,

Ceuta Ceuta (, , ; ar, سَبْتَة, Sabtah) is a Spanish autonomous city on the north coast of Africa. Bordered by Morocco, it lies along the boundary between the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. It is one of several Spanish territorie ...

and

Melilla Melilla ( , ; ; rif, Mřič ; ar, مليلية ) is an autonomous city of Spain located in north Africa. It lies on the eastern side of the Cape Three Forks, bordering Morocco and facing the Mediterranean Sea. It has an area of . It was par ...

, align=right , 59 ,

() , align=right , 8,124 , - , Sweden , SE , Regions () , align=right , 3 , National Areas () , align=right , 8 ,

() , align=right , 21 ,

() , align=right , 290

Candidate countries

EFTA countries

}, and ; french: districts; it, distretti; rm, districts) , align=right , 166 ,

(german: Gemeinden, and ; french:

communes An intentional community is a voluntary residential community which is designed to have a high degree of social cohesion and teamwork from the start. The members of an intentional community typically hold a common social, political, religious, ...

; it, comuni; rm, vischnancas) , align=right , 2,721 , - , Iceland , IS , — , align=right , 1 , — , align=right , 1 ,

Capital Region A capital region, also called a capital district or capital territory, is a region or district surrounding a capital city. It is not always the official term for the region, but may sometimes be used as an informal synonym. Capital regions can exis ...

/ Rest of country , align=right , 2 ,

() , align=right , 8 ,

() , align=right , 79 , - , Liechtenstein , LI , — , align=right , 1 , — , align=right , 1 , — , align=right , 1 , Electoral districts () , align=right , 2 ,

() , align=right , 11 , - , Norway , NO , — , align=right , 1 , Regions , align=right , 7 ,

() , align=right , 19 , Economic regions () , align=right , 89 ,

() , align=right , 431

Former EU state

Maps

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). 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.https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/regions-and-cities/overview> From the NUTS Regulation, the average population size of the regions in the respective level shall lie within the following thresholds: 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 Northwest Italy ( it, Italia nord-occidentale or just ) is one of the five official statistical regions of Italy used by the National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT), a first level NUTS region and a European Parliament constituency. Northwes ...

*** ITC1:

Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

**** ITC11:

Metropolitan City of Turin The Metropolitan City of Turin ( it, Città metropolitana di Torino, Piedmontese: ''Sità metropolitan-a 'd Turin'') is a metropolitan city in the Piedmont region, Italy. Its capital is the city of Turin. It replaced the Province of Turin and co ...

References

External links

Eurostat portal – NUTS – Nomenclature of territorial units for statistics – Overview
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History of NUTS – Changes between versions
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NUTS maps
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Statistical regions outside the EU
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Correspondence between the NUTS levels and the national structures (EU)
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Correspondence between the NUTS levels and the national structures (non-EU)

List of current NUTS codes at SIMAP (EU procurement portal)

NUTS regions for web maps in JSON format

NUTS classification as Linked Data

Administrative Divisions of Countries ("Statoids")
{{Geocoding-systems Geocodes Statistical data coding